Description
Azorean biodiversity has become relatively well understood thanks to significant scientific contributions over the past three decades. This research has produced a comprehensive arthropod species checklist for the archipelago, greatly advancing knowledge of species abundance, ecology, and distribution. It has also informed conservation management and research priorities. However, a key functional group—pollinators—remains poorly studied in the Azores. Little is known about their presence across various habitats and islands in the archipelago. Insect pollinators are essential for maintaining ecological balance and provide invaluable ecosystem services, making it crucial to gather basic data on their abundance, distribution, and ecology, as well as insights into the status of their populations. Such information is essential for ensuring the long-term sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. Additionally, island ecosystems are increasingly impacted by land use changes, climate change, and the introduction of alien species, highlighting an urgent need to assess how these pressures affect pollinators and the process of pollination across the Azores. Here, we present an inventory of pollinator species found across various habitat types on Terceira, covering a gradient of disturbance across 30 sites distributed throughout the island. We identified 2,549 pollinators representing 40 species, primarily from the Diptera and Hymenoptera orders, and recorded new information on species distribution and ecological associations. Many of the taxa are native, including three Azorean endemics, although 14 species are alien to the archipelago. Notably, our use of standardized sampling techniques enabled a comparative analysis of their effectiveness, and, more importantly, the data collected will aid in assessing the impacts of human activities on pollinator abundance and diversity, supporting informed habitat management decisions for pollinator conservation in the Azores.
Data Records
The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 137 records.
1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Boieiro M, Oliveira R, Costa R, Borges P A V (2024). Unveiling Azorean Pollinators: A Critical Step for Biodiversity and Conservation. Version 1.0. Universidade dos Açores. Samplingevent dataset. http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=pollinators_terceira&v=1.0
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Universidade dos Açores. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: db765f95-20f4-49ef-8fe4-b57228200a2e. Universidade dos Açores publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Portugal.
Keywords
Occurrence; alien species; flower visitors; island biodiversity; island endemics; generalist species; Macaronesia; pastures; Specimen
Contacts
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9087-091X
- Originator
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- Content Provider ●
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator ●
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Geographic Coverage
The study was carried out in Terceira (Azores Archipelago, Portugal)
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [38.613, -27.383], North East [38.814, -27.021] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
The study targeted the local flower visitors, specifically the insect groups often considered to be the most important pollinators, like bees, bumblebees, ants and wasps (Hymenoptera), butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and larger-size flies (Diptera). Other arthropod groups are also included as bycatch.
| Phylum | Arthropoda (artropods) |
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| Order | Hymenoptera (bees, bumblebees, ants and wasps), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (flies) |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 2023-07-26 / 2023-09-07 |
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Project Data
Here, we present an inventory of pollinator species found across various habitat types on Terceira, covering a gradient of disturbance across 30 sites distributed throughout the island. We identified 2,549 pollinators representing 40 species, primarily from the Diptera and Hymenoptera orders, and recorded new information on species distribution and ecological associations. Many of the taxa are native, including three Azorean endemics, although 14 species are alien to the archipelago. Notably, our use of standardized sampling techniques enabled a comparative analysis of their effectiveness, and, more importantly, the data collected will aid in assessing the impacts of human activities on pollinator abundance and diversity, supporting informed habitat management decisions for pollinator conservation in the Azores
| Title | Pollinator abundance and diversity in different habitat-types of Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal) |
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| Identifier | POLLINET_TERCEIRA |
| Funding | Main funding for research and fieldwork was obtained from FCT-UIDB/00329/2020-2024 DOI 10.54499/UIDB/00329/2020 (Thematic Line 1 – integrated ecological assessment of environmental change on biodiversity) and Azores DRCT Pluriannual Funding (M1.1.A/FUNC.UI&D/010/2021-2024). Data curation and open access of this manuscript were supported by the project: FCT-UIDB/00329/2020-2024 DOI 10.54499/UIDB/00329/2020. |
| Study Area Description | The study was carried out in Terceira (Azores Archipelago, Portugal) and covered three different habitat-types of this island (intensive pastures, semi-natural pastures and naturalized vegetation). The different habitat-types correspond to a gradient of human disturbance from intensive pastures (most disturbed) to naturalized vegetation (less disturbed). Thirty sampling sites (10 per habitat-type) were selected throughout the island to sample the pollinators. |
| Design Description | In this study, we employed three sampling techniques: observing pollinators along 50-meter linear transects, pan trapping, and vegetation sweeping. Sampling was conducted across the 30 study sites on sunny or partly cloudy days, with no rain and minimal wind, as these conditions are optimal for observing pollinators. |
The personnel involved in the project:
- Author
- Author
- Author
- Author
Sampling Methods
Transect sampling was conducted along 50-meter linear transects, 2 meters wide (100 m² per site), between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Each transect was walked at a consistent pace, and pollinators found on flowers or in flight were identified on the spot whenever possible. If identification to species level was not feasible in the field, specimens were captured for taxonomic confirmation in the laboratory. Pan trapping involved placing two sets of traps at each site, approximately 50 meters apart—one at the start and the other at the end of each transect. Pan traps, designed to attract and capture pollinators, are colored to appeal to different groups and were active during peak insect activity. Each set consisted of three plastic containers (11 cm in diameter) in blue, white, and yellow to optimize capture diversity. Traps were filled with water mixed with a few drops of detergent and positioned at the average flower height at each site. They remained in place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., after which insects were collected and transported to the laboratory. Vegetation sweeping was conducted along the same 50-meter transects using a 36 cm diameter entomological net, allowing for the collection of cryptic pollinator species. This technique was applied at all transect sampling sites. Collected insects were placed in vials containing 96% ethanol for later identification in the laboratory
| Study Extent | The study was carried out in Terceira (Azores Archipelago, Portugal) and covered three different habitat-types of this island (intensive pastures, semi-natural pastures and naturalized vegetation). The different habitat-types correspond to a gradient of human disturbance from intensive pastures (most disturbed) to naturalized vegetation (less disturbed). Thirty sampling sites (10 per habitat-type) were selected throughout the island to sample the pollinators |
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| Quality Control | During transect sampling many individuals (e.g. butterflies and hoverflies) were identified to species level on the spot due to their characteristic morphological features. However, most individuals were collected with the help of an entomological net, labelled and stored in vials with ethanol (96%). |
Method step description:
- The samples with specimens collected in pan traps and captured by sweeping were labelled, stored in vials with ethanol and transported to the laboratory. In the laboratory, the specimens of the target groups were sorted and identified to species level with the help of a stereomicroscope (Leica S9i) and using specific literature.
Collection Data
| Collection Name | Entomoteca Dalberto Teixeira Pombo (DTP) |
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| Collection Identifier | DTP |
| Specimen preservation methods | Alcohol, Dried |
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Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | http://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=pollinators_terceira |
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