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Wu YM, Lu LL, Xie G, Ferguson DK, Guo HL, Wang YF, Li JF. Pollen identification of three notorious illicit drug plants and its potential applications in forensic practice. J Forensic Sci 2024; 69:1871-1879. [PMID: 38984820 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.15581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2024] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Opium poppy, coca and cannabis are raw materials for three notorious illicit drugs. For a long time, drug lords have been growing and smuggling these drugs in a variety of ways and channels and are continually finding new ways of trafficking their wares, which has led to the increasing difficulty of global drug enforcement. In the present paper, we propose an innovative pollen identification system for these important drug plants, which provides a tool for screening and detection of the drugs to aid in drug enforcement. By utilizing the characteristics of these fine particles, their abundant production, and high resistance to decay, we believe this tool could be applied in the following scenarios: detecting and dynamically monitoring drug cultivation activities; determining whether a suspect has been to fields of drug plants and determining whether the site has ever been planted with a drug plant and/or was involved in drug production. In the future, combined with microscope automatic image acquisition technology and intelligent image recognition technology, this pollen identification system is expected to be used to screen three notorious illicit drug plants, thus enhancing the efficiency of drug related crime investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ming Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li-Li Lu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Gan Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Big Data and AI Research Center of Biodiversity Conservation, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Hong-Ling Guo
- Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Public Security of China, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Fei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Feng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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2
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Baez-Gonzalez AD, Royo-Marquez MH, Perez-Quintana CA, Hernández-Bernal AI, Melgoza-Castillo A, Titulaer M, Vega-Mares JH. Influence of Distance, Environmental Factors, and Native Vegetation on Honeybee ( Apis mellifera) Foraging in Arid Shrublands and Grasslands. INSECTS 2024; 15:543. [PMID: 39057275 PMCID: PMC11277502 DOI: 10.3390/insects15070543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Revised: 07/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
This study determined the influence of foraging distance, environmental factors, and native vegetation on honeybee (Apis mellifera) foraging in arid shrublands and grasslands in Northern Mexico. Apiary distance from inflorescence sites did not have a significant influence on the intensity of foraging. Apiary location and landscape were decisive factors in the response of honeybees to environmental factors. Air temperature, minimum temperature, wind velocity, and relative humidity explained foraging by 87, 80, 68, and 41% (R2), respectively, in shrubland sites in open landscapes but had no significant influence on foraging in the grassland sites in a valley surrounded by hills (1820-2020 amsl). Nights with a minimum temperature of <20 °C increased foraging activity during the day. Minimum temperature, which has the least correlative influence among climate elements, can be used to determine climate change's impact on bees. The quantity of available inflorescence explained the foraging intensity by 78% in shrublands and 84% in grasslands. Moreover, when honeybees depended mainly on native vegetation in grasslands, the quantity of inflorescence explained the intensity of foraging by 95%. High intensity of honeybee foraging was observed in allthorn (Koeberlinia spinosa) and wait-a-minute bush (Mimosa aculeaticarpa) in shrublands and honey mesquite (Neltuma glandulosa) and wait-a-minute bush (Mimosa aculeaticarpa) in grasslands. The findings and baseline data contributed by this study may be used to identify suitable environments for increasing apiary productivity and other agricultural and ecological benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alma Delia Baez-Gonzalez
- Campo Experimental Pabellon, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Km 32.5 Carr. Aguascalientes-Zacatecas, Pabellon de Arteaga 20660, Aguascalientes, Mexico
| | - Mario Humberto Royo-Marquez
- Campo Experimental La Campana, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Km 33.5 Carr. Chihuahua-Ojinaga, Cd. Aldama 32910, Chihuahua, Mexico
| | - Carlos Alejandro Perez-Quintana
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecologia, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Perif. Francisco. R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua 33820, Chihuahua, Mexico
| | - Adrián Isaac Hernández-Bernal
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecologia, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Perif. Francisco. R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua 33820, Chihuahua, Mexico
| | - Alicia Melgoza-Castillo
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecologia, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Perif. Francisco. R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua 33820, Chihuahua, Mexico
| | - Mieke Titulaer
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecologia, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Perif. Francisco. R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua 33820, Chihuahua, Mexico
| | - Jose Humberto Vega-Mares
- Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecologia, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Perif. Francisco. R. Almada Km 1, Chihuahua 33820, Chihuahua, Mexico
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3
