Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae)
High-altitude ecosystems are found in mountain chains and plateaus worldwide. These areas tend to be underrepresented in insect biodiversity assessments because of the challenges related to systematic survey at these elevations, such as extreme climatic and geographic conditions. Nonetheless, high-a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2020-02-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/8675.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797419911711031296 |
|---|---|
| author | Patricia Henríquez-Piskulich Cristian A. Villagra Alejandro Vera |
| author_facet | Patricia Henríquez-Piskulich Cristian A. Villagra Alejandro Vera |
| author_sort | Patricia Henríquez-Piskulich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High-altitude ecosystems are found in mountain chains and plateaus worldwide. These areas tend to be underrepresented in insect biodiversity assessments because of the challenges related to systematic survey at these elevations, such as extreme climatic and geographic conditions. Nonetheless, high-altitude ecosystems are of paramount importance because they have been seen to be species pumps for other geographic areas, such as adjacent locations, functioning as buffers for population declines. Moreover, these ecosystems and their biodiversity have been proposed to be fast-responding indicators of the impacts caused by global climate change. Bees have been highlighted among the insect groups that have been affected by these problems. This work used bees as a proxy to demonstrate and reinforce the importance of systematic surveys of high-altitude ecosystems. Here, field collections were undertaken and an updated review was conducted for the native bee biodiversity of the high-altitude ecosystem found at the Andes system of central Chile, including the phenological trends of these insects during the flowering season. Of the 58 species that have been described for this location, we were able to confirm the occurrence of 46 of these species as a result of our sampling. In addition, thanks to these recent collections, a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell is described in the present work. These findings highlight the need for further high-altitude insect surveys of this biome, which include both temporal and spatial complexity in their design, to allow for accurate assessment of bee species diversity and compositional changes in these mountain regions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:55:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5100c8c112c5461680b54536cd632ea2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:55:02Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-5100c8c112c5461680b54536cd632ea22023-12-03T10:07:13ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592020-02-018e867510.7717/peerj.8675Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae)Patricia Henríquez-Piskulich0Cristian A. Villagra1Alejandro Vera2Instituto de Entomología, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Santiago, Región Metropolitana, ChileInstituto de Entomología, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Santiago, Región Metropolitana, ChileDepartamento de Biología, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Santiago, Región Metropolitana, ChileHigh-altitude ecosystems are found in mountain chains and plateaus worldwide. These areas tend to be underrepresented in insect biodiversity assessments because of the challenges related to systematic survey at these elevations, such as extreme climatic and geographic conditions. Nonetheless, high-altitude ecosystems are of paramount importance because they have been seen to be species pumps for other geographic areas, such as adjacent locations, functioning as buffers for population declines. Moreover, these ecosystems and their biodiversity have been proposed to be fast-responding indicators of the impacts caused by global climate change. Bees have been highlighted among the insect groups that have been affected by these problems. This work used bees as a proxy to demonstrate and reinforce the importance of systematic surveys of high-altitude ecosystems. Here, field collections were undertaken and an updated review was conducted for the native bee biodiversity of the high-altitude ecosystem found at the Andes system of central Chile, including the phenological trends of these insects during the flowering season. Of the 58 species that have been described for this location, we were able to confirm the occurrence of 46 of these species as a result of our sampling. In addition, thanks to these recent collections, a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell is described in the present work. These findings highlight the need for further high-altitude insect surveys of this biome, which include both temporal and spatial complexity in their design, to allow for accurate assessment of bee species diversity and compositional changes in these mountain regions.https://peerj.com/articles/8675.pdfApoideaHotspotNeotropicsTaxonomyUnderrepresented zonesXeromelissinae |
| spellingShingle | Patricia Henríquez-Piskulich Cristian A. Villagra Alejandro Vera Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae) PeerJ Apoidea Hotspot Neotropics Taxonomy Underrepresented zones Xeromelissinae |
| title | Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae) |
| title_full | Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae) |
| title_fullStr | Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae) |
| title_short | Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Xeromelissa Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae) |
| title_sort | native bees of high andes of central chile hymenoptera apoidea biodiversity phenology and the description of a new species of xeromelissa cockerell hymenoptera colletidae xeromelissinae |
| topic | Apoidea Hotspot Neotropics Taxonomy Underrepresented zones Xeromelissinae |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/8675.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT patriciahenriquezpiskulich nativebeesofhighandesofcentralchilehymenopteraapoideabiodiversityphenologyandthedescriptionofanewspeciesofxeromelissacockerellhymenopteracolletidaexeromelissinae AT cristianavillagra nativebeesofhighandesofcentralchilehymenopteraapoideabiodiversityphenologyandthedescriptionofanewspeciesofxeromelissacockerellhymenopteracolletidaexeromelissinae AT alejandrovera nativebeesofhighandesofcentralchilehymenopteraapoideabiodiversityphenologyandthedescriptionofanewspeciesofxeromelissacockerellhymenopteracolletidaexeromelissinae |