Diversity, distribution, and functional traits of bee assemblages across habitat types in Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe

Abstract Despite growing global interest in pollinator conservation, bee community responses to habitat heterogeneity remain poorly documented in protected semi-arid landscapes of southern Africa. This study investigated how habitat type influences bee community structure and functional traits within Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe. Bees were surveyed at 16 sites across four habitat types (granite kopjes, woodlands, grasslands, and riverine woodlands), yielding 1026 individuals representing 75 species; however three sites per habitat (12 sites total) with equal sampling effort were used for balanced statistical comparison via generalized linear models, PERMANOVA, and indicator species analysis. Species richness (χ²=16.55, df = 3, p < 0.001) and diversity (F = 7.68, df = 3,8, p = 0.010) differed significantly among habitats, with granite kopjes lower than grassland ( p < 0.001, p = 0.005), while abundance ( p = 0.068) and community composition (PERMANOVA R²=0.389, p = 0.055) did not. Functional traits differed more strongly with granite kopjes showing fewer long-tongued bees (χ²=18.03, p < 0.001) and a distinct nesting-strategy composition dominated by cavity-nesters (Rao–Scott F = 6.94, p < 0.001). Twenty-one of twenty-seven species identified to species level had no recorded observations in Zimbabwe on iNaturalist. The study also recorded Braunsapis otavica , a new country record for Zimbabwe based on CAB- GBIF data, bringing the total documented Zimbabwean bee species to 439. Functional trait composition appeared more sensitive to habitat variation than taxonomic diversity, suggesting structurally distinct habitats are important for maintaining functional as well as taxonomic diversity in protected semi-arid landscapes. Chao1 estimates indicated sampling completeness of only 54–65% across habitats, so these patterns should be regarded as preliminary pending more intensive sampling.