Drivers of diversity and community structure of bees in an agroecological region of Zimbabwe

Worldwide bees provide an important ecosystem service of plant pollination. Climate change and land-use changes are among drivers threatening bee survival with mounting evidence of species decline and extinction. In developing countries, rural areas constitute a significant proportion of the country’s land but information is lacking on how different habitat types and weather patterns in these areas influence bee populations.

This study investigated how weather variables and habitat-related factors influence the abundance, diversity, and distribution of bees across seasons in a farming rural area of Zimbabwe. Bees were systematically sampled in five habitat types (natural woodlots, pastures, homesteads, fields, and gardens) recording ground cover, grass height, flower abundance, and types, tree abundance and recorded elevation, temperature, light intensity, wind speed, wind direction, and humidity. Zero-inflated models, censored regression models, and PCAs were used to understand the ...