Conservation study of an endangered stingless bee (Melipona capixaba—Hymenoptera: Apidae) with restricted distribution in Brazil

• Published in: Journal of insect conservation Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 317 - 326
• Main Authors: Nogueira, Juliano, Ramos, Josemar de Carvalho, Benevenuto, Juliana, Fernandes-Salomão, Tânia Maria, Resende, Helder Canto, Campos, Lucio Antonio de Oliveira, Tavares, Mara Garcia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.06.2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal Ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Apidae; Applied ecology; Bees; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Conservation biology; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Deforestation; Endangered & extinct species; Endemism; Entomology; Environmental degradation: ecosystems survey and restoration; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic diversity; Habitats; Life Sciences; Local population; Melipona; Original Paper; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Population number; Rainforests; Species extinction; South America; Brazil; America; Habitat fragmentation; Meliponini; Microsatellites; ISSR; Conservation genetics; Endangered species; Insecta; Conservation; Apidae; Ecological damage; Apoidea; Arthropoda; Microsatellite DNA; Genetics; Hymenoptera; Invertebrata; Fragmented habitat; Aculeata
• ISSN: 1366-638X; 1572-9753
• DOI: 10.1007/s10841-014-9639-3

Melipona capixaba , popularly known as “uruçu preta”, is a stingless bee restricted to the mountainous Atlantic Rainforest areas of Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Due to the endemism and small population size, this species discovered in 1994 is now considered “vulnerable to extinction”. Using ISSR, PCR–RFLP and microsatellites markers, we studied the genetic variability and structure of M. capixaba from 88 colonies collected throughout the distribution area of the species within Espírito Santo State. The microsatellite, ISSR and mitochondrial haplotype analyses showed that M. capixaba has low genetic variability compared to other insect species. The molecular analyses also indicated a high genetic similarity among the M. capixaba samples, with no clear pattern of structuring. The analyses of molecular variance results indicated that most of the total genetic variation in M. capixaba was explained by the genetic diversity within local populations. Results suggest that the analyzed samples could be treated as a single population for preservation purposes. Thus, given its endemism, local adaptation and low number of natural colonies, efforts for the conservation of M. capixaba should focus on preservation and increasing the number of colonies in the wild, so that M. capixaba can support constant captures and the effects of habitat deforestation in Espírito Santo State.