DOCSLIB.ORG

Inferences of Evolutionary and Ecological

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Inferences of Evolutionary and Ecological Inferences of evolutionary and ecological events that influenced the population structure of Plebeia remota, a stingless bee from Brazil Flávio de Oliveira Francisco, Maria Cristina Arias To cite this version: Flávio de Oliveira Francisco, Maria Cristina Arias. Inferences of evolutionary and ecological events that influenced the population structure of Plebeia remota, a stingless bee from Brazil. Apidologie, Springer Verlag, 2010, 41 (2), 10.1051/apido/2009079. hal-00892051 HAL Id: hal-00892051 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00892051 Submitted on 1 Jan 2010 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Apidologie 41 (2010) 216–224 Available online at: c INRA/DIB-AGIB/EDP Sciences, 2009 www.apidologie.org DOI: 10.1051/apido/2009079 Original article Inferences of evolutionary and ecological events that influenced the population structure of Plebeia remota, a stingless bee from Brazil* Flávio de Oliveira Francisco, Maria Cristina Arias Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 277, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil Received 6 March 2009 – Revised 17 September 2009 – Accepted 1 October 2009 Abstract – The present study characterised the population genetic structure of Plebeia remota through mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis and evaluated evolutionary and ecological processes that may have contributed to the species current genetic scenario. Seventy feral nests were sampled representing four geographic regions (Cunha, Curitiba, Prudentópolis, and Blumenau). Fifteen composite mtDNA haplotypes were determined and a high genetic structure was detected among all populations. The current population structure may be a result of queen philopatry and vegetation shifts caused by palaeoclimatic changes and uplift of Brazilian coastal ranges. Finally, this study strongly suggests a revision of the taxonomic status of P. remot a from the Prudentópolis region. stingless bees / mtDNA / rflp / Meliponini / population genetics 1. INTRODUCTION Studies on the biology and ecology of Meliponini have proven their important role The stingless bees (tribe Meliponini) ex- in the maintenance of several ecosystems. The hibit a wide geographic distribution, as they pollination of many floral species from the are found in all tropical and subtropical re- Brazilian Atlantic forest is strictly dependent gions on Earth (Wille, 1979; Silveira et al., on these bees (Kerr et al., 1996). Recently, 2002). The biogeographical history of this Bacelar-Lima et al. (2006) described the im- tribe is a controversial issue, and there is no portance of stingless bees in scattering seeds consensus on whether the tribe originated from of the Amazon forest. the Neotropics or Africa (see Kerr and Maule, The genus Plebeia Schwarz exhibits 1964; Wille, 1979; and some considerations in Neotropical distribution and, according to Rasmussen and Cameron, 2007). The greatest Michener (2000), is comprised by three abundance and diversity of stingless bees are subgenera: Plebeia Schwarz, Scaura Schwarz, found in the Neotropics (Wille, 1979), with and Schwarziana Moure. Bees from the approximately 30 genera and 300 species de- subgenus Plebeia are morphologically char- scribed (Camargo and Pedro, 1992). These acterised by small length (3–6 mm) and the data strongly argue in favour of the Neotrop- presence of whitish or yellow stripes on ical origin (Camargo and Pedro, 1992). the face and thorax (Michener, 2000). This Corresponding author: F. de O. Francisco, subgenus ranges from Mexico to Argentina [email protected], [email protected] and is considered a post-Gondwanan group * Manuscript editor: Marina Meixner due to its Neotropical endemism. Approx- Online material is available at: imately 30 species of Plebeia have been http://www.apidologie.org described (Michener, 2000). Brazil includes Article published by EDP Sciences Population genetics of Plebeia remota 217 16 recognised species and an unknown To date, molecular genetic analysis of number of undescribed species (Silveira P. re mo ta has been restricted to mtDNA- et al., 2002). South-eastern Brazil has been RFLP of only few samples (Francisco et al., considered the geographical centre of origin 2008); therefore, the available literature for for this subgenus (Camargo and Wittmann, this species is predominantly