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Lento M, Vommaro ML, Flaminio S, Brandmayr P, Giglio A. Morphology and distribution of antennal sensilla in five species of solitary bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2024; 82:101382. [PMID: 39241691 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2024.101382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2024] [Revised: 07/30/2024] [Accepted: 08/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/09/2024]
Abstract
Solitary bees play a crucial role in ecological systems, contributing to the pollination of crops and wild plants. All females are reproductive, and their habitat requirements include nesting sites, food resources and nesting materials. Although these activities require the ability to detect biotic and abiotic stimuli in the environment, the sensory system of these species is poorly studied. In this study, the antennal sensilla of five solitary bee species belonging to three Apoidea families were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. These included two species of stem-nesting bees, Ceratina cucurbitina (Rossi, 1792) (Apidae) and Osmia scutellaris (Morawitz, 1868) (Megachilidae), and three species of ground-nesting bees, Lasioglossum brevicorne (Schenck, 1870), Lasioglossum leucozonium (Schrank, 1781), and Lasioglossum villosulum (Kirby, 1802) (Halictidae). Thirteen different types of antennal sensilla were identified in females based on their morphological characteristics: sensilla trichodea (subtypes STI, II, III), chaetica (subtypes SchI, II), basiconica (subtypes SBI, II, III, IV), placodea, campaniformia, coeloconica, and ampullacea. Their functional role was discussed and morphology was compared among the species and within the antennal segments in each species. The results provide a baseline for further physiological and behavioural studies to determine the role of antennal sensilla in habitat selection, food search and nesting site selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Lento
- University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, Rende, Italy
| | - Maria Luigia Vommaro
- University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, Rende, Italy
| | - Simone Flaminio
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Pietro Brandmayr
- University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, Rende, Italy
| | - Anita Giglio
- University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Science, Rende, Italy.
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2
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Ruttenberg DM, Levin SA, Wingreen NS, Kocher SD. Variation in season length and development time is sufficient to drive the emergence and coexistence of social and solitary behavioral strategies. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.18.599518. [PMID: 38948882 PMCID: PMC11212982 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.18.599518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Season length and its associated variables can influence the expression of social behaviors, including the occurrence of eusociality in insects. Eusociality can vary widely across environmental gradients, both within and between different species. Numerous theoretical models have been developed to examine the life history traits that underlie the emergence and maintenance of eusociality, yet the impact of seasonality on this process is largely uncharacterized. Here, we present a theoretical model that incorporates season length and offspring development time into a single, individual-focused model to examine how these factors can shape the costs and benefits of social living. We find that longer season lengths and faster brood development times are sufficient to favor the emergence and maintenance of a social strategy, while shorter seasons favor a solitary one. We also identify a range of season lengths where social and solitary strategies can coexist. Moreover, our theoretical predictions are well-matched to the natural history and behavior of two flexibly-eusocial bee species, suggesting our model can make realistic predictions about the evolution of different social strategies. Broadly, this work reveals the crucial role that environmental conditions can have in shaping social behavior and its evolution and underscores the need for further models that explicitly incorporate such variation to study evolutionary trajectories of eusociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dee M Ruttenberg
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
| | - Simon A Levin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
| | - Ned S Wingreen
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University
| | - Sarah D Kocher
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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3
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Bossert S, Pauly A, Danforth BN, Orr MC, Murray EA. Lessons from assembling UCEs: A comparison of common methods and the case of Clavinomia (Halictidae). Mol Ecol Resour 2024; 24:e13925. [PMID: 38183389 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13925] [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: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Sequence data assembly is a foundational step in high-throughput sequencing, with untold consequences for downstream analyses. Despite this, few studies have interrogated the many methods for assembling phylogenomic UCE data for their comparative efficacy, or for how outputs may be impacted. We study this by comparing the most commonly used assembly methods for UCEs in the under-studied bee lineage Nomiinae and a representative sampling of relatives. Data for 63 UCE-only and 75 mixed taxa were assembled with five methods, including ABySS, HybPiper, SPAdes, Trinity and Velvet, and then benchmarked for their relative performance in terms of locus capture parameters and phylogenetic reconstruction. Unexpectedly, Trinity and Velvet trailed the other methods in terms of locus capture and DNA matrix density, whereas SPAdes performed favourably in most assessed metrics. In comparison with SPAdes, the guided-assembly approach HybPiper generally recovered the highest quality loci but in lower numbers. Based on our results, we formally move Clavinomia to Dieunomiini and render Epinomia once more a subgenus of Dieunomia. We strongly advise that future studies more closely examine the influence of assembly approach on their results, or, minimally, use better-performing assembly methods such as SPAdes or HybPiper. In this way, we can move forward with phylogenomic studies in a more standardized, comparable manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silas Bossert
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Alain Pauly
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, O.D. Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bryan N Danforth
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Michael C Orr
- Entomologie, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Elizabeth A Murray
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
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4
