Análise palinológica do pólen apícola produzido no estado de Sergipe, Brasil

Abstract

Bee pollen produced in the state of Sergipe, Brazil, was analyzed for two-year study (2011-2012), with a study of the municipalities producers and the focal study conducted in Brejo Grande, located in the coastal area of the State, in order to determine the main food sources visited by pollen sources Apis mellifera L. and establish associations between pollen spectrum and climatic variables (temperature and rainfall). The bee pollen was treated with acetolysis to study the pollen grains and at least 500 pollen grains per sample were counted in the quantification process. The Palynotheca of the LAMIV/UEFS, as well as specialized literature, were used for plant identification. Our results are presented in two chapters. The first chapter, conducted in 2011, presents a study in all municipalities producers based on an analysis of 12 bee pollen samples from the municipalities of Barra dos Coqueiros, Brejo Grande, Estância, and Pacatuba, in which 46 pollen types, distributed in 19 families, were identified. Fabaceae was the family with the greatest number of pollen types (19) and Mimosa (8), its most representative genus. Asteraceae, Anacardiaceae, Myrtaceae and Rubiaceae presented three pollen types each, and Lamiaceae two. The other families (13) had only one pollen type each. Eight pollen types were classified as very frequent (> 50%), but Cocos nucifera was present in 100% of the samples. It may be therefore concluded that Arecaceae (Cocos nucifera L.) and Fabaceae are the primary food pollen sources for Apis mellifera in Sergipe, followed by Asteraceae, Anacardiaceae, Rubiaceae, and Poaceae. The pollen spectrum showed that at least 29 genera of plants are contributors to the production of bee pollen in the State. The second chapter respect to the focal study, dealt with 24 bee pollen samples from Brejo Grande, collected from 2011 to 2012 analysis, where 56 pollen types from 23 families were found. Fabaceae was the family with the greatest diversity of pollen types (19), followed by Asteraceae (5), Myrtaceae and Rubiaceae (4), Anacardiaceae (3), Amaranthaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Solanaceae (2), with the others families (15) with one pollen type each. The pollen type Cocos nucifera was the most representative, found in 23 samples, followed by pollen type Myrcia, in 22 samples. Mimosa pollen was present in 100% of pollen samples from Brejo Grande. Several pollen types have been influenced by climatic factors, mainly rainfall showing greater oscillation compared to temperature. Based on both studies, we can state that the diversity of pollen types reflects the plant diversity in the State. Our results show that the main food sources for Apis mellifera in the state of Sergipe, Brazil, are Arecaceae and Fabaceae, followed by Anacardiaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Rubiaceae.