Pollinators and floral visitors of the Espinhaço range: the state of art

Abstract

Pollination studies are fundamental to understand the evolution and maintenance of biodiversity, due to its implications in the reproduction of angiosperms, natural communities maintenance and food production. The Cadeia do Espinhaço Mountain Range, which extends from the south of Minas Gerais to the center/north of Bahia, is a region of importance recognized for its fauna and flora, with high levels of endemism. Despite this, the Cadeia do Espinhaço Range suffers various anthropogenic pressures that endanger its biodiversity, ecological interactions and, consequently, ecosystem services, such as pollination. Aiming to quantify the current status of knowledge about plant-pollinator interactions in the Cadeia do Espinhaço region, a bibliographical research was carried out, raising the studies of floral visitation and pollination developed along this mountain chain. A total of 52 studies, carried out between 1975 and 2016, were found. From these 52 studies, 27 studies were carried out in the Southern portion of Cadeia do Espinhaço, 27 in the Northern portion and three in which it was not possible to determine the location. The data are polarized to the south and north of Cadeia do Espinhaço and the central region represents a great gap of knowledge. This polarization can be related to several factors such as accessibility and the presence of educational institutions and research programs in the areas. The group of bees showed the highest number of studies (44%), followed by hummingbirds (17%). Beyond its natural prevalence, the frequency of studies with bees and hummingbirds may be associated with the objectives of particular research groups recording pollination data in the region. From the 50 families with data of floral visitation, 16% are Fabaceae and 10.5% Asteraceae. These two plant families are indeed highly diverse in the area. In addition, the number of studies per family is not proportional to the number of species per family in the Minas Gerais and Bahia highland rocky fields. Finally, there is a clear need for further studies in the area for a better understanding of local interactions and support for development of biodiversity conservation measures.