DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.16782700
title: Forb-pollinator relationship in Nam Vien parks (Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam)

description: This data is part of a field experiment done in BIOL 3250 (Experimental Design) - a course of York University, Canada. Table 1 contains data set that was collected on a daily basis from 0800 to 1000 at three Canh Vien parks, Vietnam (see figure 1 below for satellite image and coordinates). Observing pollinators and their associated flowers lasted for a one week from September fourth to elenventh, 2021. Pilot experiments from 1400 to 1700 yield less pollinators with no new species. Pictures were taken using a digital camera and uploaded to Google camera, Seek and iNaturalist for species identification. There were four plant species in this dataset, with R. simplex being found at all studied park locations. However, there were only plant-pollinator interactions at the first and second park. This can be attributed to larger flowerbed patches in the first location. S. trilobata were located in two parks, with greater number of flowerbeds and pollinators in the first park. For I. coccinea, no pollinators were found at the second location. Despite having small area of flowerbeds, E. cordifolius has a robust interaction with multiple pollinators similar to R. simplex and S. trilobata. Regarding pollinators in this dataset, at least one person has co-identified each species included in the data, except for D. plumipes. Its morphology resembles species in the genus Dielis but no other species has been spotted in Southeast Asia. Top identifiers in iNaturalist has placed it in the subfamily Campsomerinae. At the time of which this dataset was published, three out of twelve species’ observations were deemed research-grade (V. affinis, A. dorsata and C. collaris) and thus further examinations is needed. Two species of scoliid wasps (figure 2a) were the most abundant and active pollinators, visiting flowers at all three locations under both high low sunlight conditions. They pollinate three out of five total of flowering species. Two out of three bee species pollinate more than one type of flowers (figure 2b), although M. lanata and A. florea can only be seen pollinating E. cordifolius and R. simplex once respectively; X. aestuans were rarely seen at all locations and it might pollinate two flower species by chance. Thus, more observations are needed for these two bee species. During pollination, C. collaris, D. plumipes and X. aestuans occasionally engaging in superficial pollination where they extract nectar at flower bases without carrying pollen (figure 3). V. affinis and Ropalidia spp. have high fidelity with I. coccinea. These pollinators were not found at the second I. coccinea location at the second park. Due to the lack of information, a species from the genus Ropalidia cannot be identified (figure 2c). Lucilia sericata and Luthrodes pandava can only be seen one occasion pollinating I. coccinea and S. trilobata respectively. Pollinators such as J. almanac, J. atlites and M. lanata were seen exclusively at the third park location (10°43'04.8"N 106°43'52.4"E). <br> There is a potential correlation between the number and total area of flowerbed at each park (table 2) with number of total visitations (table 1). The first park location have a significantly greater number of flowerbeds (subsequently, total area of flowerbed) and its total observed visitations were higher than the other parks combined. Regarding the third park location, despite having smaller flowerbeds, pollinator diversity from one flowerbed (E. cordifolius) of this park was greater than any flowerbed at the other two locations. <br>