Especialização alimentar limita a amplitude do nicho térmico em abelhas neotropicais

Abstract

The interactions between plants and pollinators regulate a fundamental ecosystem function, in which bees and plants mutually benefit. Bee species can exhibit varying degrees of dietary specialization: oligolectic (with pollen diets restricted to one family or genus) and polylectic (a broader pollen diet with multiple plant families). This plant-pollinator relationship depends on the synchrony between the bees' life cycle and the flowering perioda synchrony threatened by thermal variations, which may particularly affect oligolectic species due to their specialized strategy. Species with lower thermal tolerance may be more susceptible. However, little is known about specialist species in a climatic context, and few studies integrate thermal niche data for Neotropical species. To investigate whether the thermal niche breadth of Brazilian bees is related to their larval dietary specialization, we selected 20 species (9 specialists and 11 generalists) of native bees from the Neotropical region (Brazil), belonging to the tribes Augochlorini, Eucerini, Megachilini, and Meliponini, ranging from crop pollinators to specialists in native flora, with minimum and maximum temperature data from an occurrence database. The results indicate that oligolectic species exhibited a narrower thermal niche breadth than polylectic species. These findings highlight the greater vulnerability of oligolectic species to climate change. Such discoveries underscore the importance of future investigations to deepen the understanding of these differentiated ecological responses in the context of constant global warming, emphasizing the need for research to ensure their persistence in the face of accelerated climate change.