Bee pollination services and the burden of biogeography

Abstract

Native bees augment pollination services in the Northern Hemisphere, especially cultivated apple crops, yet Southern Hemisphere contexts are poorly known. We observed the foraging behaviour of 69 354 invertebrate flower visitors in Australian orchards (two regions, 3 years) to assess the efficacy of pollination service (Peff). Native stingless bees and introduced honey bees were the most abundant visitors and most efficacious pollinators (Tetragonula Peff= 6.16;Apis Peff= 13.02), withTetragonulabecoming important service providers above 22°C. However, visits by tree-nesting stingless bees decreased with distance from native forest (less than 200 m) and their tropical/subtropical distribution precludes pollination service in other major Australian apple-producing regions. More broadly distributed native allodapine and halictine bees transferred the most pollen per-visit, but their low abundances reduce efficacies (Exoneura Peff= 0.03;Lasioglossum Peff= 0.06), resulting in a general dependence on honey bees. This reliance is a burden of biogeography, since key Northern Hemisphere pollinators of apple (Andrena, Apis,Bombus,Osmia) do not naturally occur in Australasia—where there is only 15% generic overlap with Central Asian bees sympatric with wild apple distributions (cf. Palaearctic 66% and Nearctic 46% generic overlaps). The historical biogeography of bees therefore drives an extreme dependence on one introduced species for apple pollination in Australia.