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Zapata-Hernández G, Gajardo-Rojas M, Calderón-Seguel M, Muñoz AA, Yáñez KP, Requier F, Fontúrbel FE, Ormeño-Arriagada PI, Arrieta H. Advances and knowledge gaps on climate change impacts on honey bees and beekeeping: A systematic review. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17219. [PMID: 38450832 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
The Western honey bee Apis mellifera is a managed species that provides diverse hive products and contributing to wild plant pollination, as well as being a critical component of crop pollination systems worldwide. High mortality rates have been reported in different continents attributed to different factors, including pesticides, pests, diseases, and lack of floral resources. Furthermore, climate change has been identified as a potential driver negatively impacting pollinators, but it is still unclear how it could affect honey bee populations. In this context, we carried out a systematic review to synthesize the effects of climate change on honey bees and beekeeping activities. A total of 90 articles were identified, providing insight into potential impacts (negative, neutral, and positive) on honey bees and beekeeping. Interest in climate change's impact on honey bees has increased in the last decade, with studies mainly focusing on honey bee individuals, using empirical and experimental approaches, and performed at short-spatial (<10 km) and temporal (<5 years) scales. Moreover, environmental analyses were mainly based on short-term data (weather) and concentrated on only a few countries. Environmental variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind were widely studied and had generalized negative effects on different biological and ecological aspects of honey bees. Food reserves, plant-pollinator networks, mortality, gene expression, and metabolism were negatively impacted. Knowledge gaps included a lack of studies at the apiary and beekeeper level, a limited number of predictive and perception studies, poor representation of large-spatial and mid-term scales, a lack of climate analysis, and a poor understanding of the potential impacts of pests and diseases. Finally, climate change's impacts on global beekeeping are still an emergent issue. This is mainly due to their diverse effects on honey bees and the potential necessity of implementing adaptation measures to sustain this activity under complex environmental scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Germán Zapata-Hernández
- Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Centro de Acción Climática, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Martina Gajardo-Rojas
- Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Centro de Acción Climática, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Matías Calderón-Seguel
- Departamento de Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Tarapacá, Iquique, Chile
| | - Ariel A Muñoz
- Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Centro de Acción Climática, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Centro de Ciencia del Clima y la Resiliencia, Santiago, Chile
| | - Karen P Yáñez
- Centro de Biotecnología Dr. Daniel Alkalay Lowitt, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Fabrice Requier
- CNRS, IRD, UMR Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Francisco E Fontúrbel
- Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Pablo I Ormeño-Arriagada
- Centro de Acción Climática, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Departamento de Informática, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Héctor Arrieta
- Centro de Acción Climática, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
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Ulgezen ZN, Van Langevelde F, van Dooremalen C. Stress-induced loss of social resilience in honeybee colonies and its implications on fitness. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232460. [PMID: 38196354 PMCID: PMC10777151 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Stressors may lead to a shift in the timing of life-history events of species, causing a mismatch with optimal environmental conditions, potentially reducing fitness. In honeybees, the timing of brood rearing and nest emergence in late winter/early spring is critical as colonies need to grow fast after winter to prepare for reproduction. However, the effects of stress on these life-history events in late winter/early spring and the possible consequences are not well understood. Therefore, we tested whether (i) honeybee colonies shift timing of brood rearing and nest emergence as response to stressors, and (ii) if there is a consequent loss of social resilience, reflected in colony fitness (survival, growth and reproduction). We monitored stressed (high load of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor or nutrition restricted) colonies and presumably non-stressed colonies from the beginning of 2020 till spring of 2021. We found that honeybee colonies do not shift the timing of brood rearing and nest emergence in spring as a coping mechanism to stressors. However, we show that there is loss of social resilience in stressed colonies, leading to reduced growth and reproduction. Our study contributes to better understanding the effects of stressors on social resilience in eusocial organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeynep N. Ulgezen
- Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frank Van Langevelde
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Coby van Dooremalen
- Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Norrström N, Niklasson M, Leidenberger S. Winter weight loss of different subspecies of honey bee Apis mellifera colonies (Linnaeus, 1758) in southwestern Sweden. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258398. [PMID: 34648553 PMCID: PMC8516218 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees are currently facing mounting pressures that have resulted in population declines in many parts of the world. In northern climates winter is a bottleneck for honey bees and a thorough understanding of the colonies’ ability to withstand the winter is needed in order to protect the bees from further decline. In this study the influence of weather variables on colony weight loss was studied over one winter (2019–2020) in two apiaries (32 colonies in total) in southwestern Sweden with weather stations recording wind and temperature at 5-min intervals. Three subspecies of honey bees and one hybrid were studied: the native Apis mellifera mellifera, the Italian A. m. ligustica, the Carniolan A. m. carnica and the hybrid Buckfast. Additionally, we recorded Varroa mite infestation. To analyze factors involved in resource consumption, three modelling approaches using weather and weight data were developed: the first links daily consumption rates with environmental variables, the second modelled the cumulative weight change over time, and the third estimated weight change over time taking light intensity and temperature into account. Weight losses were in general low (0.039 ± 0.013kg/day and colony) and comparable to southern locations, likely due to an exceptionally warm winter (average temperature 3.5°C). Weight losses differed only marginally between subspecies with indications that A. m. mellifera was having a more conservative resource consumption, but more studies are needed to confirm this. We did not find any effect of Varroa mite numbers on weight loss. Increased light intensity and temperature both triggered the resource consumption in honey bees. The temperature effect on resource consumption is in accordance with the metabolic theory of ecology. The consequences of these findings on honey bee survival under predicted climate changes, is still an open question that needs further analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niclas Norrström
- School of Bioscience, Department of Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden
| | - Mats Niklasson
- Stiftelsen Nordens Ark, Åby säteri, Hunnebostrand, Sweden
| | - Sonja Leidenberger
- School of Bioscience, Department of Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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