Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of Pakistan
Bees are essential for providing ecosystem services such as pollination to many crops worldwide. However, there is growing concern over the decline of bee populations, which threatens agricultural productivity. Despite the known importance of bees, including non-Apis bees, in crop pollination, their...
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2024-12-01
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| author | Sumera Aslam Muhammad Naeem Sabir Hussain Maryam Riasat Muhammad Ather Rafi Ahmed Zia Muhammad Khalid Rafique Nawaz Haider Bashir Huanhuan Chen |
| author_facet | Sumera Aslam Muhammad Naeem Sabir Hussain Maryam Riasat Muhammad Ather Rafi Ahmed Zia Muhammad Khalid Rafique Nawaz Haider Bashir Huanhuan Chen |
| author_sort | Sumera Aslam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bees are essential for providing ecosystem services such as pollination to many crops worldwide. However, there is growing concern over the decline of bee populations, which threatens agricultural productivity. Despite the known importance of bees, including non-Apis bees, in crop pollination, their diversity and distribution remain understudied in the Potohar region of Pakistan. The current study addresses this gap by assessing the biodiversity of non-Apis bees across five districts of the Potohar region, Pakistan: Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. The objective was to evaluate the species richness, diversity, and evenness using various richness and diversity indices. A total of 2005 specimens, representing 27 species from 13 genera and five families (Apidae, Halictidae, Colletidae, Megachilidae, and Andrenidae), were collected over 24 surveys conducted between 2012 and 2015. Two richness indices, Shannon’s Species Richness Index and Margalef’s Richness Index, showed moderate to high species richness across localities, with values ranging from 2.378 to 4.186 and 1.508 to 2.711, respectively. Simpson’s Index and Simpson’s Reciprocal Index exhibited dominance and high diversity across sites, with values ranging from 0.094 to 0.880 and 4.446 to 11.315, respectively. Additionally, the Shannon–Wiener and Shannon Equitability indices indicated fairly even species distributions across localities. A correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships between most indices, except for Simpson’s Reciprocal Index, which showed negative correlations with the other indices. These findings provide crucial insights into the biodiversity of non-<i>Apis</i> bees in the Potohar region and underscore the importance of maintaining diverse pollinator communities to support sustainable agriculture in the area. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8525f802550e423b8380844198ab373e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj-art-8525f802550e423b8380844198ab373e2025-01-24T13:29:18ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182024-12-01171410.3390/d17010004Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of PakistanSumera Aslam0Muhammad Naeem1Sabir Hussain2Maryam Riasat3Muhammad Ather Rafi4Ahmed Zia5Muhammad Khalid Rafique6Nawaz Haider Bashir7Huanhuan Chen8College of Biological Resource and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing 655011, ChinaCollege of Biological Resource and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing 655011, ChinaHoney Bee Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad 45500, PakistanDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Riphah International University, Faisalabad Campus, Faisalabad 38000, PakistanNational Insect Museum, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad 45500, PakistanNational Insect Museum, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad 45500, PakistanHoney Bee Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad 45500, PakistanCollege of Biological Resource and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing 655011, ChinaCollege of Biological Resource and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing 655011, ChinaBees are essential for providing ecosystem services such as pollination to many crops worldwide. However, there is growing concern over the decline of bee populations, which threatens agricultural productivity. Despite the known importance of bees, including non-Apis bees, in crop pollination, their diversity and distribution remain understudied in the Potohar region of Pakistan. The current study addresses this gap by assessing the biodiversity of non-Apis bees across five districts of the Potohar region, Pakistan: Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. The objective was to evaluate the species richness, diversity, and evenness using various richness and diversity indices. A total of 2005 specimens, representing 27 species from 13 genera and five families (Apidae, Halictidae, Colletidae, Megachilidae, and Andrenidae), were collected over 24 surveys conducted between 2012 and 2015. Two richness indices, Shannon’s Species Richness Index and Margalef’s Richness Index, showed moderate to high species richness across localities, with values ranging from 2.378 to 4.186 and 1.508 to 2.711, respectively. Simpson’s Index and Simpson’s Reciprocal Index exhibited dominance and high diversity across sites, with values ranging from 0.094 to 0.880 and 4.446 to 11.315, respectively. Additionally, the Shannon–Wiener and Shannon Equitability indices indicated fairly even species distributions across localities. A correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships between most indices, except for Simpson’s Reciprocal Index, which showed negative correlations with the other indices. These findings provide crucial insights into the biodiversity of non-<i>Apis</i> bees in the Potohar region and underscore the importance of maintaining diverse pollinator communities to support sustainable agriculture in the area.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/1/4biodiversitynon-<i>Apis</i> beesSimpson’s indexShannon equitability indexrichness |
| spellingShingle | Sumera Aslam Muhammad Naeem Sabir Hussain Maryam Riasat Muhammad Ather Rafi Ahmed Zia Muhammad Khalid Rafique Nawaz Haider Bashir Huanhuan Chen Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of Pakistan Diversity biodiversity non-<i>Apis</i> bees Simpson’s index Shannon equitability index richness |
| title | Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of Pakistan |
| title_full | Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of Pakistan |
| title_fullStr | Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of Pakistan |
| title_short | Biodiversity of Non-<i>Apis</i> Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in the Potohar Region of Pakistan |
| title_sort | biodiversity of non i apis i bees hymenoptera apoidea in the potohar region of pakistan |
| topic | biodiversity non-<i>Apis</i> bees Simpson’s index Shannon equitability index richness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/1/4 |
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