non-genetic. In 1989). this investigation, mtDNA-RFLP analysis was utilised to characterise samples of P. re mo ta The species Plebeia remota (Holmberg, collected within its endemic area, represent- 1903) is widely distributed in southern Brazil, ing four distinct populations. Our investigation occurring in the states of Minas Gerais (MG), aimed to: (i) characterise the population struc- São Paulo (SP), Paraná (PR), Santa Cata- ture of P. re mo ta by mtDNA-RFLP analysis, rina (SC), and Rio Grande do Sul (RS) ff (ii) determine the genetic and evolutionary sta- (Fig. 1A) (Wittmann and Ho mann, 1990; tus of each surveyed population, and (iii) con- Silveira et al., 2002; Mouga, 2004). These firm the isolation of the Prudentópolis popu- bees nidify in tree cavities, and a colony lation. Therefore, this study provides a better can reach 5,000 individuals (van Benthem ffi understanding of evolutionary and ecological et al., 1995). Natural hives are very di - processes that were responsible for the species cult to be located; the nest’s entrance is very current population genetic structure. small and only permits the entrance or exit of one individual at a time. Furthermore, work- ers are very cryptic and any disturbance out- 2. MATERIAL AND METHODS side interrupts foraging activity. Ribeiro et al. (2003) reported differences in nest architec- 2.1. Sampling ture and fall-winter reproductive diapause be- Adult workers were collected from 70 nests in tween P. re mo ta colonies from two geograph- four localities of Brazil (Fig. 1B): Cunha, SP (n = ically distant populations in Brazil: Cunha 18); Prudentópolis, PR (n = 33); Curitiba, PR (n = (SP state) and Prudentópolis (PR state). Fur- 7); and Blumenau, SC (n = 12). The samples were ther, Patrício and Imperatriz-Fonseca (2004) initially kept in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80 ◦C. found differences in the external morphology Bees were checked for species identity by a tax- of queens’ scutella and composition of Dufour onomist. glands secretions. Hilário (2005) detected dif- ferences in foragers’ flight activity and nest 2.2. mtDNA analysis temperature control. Recently, Francisco et al. (2008) also verified differences through mi- Total DNA was isolated according to the pro- tochondrial DNA (mtDNA), patterns of wing tocol of Sheppard and McPheron (1991), with venation, and cuticular hydrocarbons analyses slight modifications as described in Francisco et al. between these two populations. (2001). The DNA was subjected to single and dou- ble digestion overnight with the following 15 re- MtDNA is one of the most widely stud- striction enzymes: BamHI,Bcl I, Bgl II, Cfo I, ied molecules for systematics, species char- Cla I, EcoRI,EcoRV,Hae III, Hind III, Nde I, acterisation, population structure, and phy- Pst I, Pvu II, Sca I, Xba I, and Xho I. The RFLP logenetic analyses. Analysis by restriction patterns were verified via Southern blot analysis, as fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) tech- previously described (Francisco et al., 2001). The nique allows the investigation of this molecule PCR-RFLP technique was utilised to identify re- as a whole, including both conserved and striction sites in close proximity. Methods used for variable regions. Particularly in Meliponini, PCR reactions, digestions, and visualisations are the mtDNA-RFLP approach has been tested also described by Francisco et al. (2001). and proved useful for the detection of inter- specific variation within the subgenus Plebeia 2.3. Statistical analyses (Francisco et al., 2001) and others (Weinlich et al., 2004; Brito and Arias, 2005; Arias et al., REAP v4.0 package (McElroy et al., 1992) 2006). was used to calculate the genetic distance between 218 F. de O. Francisco, M.C. Arias 18 33 Figure 1. (A) Map of Brazil indicating the states of Plebeia remota occurrence. MG: Minas Gerais, SP: São Paulo, PR: Paraná, SC: Santa Catarina, RS: Rio Grande do Sul. (B) Collected sites and number of nests sampled. haplotypes (d), nucleotide (π) and haplotype (h) among populations (Tab. I). Only haplotypes diversities within samples, and nucleotide diver- h01 and h02 were both present in Cunha and gence among populations. The Monte Carlo (Roff Curitiba populations. The ME tree based on and Bentzen, 1989) test was used to determine genetic distances between haplotypes (Fig. 2) genetic heterogeneity among populations. AR- defined four clusters, which were well related LEQUIN v3.11 (Excoffier et al., 2005) was used to the respective geographic origin: Pruden- to detect population differentiation through the tópolis, Blumenau, Curitiba, and Cunha. No- Markov chain method and exact test. AMOVA tably, haplotype h10 (Curitiba) is genetically (Excoffier et al., 1992) was used for calculation of Φ