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Varga T, Sajtos Z, Baranyai E, Lisztes-Szabó Z, Ragyák Á, Molnár M, Jull AJT, Szabó S, Kosdi KH, Futó I, Kaste JM. Isotopic study of honey documents widespread plant uptake of old carbon in North America. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 947:174691. [PMID: 38992383 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of carbon cycling pathways in the soil-plant system is needed to develop models that accurately predict global carbon reservoir responses to anthropogenic perturbations. Honey is a carbon-rich natural food produced by wild and managed pollinating insects all over the world; the composition of a single sample is a function of millions of pollinator-plant interactions. We studied the 13C/12C and Δ14C of 121 honey samples sourced from the United States, and found a significant older carbon contribution. The effect is observed from 25 to 45° latitude, not correlated with 13C/12C, and consistent with a previously published study on European honeys. In specific cases, the measured values were up to 20 ‰ (Δ14C) higher than the expected atmospheric 14CO2 value for the given year, which shows a significant older carbon contribution. We hypothesize that the older carbon is from plant liquids derived in part from soil carbon or stored nonstructural carbohydrates from plants, which shifts the calibrated age of the sample by 5 years or more. Our work is the first to describe the widespread occurrence of older carbon in honey and shows that radiocarbon measurements can be a powerful tool to trace carbon allocations in terrestrial food webs and detect the atmosphere-soil-plant carbon cycle contributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamás Varga
- International Radiocarbon AMS Competence and Training (INTERACT) Center, HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research, H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary; Isotoptech Ltd., H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary.
| | - Zsófi Sajtos
- Atomic Spectroscopy Partner Laboratory, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Edina Baranyai
- Atomic Spectroscopy Partner Laboratory, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zsuzsa Lisztes-Szabó
- International Radiocarbon AMS Competence and Training (INTERACT) Center, HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research, H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary; Department of Botany, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen 4032, Hungary
| | - Ágota Ragyák
- Atomic Spectroscopy Partner Laboratory, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary; University of Debrecen, Doctoral School of Chemistry, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Mihály Molnár
- International Radiocarbon AMS Competence and Training (INTERACT) Center, HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research, H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - A J Timothy Jull
- International Radiocarbon AMS Competence and Training (INTERACT) Center, HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research, H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary; Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; University of Arizona, AMS Laboratory, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Szilárd Szabó
- Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Krisztina Hajduné Kosdi
- International Radiocarbon AMS Competence and Training (INTERACT) Center, HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research, H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Futó
- International Radiocarbon AMS Competence and Training (INTERACT) Center, HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research, H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary; Isotoptech Ltd., H-4026, Bem square 18/c, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - James M Kaste
- Geology Department, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
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A K BK, George EA, Brockmann A. Tropical and montane Apis cerana show distinct dance-distance calibration curves. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247510. [PMID: 38853597 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247510] [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: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Social bees have evolved sophisticated communication systems to recruit nestmates to newly found food sources. As foraging ranges can vary from a few hundred meters to several kilometers depending on the environment or season, populations of social bee species living in different climate zones likely show specific adaptations in their recruitment communication. Accordingly, studies in the western honey bee, Apis mellifera, demonstrated that temperate populations exhibit shallower dance-calibration curves compared with tropical populations. Here, we report the first comparison of calibration curves for three Indian Apis cerana lineages: the tropical Apis indica, and the two montane Himalayan populations Apis cerana cerana (Himachal Pradesh) and Apis cerana kashmirensis (Jammu and Kashmir). We found that the colonies of the two montane A. cerana populations show dance-distance calibration curves with significantly shallower slopes than those of the tropical A. indica. Next, we transferred A. c. cerana colonies to Bangalore (∼ 2600 km away) to obtain calibration curves in the same location as A. indica. The common garden experiment confirmed this difference in slopes, implying that the lineages exhibit genetically fixed differences in dance-distance coding. However, the slopes of the calibration curves of the transferred A. c. cerana colonies were also significantly higher than those of the colonies tested in their original habitat, indicating an important effect of the environment. The differences in dance-distance coding between temperate and tropical A. cerana lineages resemble those described for Apis mellifera, suggesting that populations of both species independently evolved similar adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bharath Kumar A K
- National Centre for Biological Sciences - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru 560065, India
- Department of Apiculture, University of Agricultural Sciences - GKVK, Bengaluru 560065, India
| | - Ebi Antony George
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru 560065, India
