Population ecology and threats of bee species across vegetation types in Mgori Forest Reserve, Singida District, Tanzania

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMponzi, Alphoncina Ephraim
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-31T05:28:16Z
dc.date.available2024-07-31T05:28:16Z
dc.date.issued2024-05
dc.descriptionMSc Dissertation
dc.description.abstractBees are among pollinator groups of importance in promoting and maintaining biodiversity and food production through provision of pollination services. This makes identifying and monitoring communities of bee species, a crucial step in the process of conservation. Forest vegetation types are among determinant of bee species composition and diversity. With the continued loss of suitable habitats for bees, conservation of bee species should begin with information on their presence. Mgori forest reserve is surrounded by villages with farms planted with crops such as sunflower, which is pollinator dependent, hence they benefit from pollination services from bees inhabiting the forest. To ensure inclusive conservation for the survival of bee species this study aimed at determining the composition, diversity and threats of bee species in Mgori forest reserve, across the vegetation types namely open woodland, thickets and the mosaic of open woodland and thickets, which are found within the forest reserve. Systematic sampling was used in the study, whereby plots were established in the forest. To collect bees on each plot, pan traps and sweep nets were used.Threats to bees were also observed and recorded on each plot, thereafter plots with observed threats were characterised as disturbed plots and those with no observed threats were characterised as undisturbed sites. Additionally, coordinates and elevation point of the sites were also recorded. Bee species composition was the list of bees identified. Bee species richness and abundance were the number of species recorded and the number of individuals per species respectively. Shannon-Wiener diversity index was used to calculate the diversity of bees in the forest for disturbed and undisturbed sites. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare Richness and Abundance of bee species, across open woodland, thickets and the mosaic of thickets and open woodland and the Duncan post hoc was performed for both species richness and abundance. Detrended correspondence analysis was used to find the relationship between species composition and environmental variables and generalized linear mixed effect models were used to find the relationship between environmental conditions and bee species richness and abundance. All data was analysed through the R Software. Threats to bees were described and presented through graphs and tables using SPSS software. And then Chi-Square Test was used for comparison across studied sites to determine the variation of bee species richness and abundance between undisturbed and disturbed sites. A total of 508 bees were collected from the studies sites in Mgori forest reserve; the Dominant family was the Halictidae family, followed by the Apidae and Megachilidae was the least recorded family. Species composition significantly varied between thickets and open woodland types of vegetation, whereby open woodland had higher composition, richness and abundance than thickets. Environmental conditions were associated with species abundance but not richness; particularly elevation had a significant influence on species abundance. On the influence of threats on bee species, the human threats recorded were found to be consistent with resource needs in the forest. The threats recorded were debarking, grazing, trails, logging, fire scars and agricultural encroachment. The most consistent evidence was the presence of trails in the forest and grazing across all three vegetation types. The comparison of bee species richness, abundance and diversity showed that, there was significant difference in bees across the disturbed and undisturbed sites. Whereby bees were more present in undisturbed sites than disturbed sites. There was no difference in the calculated Shannon- Wienner diversity index and abundance of bees between the disturbed and undisturbed sites. The study has revealed the composition of bees in Mgori forest reserve, which can serve as information for future ecological study in the forest. It has also revealed human threats in the forest that hinder conservation in the forest, as well as influencing the presence of bees in the forest. Particularly their richness across space. In the management of the forest, it is important to consider thickets and open woodland vegetation types found within the forest, since they serve as separate supplementary habitats to these forest species. The apparent human threats in the forest threaten its conservation. As a result, there is a need for the forest patrons and the communities living adjacent to the forest, to work on improving the guarding and conservation of the forest. This is because of the benefits such as pollination services that can be obtained from Mgori forest.
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/6346
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSokoine University of Agriculture
dc.subjectPopulation Ecology
dc.subjectBee Species Across Vegetation Types
dc.subjectMgori Forest Reserve
dc.subjectSingida District
dc.subjectTanzania
dc.titlePopulation ecology and threats of bee species across vegetation types in Mgori Forest Reserve, Singida District, Tanzania
dc.typeArticle

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Alphoncina Mponzi.pdf
Size:
915.88 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
MSc Dissertation
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.75 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Theses and Dissertations Collection