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Efeito Do Vento Sobre a Atividade De Vôo De Plebeia Remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini) Hilário, SD Et Al
    Efeito do vento sobre a atividade de vôo de Plebeia remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini) Hilário, SD et al. Biota Neotropica, Vol.7 (number 3): 2007; p. 225-232. A versão on-line completa deste artigo está disponível em: On line version of this paper is available at: http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n3/pt/abstract?article+bn03907032007 Recebido em/ Data Received 20/06/07 - Versão reformulada recebida em/ Revised 24/10/07 - Publicado em/ Accepted 08/11/07 ISSN 1676-0603 (on-line) Biota Neotropica é uma revista do Programa BIOTA/FAPESP - O Instituto Virtual da Biodiversidade, que publica resultados de pesquisa original, vinculada ou não ao programa, que abordem a temática caracterização, conservação e uso sustentável da biodiversidade na região Neotropical. Biota Neotropica is an electronic, peer-reviewed journal edited by the Program BIOTA/FAPESP: The Virtual Institute of Biodiversity. This journal’s aim is to disseminate the results of original research work, associated or not to the program, concerned with characterization, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity within the Neotropical region. A Biota Neotropica é uma revista eletrônica e está integral e gratuitamente disponível no endereço http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br Biota Neotropica is an eletronic journal which is available free at the following site http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br Efeito do vento sobre a atividade de vôo de Plebeia remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini) Sergio Dias Hilário1,4, Márcia de Fátima Ribeiro2 & Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca3 Biota Neotropica v7 (n3) – http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n3/pt/abstract?article+bn03907032007 Recebido em 20/06/07 Versão Reformulada recebida em 24/10/07 Publicado em 08/11/07 1Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo – USP, Rua do Matão, Tr.
    [Show full text]
  • Production of Workers, Queens and Males in Plebeia Remota Colonies (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini), a Stingless Bee with Reproductive Diapause
    Production of workers, queens and males in Plebeia remota colonies (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini), a stingless bee with reproductive diapause D.A. Alves1, V.L. Imperatriz-Fonseca1,2 and P.S. Santos-Filho1 1Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil 2Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil Corresponding author: D.A. Alves E-mail: [email protected] Genet. Mol. Res. 8 (2): 672-683 (2009) Received December 12, 2008 Accepted January 26, 2009 Published June 9, 2009 ABSTRACT. Queen, male and worker production was studied during one year in three Plebeia remota colonies from Atlantic Rainforest in Cunha, São Paulo State, and two from a subtropical Araucaria forest in Prudentópolis, Paraná State. All the colonies were kept in São Paulo city during our study. Plebeia remota has reproductive diapause during autumn and winter, which makes its biology of special interest. Brood production begins before spring, renewing the colony cycle. We sampled brood combs monthly in these five colonies. The number of cells in each comb varied Genetics and Molecular Research 8 (2): 672-683 (2009) ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br significantly with time of the year; the smallest brood combs appear to be a consequence of reduced food availability. However, worker, queen and male frequencies did not differ significantly in time, and this presumably is due to the fact that they all are necessary for the growth, maintenance and reproduction of the colony. Although some molecular, morphological and behavioral differences have been detected in several studies comparing populations from Cunha and from Prudentópolis, we did not find significant differences between the colonies from these two localities in number of brood cells and worker, queen and male production.
