The oases of Baja California Peninsula overlooked hotspots for wild bees
The Baja California peninsula (BCP), as part of the Californian biodiversity hotspot, contains complex and heterogeneous landscapes, arising from the interaction of local, historical, climatic and anthropogenic factors. The oases across BCP are contrasting habitats in the middle of arid conditions. These mesic environments are relictual habitats critical for the survival of many taxa. However, increasing human impacts and extreme climatic conditions are among the main threats to their conservation. Wild bees are among the less understood fauna inhabiting the oases in the BCP, thus the efects of both local and large-scale factors shaping the assemblages of these hymenopterans remain unknown. In this work, we aimed to study the communities of wild bees across diferent oases and their surrounding desert in the BCP. We recorded 151 species of wild bees from 48 genera and 6 families, with each location showing a unique assemblage of bees. <50% of the species were shared between oases and deserts, and 66% of the native bee species were considered rare. Both deserts and oases towards the central portion of the peninsula harbored the highest diversity levels. Relative efects of local, regional, and large-scale factors diferentially explained the diference in bee composition, richness and abundance among the study landscapes.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | Abejas silvestres, Oasis, Composición de la población, Hábitat (Ecología), |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-022-00432-0 |
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| Summary: | The Baja California peninsula (BCP), as part of the Californian biodiversity hotspot, contains complex and heterogeneous landscapes, arising from the interaction of local, historical, climatic and anthropogenic factors. The oases across BCP are contrasting habitats in the middle of arid conditions. These mesic environments are relictual habitats critical for the survival of many taxa. However, increasing human impacts and extreme climatic conditions are among the main threats to their conservation. Wild bees are among the less understood fauna inhabiting the oases in the BCP, thus the efects of both local and large-scale factors shaping the assemblages of these hymenopterans remain unknown. In this work, we aimed to study the communities of wild bees across diferent oases and their surrounding desert in the BCP. We recorded 151 species of wild bees from 48 genera and 6 families, with each location showing a unique assemblage of bees. <50% of the species were shared between oases and deserts, and 66% of the native bee species were considered rare. Both deserts and oases towards the central portion of the peninsula harbored the highest diversity levels. Relative efects of local, regional, and large-scale factors diferentially explained the diference in bee composition, richness and abundance among the study landscapes. |
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