@article{KaluzaWallaceKelleretal.2017,
  author    = {Kaluza, Benjamin F. and Wallace, Helen and Keller, Alexander and Heard, Tim A. and Jeffers, Bradley and Drescher, Nora and Bl{\"u}thgen, Nico and Leonhardt, Sara D.},
  title     = {Generalist social bees maximize diversity intake in plant species-rich and resource-abundant environments},
  series = {Ecosphere},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Ecosphere},
  number    = {3},
  doi       = {10.1002/ecs2.1758},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-171155},
  pages     = {e01758},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Numerous studies revealed a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, suggesting that biodiverse environments may not only enhance ecosystem processes, but also benefit individual ecosystem members by, for example, providing a higher diversity of resources. Whether and how the number of available resources affects resource collection and subsequently consumers (e.g., through impacting functions associated with resources) have, however, been little investigated, although a better understanding of this relationship may help explain why the abundance and richness of many animal species typically decline with decreasing plant (resource) diversity. Using a social bee species as model (Tetragonula carbonaria), we investigated how plant species richness—recorded for study sites located in different habitats—and associated resource abundance affected the diversity and functionality (here defined as nutritional content and antimicrobial activity) of resources (i.e., pollen, nectar, and resin) collected by a generalist herbivorous consumer. The diversity of both pollen and resin collected strongly increased with increasing plant/tree species richness, while resource abundance was only positively correlated with resin diversity. These findings suggest that bees maximize resource diversity intake in (resource) diverse habitats. Collecting more diverse resources did, however, not increase their functionality, which appeared to be primarily driven by the surrounding (plant) source community in our study. In generalist herbivores, maximizing resource diversity intake may therefore primarily secure collection of sufficient amounts of resources across the entire foraging season, but it also ensures that the allocated resources meet all functional needs. Decreasing available resource diversity may thus impact consumers primarily by reduced resource abundance, but also by reduced resource functionality, particularly when resources of high functionality (e.g., from specific plant species) become scarce.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LeonhardtSchmittBluethgen2011,
  author    = {Leonhardt, Sara D. and Schmitt, Thomas and Bl{\"u}thgen, Nico},
  title     = {Tree Resin Composition, Collection Behavior and Selective Filters Shape Chemical Profiles of Tropical Bees (Apidae: Meliponini)},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69035},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {The diversity of species is striking, but can be far exceeded by the chemical diversity of compounds collected, produced or used by them. Here, we relate the specificity of plant-consumer interactions to chemical diversity applying a comparative network analysis to both levels. Chemical diversity was explored for interactions between tropical stingless bees and plant resins, which bees collect for nest construction and to deter predators and microbes. Resins also function as an environmental source for terpenes that serve as appeasement allomones and protection against predators when accumulated on the bees' body surfaces. To unravel the origin of the bees' complex chemical profiles, we investigated resin collection and the processing of resin-derived terpenes. We therefore analyzed chemical networks of tree resins, foraging networks of resin collecting bees, and their acquired chemical networks. We revealed that 113 terpenes in nests of six bee species and 83 on their body surfaces comprised a subset of the 1,117 compounds found in resins from seven tree species. Sesquiterpenes were the most variable class of terpenes. Albeit widely present in tree resins, they were only found on the body surface of some species, but entirely lacking in others. Moreover, whereas the nest profile of Tetragonula melanocephala contained sesquiterpenes, its surface profile did not. Stingless bees showed a generalized collecting behavior among resin sources, and only a hitherto undescribed species-specific ''filtering'' of resin-derived terpenes can explain the variation in chemical profiles of nests and body surfaces fromdifferent species. The tight relationship between bees and tree resins of a large variety of species elucidates why the bees' surfaces contain a much higher chemodiversity than other hymenopterans.},
  subject      = {Stachellose Biene},
  language  = {en}
}