    [Show full text]
  • Molecular Genetic Diversity in Populations of the Stingless Bee Plebeia Remota: a Case Study
    Genetics and Molecular Biology, 36, 1, 118-123 (2013) Copyright © 2013, Sociedade Brasileira de Genética. Printed in Brazil www.sbg.org.br Short Communication Molecular genetic diversity in populations of the stingless bee Plebeia remota: A case study Flávio de Oliveira Francisco, Leandro Rodrigues Santiago and Maria Cristina Arias Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Abstract Genetic diversity is a major component of the biological diversity of an ecosystem. The survival of a population may be seriously threatened if its genetic diversity values are low. In this work, we measured the genetic diversity of the stingless bee Plebeia remota based on molecular data obtained by analyzing 15 microsatellite loci and sequencing two mitochondrial genes. Population structure and genetic diversity differed depending on the molecular marker ana- lyzed: microsatellites showed low population structure and moderate to high genetic diversity, while mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) showed high population structure and low diversity in three populations. Queen philopatry and male dispersal behavior are discussed as the main reasons for these findings. Keywords: mtDNA, Meliponini, microsatellites, philopatry, population genetics. Received: August 17, 2012; Accepted: November 9, 2012. Most of the Brazilian tropical flora is pollinated by However, studies in a variety of organisms have shown that bees, especially by those belonging to the tribe Meliponini if one gender is philopatric then the other one normally me- (stingless bees) (Kerr et al., 1996; Nogueira-Neto, 1997). diates gene flow through dispersion (Whitehead, 1998; The increase in habitat loss can lead to severe consequences Nyakaana and Arctander, 1999; Kappeler et al., 2002; Apio for bee populations and species diversity (Foley et al., et al., 2010).
    [Show full text]
  • Impacto Da Precipitação Pluviométrica Sobre a Atividade De Vôo De Plebeia Remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini)
    Impacto da precipitação pluviométrica sobre a atividade de vôo de Plebeia remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini) Hilário, SD. et al. Biota Neotropica, Vol.7 (number 3): 2007; p. 135-143. A versão on-line completa deste artigo está disponível em: On line version of this paper is available at: http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n3/pt/abstract?article+bn02307032007 Recebido em/ Data Received 11/06/07 - Versão reformulada recebida em/ Revised 12/09/06 - Publicado em/ Accepted 28/09/07 ISSN 1676-0603 (on-line) Biota Neotropica é uma revista do Programa BIOTA/FAPESP - O Instituto Virtual da Biodiversidade, que publica resultados de pesquisa original, vinculada ou não ao programa, que abordem a temática caracterização, conservação e uso sustentável da biodiversidade na região Neotropical. Biota Neotropica is an electronic, peer-reviewed journal edited by the Program BIOTA/FAPESP: The Virtual Institute of Biodiversity. This journal’s aim is to disseminate the results of original research work, associated or not to the program, concerned with characterization, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity within the Neotropical region. A Biota Neotropica é uma revista eletrônica e está integral e gratuitamente disponível no endereço http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br Biota Neotropica is an eletronic journal which is available free at the following site http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br Impacto da precipitação pluviométrica sobre a atividade de vôo de Plebeia remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini) Sergio Dias Hilário1,4, Márcia de Fátima Ribeiro2 & Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca3 Biota Neotropica v7 (n3) – http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n3/pt/abstract?article+bn02307032007 Recebido em 11/06/07 Versão Reformulada recebida em 12/09/06 Publicado em 28/09/07 1Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo – USP, Rua do Matão, tr.
    [Show full text]
  • Observations on a Queenless Colony of Plebeia Saiqui (Friese) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae)
    Bolm. Zool., Univ. S. Paulo 1:299-312, 1976 Observations on a Queenless Colony of Plebeia Saiqui (Friese) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae) VERA LUCIA IMPERATRIZ-FONSECA MARIA AUGUSTA CABRAL DE OLIVEIRA Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo ABSTRACT Observations on building, provisioning, oviposition and operculation in a queenless colony of Plebeia saqai (Friese) are described. The normal aspect and behaviour showed by the orphan bees could be explained due to the fact that the colony had a great number of worKers. By the third month, modifications in the processes and in the behaviour were observed and queen-liKe behaved worKers were found. Nectar dehydrating and worK with cerumen are mentioned as being also male activities. Other observations are also described as the reutilization of empty cells and problems of oophagy, as well as the shape and the size of the combs. RESUMO O presente trabalho descreve observações feitas em uma colônia órfã de Plebeia saqui (Friese), com relação a construção, ao aprovisionamento, a oviposição e à operculação das células. Durante três meses as operárias apresentaram uma construção de células regular, que poderia ser resultante do grande número de abelhas existentes na colmeia, ou uma característica do gênero. Por volta do 3.° mês os processos de aprovisionamento e oviposição modifi­ caram-se e houve o aparecimento de operárias que se comportaram como rainha. Foram observados machos na colônia, filhos das operárias, que executavam trabalhos com cerume e desidratavam nectar. São descritas outras observações referentes a reutilização de células vazias, oofagia, forma e tamanho de favos. I _ INTRODUCTION Several studies on the oviposition process of Meliponine bees were made by SaKagami and co-workers.
