Morphometric changes in three species of euglossini (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in response to landscape structure

Abstract

Habitat fragmentation and expansion of agricultural activities are anthropic factors that can strongly impact biodiversity. Thus, sustainable practices of land use, such as agroforestry systems, are adopted with the proposal of improving environmental quality and restore ecological processes. In flying insects, habitat fragmentation may cause changes in the wing shape and size. Therefore, we hypothesized that landscape structure would affect wing size and shape in three species of Euglossini (Eulaema atleticana Nemésio, Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus) and Euglossa ignita Smith). The analysed specimens were collected in five areas, four forest areas with strong anthropic influence and an agroforestry system area. The results of the wing shape analysis have showed that the individuals of the three collected species within the agroforestry system diverge significantly (p<0.05) from those collected in the other areas. On the wings of Eg. cordata and Eg. ignita, differences in shape have occurred mainly in the medial region, which actively participates in the individual's flying ability. The wing size has showed meaningful difference only to the population of Eg. ignita (p=0,005). For Eg. cordata and El. atleticana, there was a significant correlation (r<0.05) between the morphometric data and the landscape metrics, which shows a close relationship between these species and the forest cover. The wing shape and size pursue an important function for the individual's ability in the environment, such as dispersion capacity and fertility rate, respectively. We concluded that the morphometric differences can reveal the existence of environmental stress for Euglossine bees. Therefore, the results contribute to establish morphometry variability as a tool for environmental quality monitoring.