Thermal sensitivity of major pollinators of mango: Dipterans score high in climate resilience

Abstract

Pollination is an essential ecosystem service and climate change is a potential threat to the mutualistic interactions between plants and their pollinators. Field studies were conducted at ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru during 2015- 20 to study the effect of temperature on foraging activity of major pollinator species of a mango (Mangifera indica L.). The activity of wild honey bee, Apis florea (Fab.) was negatively correlated with temperature beyond 32oC. while no decline was observed in case of Dipteran pollinator, Chrysomya megacephala (Fab.). The thermal breadth index was calculated based on density of four pollinator species foraging at different sets of prevailing temperature in the field. Species showed wide variability in their adaptability to temperature. Dipteran pollinators including C. megacephala, Eristalinus arvorum and Stomorhina discolor with higher thermal breadth index were relatively more adaptive to
elevated temperature. Hence conservation of these native species is essential for climate change resilient strategies for enhancing mango production.