Pollinators are threatened worldwide and strategies and measures to support their conservation are proliferating. Among them, the approach “Farming with Alternative Pollinators” (FAP) aims to support pollinators by seeding strips of pollinator-attracting cultivated plants surrounding the crops, and simultaneously providing income to the farmer. In this study we assessed whether this approach supports pollinator diversity in agro-ecosystems and increases flower visitor diversity and abundance in faba bean fields in north-west Morocco. We tested the impact of FAP using a variety of marketable habitat enhancement plants (MHEP): flax, coriander, arugula, chia and canola. A total of 62 pollinator species were recorded, among which almost half of them are new records for the region. Most wild pollinators recorded in faba bean were digger bees (genus Anthophora) and long-horn bees (genus Eucera). MHEP shared diverse flower visitors with faba bean and hosted diverse pollinator groups that did not meet their food requirements from the main crop. The FAP approach highly increased flower visitor abundance and diversity in the whole FAP fields, however it did not generate significant pollinator spillover towards the main crop. Implications for insect conservation: our results show that the FAP approach is an effective approach to mitigate pollinator decline in agro-ecosystems.

Morocco is a well known hot-spot of biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin. While some taxa like vascular plants are relatively well recorded, important groups of pollinators like bees are still understudied. This article presents an updated checklist of the bee species of Morocco and includes a summary of global and regional distribution of each species. A total of 961 species belonging to six bee families and 68 genera are recorded: Andrenidae (8 genera, 217 species); Apidae (15 genera, 241 species); Colletidae (2 genera, 74 species), Halictidae (12 genera, 144 species), Megachilidae (28 genera, 271 species) and Melittidae (3 genera, 14 species). Among them, 67 species are recorded for the first time in Morocco. Around 70% of the bee fauna of Morocco consists of widespread Palaearctic species. Only 18% of Moroccan species recorded are restricted to North Africa and 8% are Moroccan single-country endemics (81 species). Afrotropical elements in the Moroccan fauna are few, with only 3% of Morocco species co-occuring in that region. This checklist is intended to stimulate new regional research on bees including their taxonomy and biogeography. As many groups of bees have been understudied, discovery of new species for science and new records for the country can be expected. Additional research including inventorying, monitoring, and integrative taxonomic studies are needed to develop a comprehensive strategy for bee conservation in Morocco.

Pollinators are facing declines at a global level. One of the main factors driving this decline is insufficient access to floral resources due to habitat loss and degradation that can affect both diet generalist species as well as those with more restricted floral preferences. Here we evaluated the effect of a novel mitigation strategy in agricultural ecosystems, Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP) on the pollen diet of crop pollinators. The approach dedicates 25% of the cropped area to Marketable Habitat Enhancement Plants (MHEP) that attract pollinators, natural enemies of the crops, and provide farmers with income. We assessed the effect of the approach on pollen diet of faba bean (Vicia faba) and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) flower visitors in four different regions in Morocco during 2018 and 2019 by comparing control fields (monoculture) and FAP fields in 13 trials and 101 sites. Results from 25 wild bee species show that almost two-thirds of the species carrying or collecting pollen when visiting pumpkin flowers and half of the species carrying or collecting pollen when visiting faba bean flowers gathered this pollen from two or more host plants (i.e., MHEP, main crop, and/or wild plants) and displayed a wide dietary breadth. Pollen grains from the main crops were poorly represented on the female scopae, indicating that crops were mainly visited for nectar. Hence, crop flower visitors may require alternative pollen sources to meet their nutritional needs. The number of pollen genera collected by flower visitors and the dietary breadth of crop flower visitors did not show a significant increase in response to FAP management. Among the selected MHEP, sunflower (Helianthus annuus) was the pollen resource for pumpkin flower visitors. In faba bean, flower visitors collected pollen from coriander (Coriandrum sativum) and canola (Brassica napus). Our study sheds light on the importance of characterizing the pollen diet and the foraging behavior of crop pollinators to identify appropriate plant species that complement their food, maintain and conserve their populations.

Agroecosystems are often impoverished ecosystems, but they can host diverse communities of insects which provide ecosystem services. Specifically, crops may benefit from insect pollinators that increase their quantity and quality of yields. Basic knowledge is still needed regarding the identity, diversity, abundance, and ecology of insect pollinators in many parts of the world, especially in low and middle-income countries. In this study we investigate the potential of agroecosystems and crops in Morocco to host a high diversity of insect pollinators. We sampled insects in four eco-climatic regions encompassing a total of 22 crops for 2 years (2018–2019). After describing the general pattern of diversity and abundance of insect pollinators, we focused our comparative analyses on bees as they are known to be the most efficient and abundant group of insect pollinators. We recorded a total of 53,361 insect pollinators in all agroecosystems among which 37,091 were visiting crop flowers. Bees were by far the most abundant group visiting crops. Honeybees represented 49% of crop visitors followed by wild bees representing 33% of relative abundance. Three genera (Lasioglossum, Andrena, and Xylocopa) represented 53% of the total abundance of wild bees visiting crops. We identified a total of 213 species visiting crops (22% of national wild bee species richness). A comparison of the abundance, species richness, and community composition of wild bees visiting the same crops showed significant inter-regional differences for zucchini, faba bean, and eggplant. This study highlights the high diversity of pollinators in Moroccan agroecosystems and represents an important step toward exploring the Moroccan pollinator fauna. It provides basic information for future studies on pollinator conservation and pollination services.

No abstract