Distributional analysis of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana (Apidae: Meliponini) in Mexico: Baseline information for Veracruz

Abstract

Objective: To obtain the specific geographic distribution based on the stingless bee Scaptotrigonna mexicana in Mexico and the state of Veracruz.

Design/methodology/approach: 2202 coordinates of the Gbif database were filtered using a spocc database manager in the programming language R. Subsequently, 55 coordinates were obtained with which multiple models of maximum entropy were calibrated with nine predictive environmental variables of 19 initials in MaxEnt 3.3 .3 in ENMeval. The best performing model (AUC> 0.897 and AICc = 0) was reclassified into 5 categories of climatic suitability with the k-means clustering technique.

Results: The specific geographic distribution pattern was obtained based on the climatic suitability of S. mexicana in Mexico and Veracruz, which was classified into five categories: very low or zero, low, medium, high and very high. Here we show two large zones of climatic suitability in Mexico for S. mexicana, which could be divided by the geographical barrier of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the first zone is located in the Sierra Norte de Puebla and Veracruz influenced by the Transversal Mountain System and the Sierra Madre Oriental and the second in the south of the country in the South Pacific Coast, Chiapas and Guatemala. The variables that determine this pattern is the seasonality of temperature and precipitation in the wettest and driest quarter. In Veracruz, 52 municipalities were divided into two large groups with potential for the exploitation and conservation of S. mexicana, the first in the North zone and the second in the Central Zone of the state.

Findings/conclusions: The incorporation of environmental variables of greater spatial and temporal resolution is necessary to extend the accuracy of the pollination pattern of S. mexicana at local scales.