Recent scientific research by Flinders University has led to the discovery of eight new species of bees in the Pacific Ocean and provided new insights into the behavior of birds in Fiji on the island of Viti Levu.

Funded through field research supported by the Australian Government’s New Mobility Plan Program in Colombo, the research highlights the potential for species discovery, ecological and conservation knowledge and cultural engagement in Asia-Pacific research collaborations.

Over the last 10 years, Australian Government-funded Flinders University tours has worked closely with the University of the South Pacific, government agencies and other researchers to support important environmental and conservation work in Fiji. Flinders PhDs Dr James Dorey and Dr Ben Parslow joined researchers from Fiji, Hawaii and Australia to study an entirely new group of bees in the forest canopy.

Discovery of new bee species

Australian bee expert Dr., who is now a lecturer at the University of Wollongong. “Our research has uncovered an additional group of endemic bees that remain ‘hidden’ in the forest canopy in Fiji despite years of searching and sampling,” says Dorey.

“Thanks to our local collaboration, we also know that these bees are common in the Pacific.

“Fortunately, this also solves the ‘Michener mystery’ of how these tiny (3-5 mm) fragments came to be. Hylaeus “They gradually separated from their closest relatives, 4,000 km to the north in Hawaii and 6,000 km to the west in Australia, and reached French Polynesia.”

Found foraging in trees, the six Fijian species are only the second native species in the archipelago. The fact that one of these is found in French Polynesia (“bee flights over 3,000 km”) and the other in Micronesia further emphasizes the value of forests for pollinators and the potential for many other species to be found in the Pacific.

“Unlike super generalist bees homalictus Fijians who lived in Fiji and probably benefited from ancient human cleansing Hylaeus are likely highly vulnerable to anthropogenic clearing and may be critical pollinators of forest habitats,” says Dr Dory.

Protection data from long-term studies

Co-author Dr D., a taxonomist at the South Australian Museum. Parslow says the study highlights the benefits of long sampling records for understanding the diversity and conservation measures needed for bees and other pollinators, especially for land managers and ecologists.

The study cites the pioneering work of American entomologist Charles Michener, who wrote the seminal paper ““Bees of the world” including a 2007 study of the social evolution of the bee family Halictidae in the 1960s.

In another study, researchers from Flinders University and the University of South Australia (UniSA) worked with researchers from the University of the South Pacific (USP) to learn more about native forest birds in Fiji.

USP Dr. Alivereti Naikatini, together with Flinders Professor Sonia Kleindorfer (now at the University of Vienna) and UniSA Associate Professor Gunnar Keppel, recently published a paper on insect foraging and territory defense in forest birds of Fiji, focusing on human impacts and other threats. for their survival.

Common bird species Silvereye, Fijian White-eye, Wanikoro Flycatcher and Slate Monarch were studied in community-managed national parks on the island of Viti Levu for three years from 2017 to 2019. Professor Flinders Kleindorfer says such information could be useful for shelter planning and habitat protection in the face of climate change or future human activities.