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Grüter C, Segers FHID, Hayes L. Extensive loss of forage diversity in social bees owing to flower constancy in simulated environments. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20241036. [PMID: 39082242 PMCID: PMC11289734 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.1036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Many bees visit just one flower species during a foraging trip, i.e. they show flower constancy. Flower constancy is important for plant reproduction but it could lead to an unbalanced diet, especially in biodiversity-depleted landscapes. It is assumed that flower constancy does not reduce dietary diversity in social bees, such as honeybees or bumblebees, but this has not yet been tested. We used computer simulations to investigate the effects of flower constancy on colony diet in plant species-rich and species-poor landscapes. We also explored if communication about food sources, which is used by many social bees, further reduces forage diversity. Our simulations reveal an extensive loss of forage diversity owing to flower constancy in both species-rich and species-poor environments. Small flower-constant colonies often discovered only 30-50% of all available plant species, thereby increasing the risk of nutritional deficiencies. Communication often interacted with flower constancy to reduce forage diversity further. Finally, we found that food source clustering, but not habitat fragmentation impaired dietary diversity. These findings highlight the nutritional challenges flower-constant bees face in different landscapes and they can aid in the design of measures to increase forage diversity and improve bee nutrition in human-modified landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Grüter
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BristolBS8 1TQ, UK
| | | | - Lucy Hayes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BristolBS8 1TQ, UK
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6
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Rockow DJ, Martel C, Arceo‐Gómez G. Differential impacts of land-use change on multiple components of common milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca) pollination success. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11494. [PMID: 38855315 PMCID: PMC11156956 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Land-use change is one the greatest threats to biodiversity and is projected to increase in magnitude in the coming years, stressing the importance of better understanding how land-use change may affect vital ecosystem services, such as pollination. Past studies on the impact of land-use change have largely focused on only one aspect of the pollination process (e.g., pollinator composition, pollinator visitation, and pollen transfer), potentially misrepresenting the full complexity of land-use effects on pollination services. Evaluating the impacts across multiple components of the pollination process can also help pinpoint the underlying mechanisms driving land-use change effects. This study evaluates how land-use change affects multiple aspects of the pollination process in common milkweed populations, including pollinator community composition, pollinator visitation rate, pollen removal, and pollen deposition. Overall, land-use change altered floral visitor composition, with small bees having a larger presence in developed areas. Insect visitation rate and pollen removal were also higher in more developed areas, perhaps suggesting a positive impact of land-use change. However, pollen deposition did not differ between developed and undeveloped sites. Our findings highlight the complexity evaluating land-use change effects on pollination, as these likely depend on the specific aspect of pollination evaluated and on the of the intensity of disturbance. Our study stresses the importance of evaluating multiple components of the pollination process in order to fully understand overall effects and mechanisms underlying land-use change effects on this vital ecosystem service.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Rockow
- Department of Biological SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTennesseeUSA
| | - Carlos Martel
- Department of Biological SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTennesseeUSA
- Royal Botanic Gardens, KewRichmondUK
| | - Gerardo Arceo‐Gómez
- Department of Biological SciencesEast Tennessee State UniversityJohnson CityTennesseeUSA
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Librán-Embid F, Grass I, Emer C, Alarcón-Segura V, Behling H, Biagioni S, Ganuza C, Herrera-Krings C, Setyaningsih CA, Tscharntke T. Flower-bee versus pollen-bee metanetworks in fragmented landscapes. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232604. [PMID: 38807521 PMCID: PMC11338570 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2604] [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: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the organization of mutualistic networks at multiple spatial scales is key to ensure biological conservation and functionality in human-modified ecosystems. Yet, how changing habitat and landscape features affect pollen-bee interaction networks is still poorly understood. Here, we analysed how bee-flower visitation and bee-pollen-transport interactions respond to habitat fragmentation at the local network and regional metanetwork scales, combining data from 29 fragments of calcareous grasslands, an endangered biodiversity hotspot in central Europe. We found that only 37% of the total unique pairwise species interactions occurred in both pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, whereas 28% and 35% were exclusive to pollen-transport and flower visitation networks, respectively. At local level, network specialization was higher in pollen-transport networks, and was negatively related to the diversity of land cover types in both network types. At metanetwork level, pollen transport data revealed that the proportion of single-fragment interactions increased with landscape diversity. Our results show that the specialization of calcareous grasslands' plant-pollinator networks decreases with landscape diversity, but network specialization is underestimated when only based on flower visitation information. Pollen transport data, more than flower visitation, and multi-scale analyses of metanetworks are fundamental for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in human-dominated landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Librán-Embid
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Justus Liebig University of Gießen, Institute of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, Gießen35390, Germany
| | - Ingo Grass
- Department of Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart70599, Germany
- Center for Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy (KomBioTa), University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart70599, Germany
| | - Carine Emer
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão, 915, Jardim Botânico, Rio de JaneiroCEP22460-030, Brazil
| | - Viviana Alarcón-Segura