    [Show full text]
  • Research Article Foraging Activity in Plebeia Remota, a Stingless Bees Species, Is Influenced by the Reproductive State of a Colony
    Hindawi Publishing Corporation Psyche Volume 2010, Article ID 241204, 16 pages doi:10.1155/2010/241204 Research Article Foraging Activity in Plebeia remota, a Stingless Bees Species, Is Influenced by the Reproductive State of a Colony Patrıcia´ Nunes-Silva,1 Sergio Dias Hilario,´ 2 Persio´ de Souza Santos Filho,3 and Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca3 1 Departament of Biology, Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters of Ribeirao˜ Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao˜ Preto 14040-030, Brazil 2 Departament of Zoology, Institute of Bioscience, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 05508-900, Brazil 3 Departament of Ecology, Institute of Bioscience, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 05508-900, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to Patr´ıcia Nunes-Silva, [email protected] Received 30 July 2009; Accepted 12 March 2010 Academic Editor: Koos (J.C.) Biesmeijer Copyright © 2010 Patr´ıcia Nunes-Silva et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Colonies of the Brazilian stingless bee Plebeia remota show a reproductive diapause in autumn and winter. Therefore, they present two distinct reproductive states, during which colony needs are putatively different. Consequently, foraging should be adapted to the different needs. We recorded the foraging activity of two colonies for 30 days in both phases. Indeed, it presented different patterns during the two phases. In the reproductive diapause, the resource predominantly collected by the foragers was nectar. The majority of the bees were nectar foragers, and the peak of collecting activity occurred around noon.
    [Show full text]
  • Hygienic Behavior of the Stingless Bee Plebeia Remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini)
    Hygienic behavior of the stingless bee Plebeia remota (Holmberg, 1903) (Apidae, Meliponini) P. Nunes-Silva1, V.L. Imperatriz-Fonseca2 and L.S. Gonçalves2 1Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil 2Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil Corresponding author: P. Nunes-Silva E-mail: [email protected] Genet. Mol. Res. 8 (2): 649-654 (2009) Received December 12, 2008 Accepted January 26, 2009 Published June 2, 2009 ABSTRACT. We investigated hygienic behavior in 10 colonies of Plebeia remota, using the pin-killed method. After 24 h the bees had removed a mean of 69.6% of the dead brood. After 48 h, the bees had removed a mean of 96.4% of the dead brood. No significant correlation was found between the size of the brood comb and the number of dead pupae removed, and there was no apparent effect of the origin and the condition of the colony on the hygienic behavior of the bees. Plebeia remota has an efficiency of hygienic behavior superior to that of three of the other four stingless bee species studied until now. Key words: Plebeia remota; Stingless bees; Hygienic behavior Genetics and Molecular Research 8 (2): 649-654 (2009) ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br P. Nunes-Silva et al. 650 INTRODUCTION Apis mellifera workers are capable of detecting diseased, infected, damaged or dead brood, uncapping the cells and removing the affected larvae and pupae. This capa- bility is known as hygienic behavior (Rothenbuhler, 1964a,b); since this behavior makes honey bees more resistant to diseases and parasites, it has become of great interest for apiculture (see Boecking and Spivak, 1999).
