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Amazon deforestation threatens one of Brazil’s key pollinators, study shows

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With their metallic-blue-and-green bodies and iridescent wings, orchid bees aren’t just charismatic bugs. They’re specialist pollinators in tropical rainforests from Mexico to Brazil and are primarily responsible for the spread of the iconic Brazilian nut. But orchid bees might also provide a window into how deforestation and land-use change affect ecosystems and biodiversity, a recent study in Brazil’s state of Rondônia suggests. Although not the only pollinators affected by habitat loss, orchid bees, from the tribe Euglossini, are “among the most spectacular, peculiar, well-known, and economically important pollinators around, and they have the potential to attract the attention of the public and policymakers,” said study lead author J. Christopher Brown, professor of geography and atmospheric science at the University of Kansas, adding the bees might be the “perfect poster child” for conservation in the Amazon. The research, recently published in Biological Conservation, looks at how land-use change affects orchid bee abundance, richness and composition over time in various sites across the Amazonian state of Rondônia. Map of study area, collection zones sampled (1−12), and location of 130 sample locations in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. Image courtesy of study authors. The region is marked by its neotropical forests, cattle ranches, and production of coffee, cacao, beans, maize and Brazil nuts. When an area is settled for human use, whether cattle grazing or agriculture, it’s first deforested. This opens up the canopy cover, leaving many of the species that rely on resource diversity unable to find what they need. In the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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