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
- Animal Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Marburg, Marburg35037, Germany
| | - Hermann Behling
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht‐von‐Haller‐Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Siria Biagioni
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht‐von‐Haller‐Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Cristina Ganuza
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg97074, Germany
| | | | - Christina Ani Setyaningsih
- Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht‐von‐Haller‐Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen37077, Germany
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8
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Ferrari A, Polidori C. Temperature differently affects body pigmentation of the paper wasp Polistes dominula along an urban and a wider geographical gradient. J Therm Biol 2024; 121:103840. [PMID: 38552445 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
In insects, different pigments, such as melanins and pterins, are involved in thermoregulation. The degree of melanisation often varies along geographical gradients, according to the so-called thermal melanism hypothesis, i.e. darker forms are found in colder places because they can warm up more quickly. Similarly, pterins work as heat sinks and thus are expected to be more abundant in colder sites. Cities, which are warmer than surrounding areas (Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect), might also be expected to influence pigmentation, although studies are lacking. Here, we sampled workers of the social paper wasp Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) (Vespidae) across an urbanisation gradient in an Italian metropolis and used iNaturalist pictures of this species across Italy to study pigmentation patterns at both urban and larger geographical scales. We found a lower yellow intensity of abdominal spots at warmer locations. Scanning Electron Microscopy strongly suggested that yellow colouration is due xanthopterin, known to be the heat sink molecule in other social vespids. Thus, wasps from warmer (i.e., urban) environments are likely to have fewer xanthopterin granules, in line with the lack of need for heat storage due to the local thermal gradient (UHI effect). At the country level, we found that wasps at higher latitudes had smaller yellow spots on the thorax and only two spots instead of four at higher altitudes, in full accordance with the thermal melanism hypothesis. In conclusion, climatic conditions seem to affect insect colour patterns both along urban and wider geographical gradients, although colour changes may affect different body parts and pigments likely according to different needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ferrari
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Carlo Polidori
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy.
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9
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Rittschof CC, Denny AS. The Impacts of Early-Life Experience on Bee Phenotypes and Fitness. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:808-824. [PMID: 36881719 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Across diverse animal species, early-life experiences have lifelong impacts on a variety of traits. The scope of these impacts, their implications, and the mechanisms that drive these effects are central research foci for a variety of disciplines in biology, from ecology and evolution to molecular biology and neuroscience. Here, we review the role of early life in shaping adult phenotypes and fitness in bees, emphasizing the possibility that bees are ideal species to investigate variation in early-life experience and its consequences at both individual and population levels. Bee early life includes the larval and pupal stages, critical time periods during which factors like food availability, maternal care, and temperature set the phenotypic trajectory for an individual's lifetime. We discuss how some common traits impacted by these experiences, including development rate and adult body size, influence fitness at the individual level, with possible ramifications at the population level. Finally, we review ways in which human alterations to the landscape may impact bee populations through early-life effects. This review highlights aspects of bees' natural history and behavioral ecology that warrant further investigation with the goal of understanding how environmental disturbances threaten these vulnerable species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Rittschof
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Center North, Lexington, KY 40546, USA
| | - Amanda S Denny
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Agricultural Science Center North, Lexington, KY 40546, USA
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10
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Martins AC, Proença CEB, Vasconcelos TNC, Aguiar AJC, Farinasso HC, de Lima ATF, Faria JEQ, Norrana K, Costa MBR, Carvalho MM, Dias RL, Bustamante MMC, Carvalho FA, Keller A. Contrasting patterns of foraging behavior in neotropical stingless bees using pollen and honey metabarcoding. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14474. [PMID: 37660141 PMCID: PMC10475120 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41304-0] [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: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Stingless bees are major flower visitors in the tropics, but their foraging preferences and behavior are still poorly understood. Studying stingless bee interactions with angiosperms is methodologically challenging due to the high tropical plant diversity and inaccessibility of upper canopy flowers in forested habitats. Pollen DNA metabarcoding offers an opportunity of assessing floral visitation efficiently and was applied here to understand stingless bee floral resources spectra and foraging behavior. We analyzed pollen and honey from nests of three distantly related stingless bee species, with different body size and social behavior: Melipona rufiventris, Scaptotrigona postica and Tetragonisca angustula. Simultaneously, we evaluate the local floristic components through seventeen rapid botanical surveys conducted at different distances from the nests. We discovered a broad set of explored floral sources, with 46.3 plant species per bee species in honey samples and 53.67 in pollen samples. Plant families Myrtaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Melastomataceae and Malpighiaceae dominated the records, indicating stingless bee preferences for abundant resources that flowers of these families provide in the region. Results also reinforce the preference of stingless bees for forest trees, even if only available at long distances. Our high-resolution results encourage future bee-plant studies using pollen and honey metabarcoding in hyper-diverse tropical environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline C Martins