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini)*,**
    Apidologie 37 (2006) 653–664 653 c INRA/DIB-AGIB/ EDP Sciences, 2006 DOI: 10.1051/apido:2006046 Original article Size variation and egg laying performance in Plebeia remota queens (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini)*,** Márcia de Fátima R, Pérsio de Souza S-F, Vera Lúcia I-F Laboratório de Abelhas, Depto. de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, R. do Matão, trav. 14, n. 321, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil Received 2 September 2005 – Revised 2 January 2006 – Accepted 9 January 2006 Abstract – Stingless bees may produce both large queens and "miniature" queens, but the adaptive signifi- cance of this is uncertain. Using biometry and statistical analysis we determined the proportion of miniature queens in Plebeia remota that were either mated (14%) or virgin (45%). Mated queens were mostly normal- sized which indicated that they were more successful. Nevertheless, the presence of miniature mated queens heading colonies confirmed that they also are viable. The egg-laying capacity of mated queens of differ- ent sizes was determined using colony exchange experiments. The results showed that egg laying is not influenced by size differences. Therefore, miniature mated queens may be as successful in laying eggs as normal-sized queens. Finally we discuss some ultimate hypotheses for why miniature queens are produced. queen size variation / miniature queen / egg laying / stingless bee / Plebeia remota 1. INTRODUCTION in some trigonine species, virgin queens may occasionally also be reared from worker-sized Stingless bees show a variety of ways in cells, as in Melipona (Imperatriz-Fonseca which queens are reared. Trophic aspects are et al., 1997).
    [Show full text]
  • The Stingless Bees of Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil
    Acta Biológica Catarinense 2015 Jul-Dez;2(2):5-20 The stingless bees of Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil Abelhas sem ferrão do estado de Santa Catarina, sul do Brasil Denise Monique Dubet da Silva Mouga1 Enderlei Dec2 Universidade da Região de Joinville Rua Paulo Malschitzki, 10 – Campus Universitário CEP 89219-710 – Joinville – SC – Brasil Autor para correspondência: [email protected] ABSTRACT Recebido: 2 mar. 2015 Aiming to know the diversity of stingless bees in southern Brazil, a review of 27 publications, Aceito: 27 abr. 2015 reporting sampling of stingless bees in the state of Santa Catarina, covering a period of 30 years, was performed. The studies have been related to plant formations where they took place. A total of 51 species of 17 genera were obtained, six species (with four subspecies) in the genus Melipona. The studies took place in 19 municipalities. The vegetation type where more collections were undertaken was the rain forest. Most surveys were performed in the southern and northern mesoregions. Differences in the number of species reported by different authors refer to genera Cephalotrigona, Frieseomelitta, Lestrimelitta, Melipona, Mourella, Nannotrigona, Oxytrigona, Paratrigona, Partamona, Plebeia, Scaptotrigona, Schwarziana, Tetragonisca and Trigona. The causes of the differences may include anthropogenic factors. Santa Catarina State, in view of the verified number of species, stands as the last high diversity spot for stingless bees in Brazil, in a northern-southern perspective. Keywords: Apifauna; geographic distribution; surveys; meliponines. RESUMO Visando conhecer a diversidade de abelhas sem ferrão em Santa Catarina, foi realizada uma revisão de 27 publicações que relatam amostragem de meliponíneos no estado, cobrindo um período de 30 anos.
    [Show full text]
  • Techniques for the in Vitro Production of Queens in Stingless Bees (Apidae, Meliponini)
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Biblioteca Digital da Produção Intelectual da Universidade de São Paulo (BDPI/USP) Universidade de São Paulo Biblioteca Digital da Produção Intelectual - BDPI Outros departamentos - FFCLRP/Outros Artigos e Materiais de Revistas Científicas - FFCLRP/Outros 2012 Techniques for the In Vitro Production of Queens in Stingless Bees (Apidae, Meliponini) SOCIOBIOLOGY, v. 59, n. 1, pp. 297-310, DEC 7, 2012 http://www.producao.usp.br/handle/BDPI/33927 Downloaded from: Biblioteca Digital da Produção Intelectual - BDPI, Universidade de São Paulo 297 Techniques for the In Vitro Production of Queens in Stingless Bees (Apidae, Meliponini) by Ana Rita Baptistella¹, Camila C. M. Souza², Weyder Cristiano Santana³* & Ademilson Espencer Egea Soares² ABSTRACT Considering the ecological importance of stingless bees as caretakers and pollinators of a variety of native plants makes it necessary to improve tech- niques which increase of colonies’ number in order to preserve these species and the biodiversity associated with them. Thus, our aim was to develop a methodology of in vitro production of stingless bee queens by offering a large quantity of food to the larvae. Our methodology consisted of determining the amount of larval food needed for the development of the queens, collect- ing and storing the larval food, and feeding the food to the larvae in acrylic plates. We found that the total average amount of larval food in a worker bee cell of F. varia is approximately 26.70 ± 3.55 µL. We observed that after the consumption of extra amounts of food (25, 30, 35 and 40 µL) the larvae differentiate into queens (n = 98).
