Filogeografia e conservação de Melipona capixaba Moure e Camargo, 1994 e Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811, e biogeografia do gênero Melipona Illiger, 1806 (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

• Ano de defesa: 2012
• Autor(a) principal: Resende, Helder Canto
• Orientador(a): Campos, Lúcio Antonio de Oliveira
• Banca de defesa: Oliveira, Luiz Orlando de , Mendes, Sérgio Lucena , Almeida, Eduardo Andrade Botelho de
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Viçosa
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Doutorado em Genética e Melhoramento
• Departamento: Genética animal; Genética molecular e de microrganismos; Genética quantitativa; Genética vegetal; Me
• País: BR
• Palavras-chave em Português: Melipona; Abelha sem ferrão; Biogeografia; Filogeografia
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Melipona; Stingless bee; Biogeography; Filogeography
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::GENETICA::GENETICA ANIMAL
• Link de acesso: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/1350

The stingless bee Melipona capixaba Moure and Camargo, 1994, the "uruçu-capixaba" is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and is threatened with extinction. Their geographical distribution is known only in high altitude areas of the state of Espirito Santo. Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811, the "uruçu-nordestina", has been considered as presumably threatened with extinction due to the reduction of its area of natural occurrence. The species occurs in the Atlantic Forest between the states of Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte. This study aimed to determine the geographic area of occurrence of the species M. capixaba, infer the phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships between M. capixaba and M. scutellaris, study a case of hybridization between these bees and present a hypothesis about the biogeographic history of the genus Melipona Illiger, 1806 (Hymenoptera: Apidae). The results indicate that the species M. capixaba occurs only in the state of the Espírito Santo, Brazil at altitudes between 800 and 1200 meters, with average annual temperatures around 18-23º C, and vegetation type ombrophilous dense Atlantic Forest and open ambrophilous forest, restricted to an area of approximately 3,450 Km2, possibly the smallest known geographical distribution among the stingless bees. M. capixaba and M. scutellaris are sisters species as demonstrated by reconstructed phylogenetic trees based on nuclear and mitochondrial sequences. The current pattern of genetic diversity of these species must be explained by historical vicariance events in the Atlantic Florest. The hybridization between these bees was confirmed and the results show that male M. scutellaris are able to fertilize the queens of M. capixaba, creating fertile hybrids. Therefore, we must prevent the introduction of colonies of M. scutellaris in the area of occurrence of threatened species M. capixaba. The biogeographic history of the genus Melipona be explained by historical processes of expansion and vicariance of the Miocene and Pliocene, to more recent cases of vicariance in the Pleistocene, in different environments of South America and Central America. Thus, the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships among species of the genus Melipona study offers interesting perspective for understanding the biogeographic history Neotropical.