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Carolyn E B Proença
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Thais N C Vasconcelos
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Antonio J C Aguiar
- Laboratório de Abelhas, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Hannah C Farinasso
- Laboratório de Abelhas, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Aluisio T F de Lima
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Jair E Q Faria
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Krissya Norrana
- Laboratório de Abelhas, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Marcella B R Costa
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Matheus M Carvalho
- Laboratório de Abelhas, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
- Laboratório de Biologia Comparada e Abelhas, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo L Dias
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | | | - Fernanda A Carvalho
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Alexander Keller
- Cellular and Organismic Networks, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, 82152, Munich, Germany
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Alves DA, George EA, Kaur R, Brockmann A, Hrncir M, Grüter C. Diverse communication strategies in bees as a window into adaptations to an unpredictable world. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2219031120. [PMID: 37279263 PMCID: PMC10268221 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2219031120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Communication is a fundamental feature of animal societies and helps their members to solve the challenges they encounter, from exploiting food sources to fighting enemies or finding a new home. Eusocial bees inhabit a wide range of environments and they have evolved a multitude of communication signals that help them exploit resources in their environment efficiently. We highlight recent advances in our understanding of bee communication strategies and discuss how variation in social biology, such as colony size or nesting habits, and ecological conditions are important drivers of variation in communication strategies. Anthropogenic factors, such as habitat conversion, climate change, or the use of agrochemicals, are changing the world bees inhabit, and it is becoming clear that this affects communication both directly and indirectly, for example by affecting food source availability, social interactions among nestmates, and cognitive functions. Whether and how bees adapt their foraging and communication strategies to these changes represents a new frontier in bee behavioral and conservation research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise A. Alves
- Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Lausanne,13418-900Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Ebi A. George
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Bristol1015, Switzerland
| | - Rajbir Kaur
- School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences – Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru560065, India
| | - Michael Hrncir
- Department of Physiology, Bioscience Institute, University of São Paulo05508-090São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Christoph Grüter
- School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
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Hayes L, Grüter C. When should bees be flower constant? An agent-based model highlights the importance of social information and foraging conditions. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:580-593. [PMID: 36479701 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Many bee species show flower constancy, that is, a tendency to visit flowers of one type during a foraging trip. Flower constancy is important for plant reproduction, but the benefits of constancy to bees is unclear. Social bees, which often use communication about food sources, show particularly strong flower constancy. We aimed to better understand the benefits of flower constancy in social bees and how these benefits depend on foraging conditions. We hypothesised that sharing social information increases the benefits of flower constancy because social foragers share information selectively about high-quality food sources, thereby reducing the need to sample alternatives. We developed an agent-based model that allowed us to simulate bee colonies with and without communication and flower constancy in different foraging environments. By varying key environmental parameters, such as food source numbers and reward size, we explored how the costs and benefits of flower constancy depend on the foraging landscape. Flower constancy alone performed poorly in all environments, while indiscriminate flower choice was often the most successful strategy. However, communication improved the performance of flower constant colonies considerably in most environments. This combination was particularly successful when high-quality food sources were abundant and competition was weak. Our findings help explain why social bees tend to be more flower constant than solitary bees and suggest that flower constancy can be an adaptive strategy in social bees. Simulations suggest that anthropogenic changes of foraging landscapes will have different effects on the foraging performance of bees that vary in flower constancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Hayes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Christoph Grüter
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Pollinator conservation: Where will bees go in the Anthropocene future? Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1351-R1353. [PMID: 36538888 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
For pollinator conservation in human-transformed landscapes, it is crucial to know whether species can overcome gaps between fragments of natural habitat. A new study reveals why colony size, recruitment communication, and flower constancy increase the foraging ranges in social bees.
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