Supplemental data for: Dominant wild pollinators of Moroccan crops are soil nesting and pollen generalist bees
Data files
Apr 01, 2026 version files 141.18 KB
Abstract
Crop pollination by animals is a crucial ecosystem service that enhances the yield and the quality of 75 % of major food crops worldwide. Wild bees play a significant role in this process as they are diverse and abundant visitors to crops and are known for their efficiency. However, in many parts of the world, including Morocco, there is no available commented list of wild bee species responsible for crop pollination.
Here, we investigated the presence of wild bees associated with agricultural landscapes and described key trait characteristics of these bee species. Pollinator communities were sampled by sweep net and pan trapping across a total of 263 fields containing nine flowering main crops in 2018-2019. Key crop-pollinating species were identified as those species which made up 5% or more of the individuals visiting the flowers of each crop.
Out of the 359 pollinator species occurring in agroecosystems, 156 were crop-associated bee species and only 26 bee species were classified as key crop-pollinating species. The bee communities observed in the crops were predominantly composed of widespread, solitary, pollen generalist, ground-nesting bees with an extended flight season.
Our findings provide essential baseline data on crop pollinators which can contribute to the enhancement of the regional understanding of wild bee diversity and functional traits associated with crop pollination. Moreover, this information can facilitate the implementation of conservation strategies to improve wild-bee habitats within agricultural landscapes.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkmgj
Description of the data and file structure
The Supporting Information includes supplementary details on the study design, including the geographical framework, study sites, crop selection, and pollinator surveys (adapted from El Abdouni et al., 2022). It also presents the dominance of key crop-visiting bee species across different agroecosystems and crops, as well as the ratio of each species’ relative abundance on focal crops compared to their abundance outside the crops. Bees outside the crops include all individuals collected along transects on other flowering plants (crops and wild plants) as well as those captured using pan traps. In addition, it provides field occupancy values for each KCVBS recorded across the four studied regions.
Files and variables
File: Supporting_Information.pdf
Description:
Supplementary methods (from (El Abdouni et al., 2022)):
- Geographical Framework, Sites, and Crop Selection
- Surveys of Pollinator Communities
FAP (Farming with Alternative Pollinators): An agricultural management approach in which the main crop is planted in the central part of the field, while additional flowering plants (Marketable Habitat Enhancement Plants, MHEP) are planted at the field edges to enhance pollinator diversity and abundance.
Transect walks are a standardized method for surveying pollinator communities, in which observers systematically walk along fixed paths (transects) within a field or orchard and record all insects visiting flowers within a defined distance and time period. This method allows for the assessment of pollinator abundance, diversity, and flower visitation patterns across different crops and management practices.
Trapping with colored pan traps is a complementary sampling method in which shallow colored bowls (typically yellow, white, and blue) are filled with soapy water and placed in the field to passively capture visiting insects, including bees. This method helps to sample species that may be underrepresented in transect walks, although it may favour certain bee groups (e.g., small ground-nesting species) and can influence the taxonomic representation of the collected dataset.
Supplimentary tables:
- Table S1. The dominance of key crop-pollinating bee species by each agroecosystem (crops in each region).
Total number of bees: The total number of individual bees recorded in each crop in each region.
Number of main crop pollinators: Total number of bees visiting the flowers of the main crop per orchard and region.
Dominance: Proportion of individual bees observed visiting the flowers of the studied crops relative to the total number of bees recorded in a given orchard and region.
Mean dominance: The average dominance of bees observed visiting the flowers of the studied crops.
S.E. : Standard error of the mean dominance.
- Table S 2: Ratio between the relative abundance of key crop-pollinating bee species on the crop and their relative abundance outside the crop (%). Bees outside the crop means all bees collected by transects on other plants (crops and wildflowers) and by pan traps.
Key crop-pollinating bee species (KCBS) : including dominant bee species observed visiting the flowers of the studied crops. To identify the KCPBS, we considered only individuals collected from crop flowers during the flowering period. Following Kleijn et al. (2015), we defined KCPBS as the most abundant species, representing ≥ 5% of the total abundance of individuals collected per crop in each region (Figure 2). This threshold ensures that only the most frequent visitors are included, thereby reducing the influence of rare or accidental species (MacLeod et al., 2020; Vázquez et al., 2005).
Relative abundance of KCBS outside the crop: Proportion of key crop-pollinating bee species collected on flowers other than the studied crop and by pan traps.
Relative abundance of KCBS on the crop: Proportion of key crop-pollinating bee species visiting the flowers of the main crop (studied crops).
Ratio: Relative abundance of a key crop-pollinating bee species on the studied crop divided by its relative abundance outside the crop.
File: Data_Dominant_wild_pollinators_of_Moroccan_crops_are_soil_nesting_and_pollen_generalist_bees.xlsx
Description:
OCC (Occurrence) : Indicates the frequency of a species, it typically reflects how often a species was recorded across sampling
DOM (Dominance) : Represents the relative abundance of a species compared to the total community.