Functional diversity of Brazilian bees: revealing the unique patterns of the Neotropics
Bees are essential for ecosystem functioning, pollinating many wild and crop plant species. Predicting which species are most vulnerable to global changes, and how their loss may impact ecosystems and human well-being, is critical. Comprehensive information on bee response and effect traits is fundamental to these assessments. However, the Raunkiærian shortfall-insufficient trait data-remains significant for bees, particularly in the Neotropics. Moreover, it remains uncertain whether conservation strategies based on functional diversity from temperate regions can be generalized to the Neotropics. To address this gap, we compiled a comprehensive and validated dataset on Brazilian bee traits, covering 24 traits related to sociality (100% of the species with some information), nesting (88%), body size (71%), and buzzing capacity (42%) on 2,066 Brazilian bee species. The trait data here presented is a crucial resource for evaluating bee species' pollination effectiveness and susceptibility to global change. Comparative analysis with regions with ample trait data-USA, Europe, and China-revealed notable differences. Brazilian bees exhibited a higher prevalence of aboveground nesting species, especially compared to Europe. The proportion of eusocial species was also greater than in Europe and the United States, and more similar to China. Differently from other regions, Brazilian eusocial bees were significantly smaller than their non-eusocial counterparts. These cross-regional comparisons highlight the importance of geographically tailored conservation strategies and underscore the need for extensive trait data to accurately predict regional vulnerabilities and ecological impacts in a rapidly changing world.
Authors
- Kelli S. Ramos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1453-5885)
- Ian Patrick Vilhena dos Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4403-6693)
- Eduardo R. M. Barbosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9464-2247)
- Akira Shibata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1889-3911)
- Leon Marshall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7819-7005)
- César Machado Nunes Teixeira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1140-6810)
- Denise M. D. S. Mouga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0695-0467)
- Léo Correia da Rocha‐Filho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3431-6009)
- Bruno Ferreira Marques (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6862-9564)
- Carlos A. Martínez‐Martínez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9242-9685)
- Favízia Freitas de Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4366-5005)
- Tereza Cristina Giannini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9830-1204)
- M. M. Maués (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2270-5944)
- Isabel Alves‐dos‐Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2352-1290)
- R.S.V.A. De Souza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0226-6338)
- Thaline de Freitas Brito (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9654-0399)
- Marina Siqueira de Castro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3654-9903)
- Ana Catarina Cruz da Costa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9687-3963)
- Allison Leandro Tietz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6906-0920)
- Daniel Paiva Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2457-6245)
- Waira S. Machida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6479-1652)
- Tamires de Oliveira Andrade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9492-1967)
- Antônio J. C. Aguiar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1319-6431)
- Carlos Alberto Garófalo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2494-2089)
- Elinor M. Lichtenberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2729-4534)
- Matheus Eduardo Trindade-Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3415-7108)
- Fernanda Gonçalves de Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2524-408X)
- Marlucia Bonifacio Martins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4171-909X)
- Patrícia dos Santos Vilhena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4824-1164)
- Rafael Cabral Borges (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3031-1304)
- Rafael R. Ferrari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3570-3841)
- José E. Santos-Júnior (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7150-3751)
- Gwen Keller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2070-5334)
- Alistair J. Campbell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8163-6737)
- Aline C. Martins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2305-2877)
- Denise A. Alves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6525-427X)
- Leilane Ávila Bezerra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2352-104X)
- Eduardo A. B. Almeida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6017-6364)
- Felipe Vivallo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4487-0804)
- Alexandre Santos Barbosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9144-8075)
- L.S. Resende (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2638-6786)
- Luísa G. Carvalheiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7655-979X)
- Ramon Lima Ramos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9562-1894)
- Gabriela P. Camacho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8792-7719)
- André Luís Acosta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4244-9637)
- Guaraci Duran Cordeiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5434-7937)
- Solange Aparecida Bispo dos Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1971-9229)
- Evandson José dos Anjos-Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0952-8437)
- Nicholas Diniz Mazzei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1643-3786)
- Henrique Pereira Moleiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0748-4637)
- Patrick Menezes Consorte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7397-3574)
- Beatriz Woiski Teixeira Coelho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0603-5773)
- Poliana P. Menezes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7029-874X)
- Juliana A. Shimoda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3750-5949)
- Adrian D. González-Chaves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5233-8957)
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- University of North Texas (US)
- Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR)
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NL)
- Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (BR)
- Natural England (GB)
- Universidade de Ribeirão Preto (BR)
- Universidade de Brasília (BR)
- Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (BR)
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (BR)
- Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (BR)
- Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (BR)
- Universidade Brasil (BR)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Methodist University of Piracicaba (BR)
- Amazon Research Foundation (BR)
- Universidade da Região de Joinville (BR)
- Secretaria de Planejamento e Gestão (BR)
- Secretaria de Estado de Educação do Distrito Federal (BR)
- Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (BR)
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Instituto Federal de Goiás (BR)
- São Paulo Museum of Art (BR)
- Vale Technological Institute (BR)
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Paraná (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Pará (BR)
- Universidade Federal de Goiás (BR)
- Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Oecologia
- Published
- 2025-12-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-025-05828-8
- Primary Topic
- Plant and animal studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Universidade Federal de Goiás