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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 30(6)

Corymbia calophylla (Marri) (K. D. Hill & L. A. S. Johnson) (Myrtaceae) is a major resource for native bees in the southwest western Australian biodiversity hotspot

Kit S. Prendergast https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1164-6099 A B * and Nicole Willers C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6845, Austraila.

B Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, 487-535 West Street, Darling Heights, Qld 4350, Australia.

C Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Bentley, WA 6983, Australia.

* Correspondence to: kitprendergast21@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Mike Calver

Pacific Conservation Biology 30, PC24054 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC24054
Submitted: 25 July 2024  Accepted: 7 October 2024  Published: 24 October 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

A theoretical paradigm proposes that certain species can serve as ‘keystone species’ or ‘magnets’, being particularly important for biodiversity.

Aims

We present evidence that in the context of supporting Indigenous native bees, this is indeed the case for the tree Corymbia calophylla (Marri), a Myrtaceae endemic to southwest Western Australia.

Methods

To assess the role of C. calophylla as a resource for native bees, we collated the number of species recorded from surveys across 16 sites, and specimens lodged in the WA Museum. Its capacity to support wild bees was assessed from abundance of bees visiting this species (total and relative to other plants visited) from 24 sites.

Key results

Corymbia calophylla was visited by 81 species of native bees, and is often the main, or only, plant species visited. It blooms at a crucial time when most species have finished flowering at the end of summer.

Conclusions

We argue that C. calophylla represents a crucial landscape resource for native bees.

Implications

Protection and management of C. calophylla is likely to be important for preservation of native bee biodiversity.

Keywords: Australian native bees, bees, biodiversity, landscape resource, Marri, Myrtaceae, plant–pollinator interactions, pollinators.

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