This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: While extreme weather and habitat changes can spell doom for many native animals, including insects, a different picture has emerged from a new study led by Flinders University. Long-running investigations into Fiji's native bee populations indicate several species of lowland sweat bees (genus Lasioglossum) have evolved and used their individual traits to resist human-driven environmental changes, allowing them to survive and thrive.
"Our research suggests that all populations of the Fijian bees we sampled on the main island of Viti Levu have undergone recent population expansions, independent of climate change trends across the Pacific region," says PhD researcher Patricia Slattery, from the Behavior and Ecology of Terrestrial Anthropods (BETA) Lab at Flinders University. She is the first author of a new study published in the Journal of Biogeography. "These findings are consistent with other studies finding that forest clearing and introduced plant species—including invasive plants—can actually increase nesting opportunities for Fijian bees, especially at lower elevations.
"This contrasts with other evidence that human occupation of Fiji has led to decreased biodiversity, including in some ants and other bees, while raising the possibility that human-mediated ('anthropogenic') environmental changes can actually benefit some native tropical insect groups." These surprising results come at a time when endemic, montane (mountain slope-dwelling) tropical insects are recognized as some of the most vulnerable animals, and population declines have been recorded in many parts of the world. The study found that, since the first human settlement of Fiji about 3,000 years ago, these ground-nesting bees have capitalized on new ecological opportunities created by land clearing and exotic flowering plants. While more isolated highland species on Fiji's main island showed relatively stable numbers, lowland species had a strong recent upward trajectory.
However, researchers emphasize the study highlights an exception to the global trend of major losses of vital native pollinators in the face of environmental disruptions. Mike Schwarz says it appears the life history of these lowland native bees, in contrast to forest-specialist masked bees, for example, has allowed them to adapt much better to human-induced changes. "It is interesting to see how signals from ancient human arrivals have left their mark on the genetics of Fijian native bees," he adds.
Slattery et al, Anthropogenic Effects, Not Climatic Factors, Are Correlated With Holocene Population Expansion of an Insular Bee Fauna, Journal of Biogeography (2026). DOI: 10.1111/jbi.70341 Journal information: Journal of Biogeography BA art history, MA material culture. Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator.
Editing for Science X since 2021. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast.
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