Rapid biodiversity assessment using geometric morphometry: Study case with stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) from southern Ecuador

Abstract

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are one of the most diverse and abundant group of pollinators in the Neotropics, playing a fundamental role in tropical ecosystems. The biodiversity of the group is high in certain regions, such as the tropical Andes. However, there is still uncertainty about the species richness of these bees in Ecuador. In this study, we analysed 118 specimens with landmark-based geometric morphometric methods, using 12 landmarks on the anterior wing venation. Our results show that landmarks position of the wing venation has a high power of resolution, resulting in a fast and cheap first approach to assess effectively the diversity of stingless bees from southern Ecuador.

Keywords

• Meliponini
• Apidae
• Hymenoptera
• abejas sin aguijón
• biodiversidad
• caracterización rápida
• puntos anatómicos
• morfometría geométrica
• venación alar