    [Show full text]
  • Approaches on Arthropod´S Molecular Systematics Studies
    Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2014) 3(10) 156-168 ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 3 Number 10 (2014) pp. 156-168 http://www.ijcmas.com Review Article Approaches on Arthropod´s Molecular Systematics Studies José Brites-Neto1,3, Gino Chaves da Rocha2, Luiz Humberto Gomes3 and Keila Maria Roncato Duarte4 1Epidemiological Surveillance Department, Secretary of Health, Americana, São Paulo, Brazil 2Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary, University of Brasília, Brazil 3Department of Exact Sciences/ESALQ/USP, São Paulo, Brazil; 4Institute of Animal Science of Nova Odessa, São Paulo, Brazil *Corresponding author A B S T R A C T Phylogenies moleculars provide means for analyzing many old problems of behavioral and eco-epidemiology of arthropods, many of which are importance for public health. A number of molecular markers is used in studies of phylogeny, K e y w o r d s ecology and population dynamics. Mitochondrial DNA is the most widely used Ribosomal marker of DNA regions for insects as well as for animals in general. Nuclear DNA, ribosomal RNA genes have been widely used, especially due to their abundance in mitochondrial the genome and its ease of amplification and sequencing of highly conserved and DNA, variable regions (containing the 18S, 5.8S and 28S genes separated by non polymorphis transcribed and transcribed spacers). Questions about the intraspecific population m, molecular structure, species limits, and the diagnosis of species, can be often elucidated by markers, techniques such as allozyme electrophoresis, restriction fragment length phylogenies. polymorphism (RFLP), or any variety of new techniques for DNA-based, as single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), amplified fragment length polymorphism DNA (AFLP) or random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD).
    [Show full text]
  • Miniature Queens in Stingless Bees: Basic Facts and Evolutionary Hypotheses
    Apidologie 37 (2006) 191–206 191 c INRA/DIB-AGIB/ EDP Sciences, 2006 DOI: 10.1051/apido:2006023 Review article Miniature queens in stingless bees: basic facts and evolutionary hypotheses Márcia de F. Ra,TomWb,PérsiodeS.S Fa, Denise de A. A a a Depto. de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, R. do Matão, trav. 14, n. 321, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil b Laboratory of Entomology, Zoological Institute, Catholic University of Leuven, Naamstraat 59, 3000 Leuven, Belgium Received 1 November 2005 – accepted 31 February 2006 Abstract – Some stingless bees are known to produce both large queens, reared from larger royal cells, and small “miniature” queens, reared from worker cells. Here we review what is known about miniature queens, and evaluate some major evolutionary hypotheses as to why they are produced. One hypothesis – that miniature queens are females who selfishly evade an intended worker fate – is shown to receive significant support. In particular, there is increasing evidence that the decision to become a miniature queen may be under genetic control of the developing females themselves. In addition, data from several species show that females gain significant fitness benefits from doing so, since miniature queens are frequently observed heading colonies and often are as productive as normal-sized queens. On the other hand, in some species miniature queens have a reduced fecundity or may have lower chances of being chosen as a new queen. This shows that the strategy may also have costs. Queens of the genus Melipona, which are also reared from worker-sized cells, are suggested to have the same evolutionary origins as miniature queens.
    [Show full text]