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Robinson CRP, Dolezal AG, Newton ILG. Host species and geography impact bee-associated RNA virus communities with evidence for isolation by distance in viral populations. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycad003. [PMID: 38304079 PMCID: PMC10833078 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycad003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Virus symbionts are important mediators of ecosystem function, yet we know little of their diversity and ecology in natural populations. The alarming decline of pollinating insects in many regions of the globe, especially the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, has been driven in part by worldwide transmission of virus pathogens. Previous work has examined the transmission of known honey bee virus pathogens to wild bee populations, but only a handful of studies have investigated the native viromes associated with wild bees, limiting epidemiological predictors associated with viral pathogenesis. Further, variation among different bee species might have important consequences in the acquisition and maintenance of bee-associated virome diversity. We utilized comparative metatranscriptomics to develop a baseline description of the RNA viromes associated with wild bee pollinators and to document viral diversity, community composition, and structure. Our sampling includes five wild-caught, native bee species that vary in social behavior as well as managed honey bees. We describe 26 putatively new RNA virus species based on RNA-dependent RNA polymerase phylogeny and show that each sampled bee species was associated with a specific virus community composition, even among sympatric populations of distinct host species. From 17 samples of a single host species, we recovered a single virus species despite over 600 km of distance between host populations and found strong evidence for isolation by distance in associated viral populations. Our work adds to the small number of studies examining viral prevalence and community composition in wild bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris R P Robinson
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States
| | - Adam G Dolezal
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Irene L G Newton
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States
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5
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Wood TJ, Müller A, Praz C, Michez D. Elevated rates of dietary generalization in eusocial lineages of the secondarily herbivorous bees. BMC Ecol Evol 2023; 23:67. [PMID: 37986035 PMCID: PMC10662511 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02175-1] [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: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Within the Hymenoptera, bees are notable for their relationship with flowering plants, being almost entirely dependent on plant pollen and nectar. Though functionally herbivorous, as a result of their role as pollinators, bees have received comparatively little attention as models for insect herbivory. Bees often display dietary specialization, but quantitative comparison against other herbivorous insects has not previously been conducted. RESULTS In the most comprehensive analysis to date for 860 bee species, dietary specialization amounted to 50.1% of studied species collecting pollen from between 1 and 2 botanical families with a relatively long tail of dietary generalists, with 11.1% of species collecting from more than 10 botanical families. This distribution deviated from the truncated Pareto distribution of dietary breadth seen in other herbivorous insect lineages. However, this deviation was predominantly due to eusocial bee lineages, which show a range of dietary breadths that conformed to a normal distribution, while solitary bees show a typical truncated distribution not strongly different from other herbivorous insects. We hypothesize that the relatively low level of dietary specialization in bees as a whole reflects the relaxation of the constraints typically observed in herbivorous insects with a comparatively reduced importance of plant chemistry and comparatively increased importance of phenology and foraging efficiency. The long flight periods of eusocial bees that are necessary to allow overlapping generations both allows and necessitates the use of multiple flowering resources, whereas solitary bees with short flight periods have more limited access to varied resources within a constrained activity period. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, solitary bees show slightly lower specialization compared to other herbivorous insects, possibly due to their balanced relationship with plants, rather than direct antagonism such as seen in the direct consumption of plant tissues. An additional factor may be the mediocre diversity of bees at low latitudes combined with low levels of dietary specialization, whereas these areas typically display a high rate of specialization by herbivorous insects in general. Though the most important factors structuring dietary specialization in bees appear to differ from many other herbivorous insects, solitary bees show a surprisingly similar overall pattern of dietary specialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Wood
- University of Mons, Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, Place du parc 20, 7000, Mons, Belgium.
| | - A Müller
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Biocommunication and Entomology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - C Praz
- University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- InfoFauna - Swiss Zoological Records Center, Avenue de Bellevaux 51, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - D Michez
- University of Mons, Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, Place du parc 20, 7000, Mons, Belgium
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6
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Mee L, Barribeau SM. Influence of social lifestyles on host-microbe symbioses in the bees. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10679. [PMID: 37928198 PMCID: PMC10620586 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10679] [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: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbiomes are increasingly recognised as critical for the health of an organism. In eusocial insect societies, frequent social interactions allow for high-fidelity transmission of microbes across generations, leading to closer host-microbe coevolution. The microbial communities of bees with other social lifestyles are less studied, and few comparisons have been made between taxa that vary in social structure. To address this gap, we leveraged a cloud-computing resource and publicly available transcriptomic data to conduct a survey of microbial diversity in bee samples from a variety of social lifestyles and taxa. We consistently recover the core microbes of well-studied corbiculate bees, supporting this method's ability to accurately characterise microbial communities. We find that the bacterial communities of bees are influenced by host location, phylogeny and social lifestyle, although no clear effect was found for fungal or viral microbial communities. Bee genera with more complex societies tend to harbour more diverse microbes, with Wolbachia detected more commonly in solitary tribes. We present a description of the microbiota of Euglossine bees and find that they do not share the "corbiculate core" microbiome. Notably, we find that bacteria with known anti-pathogenic properties are present across social bee genera, suggesting that symbioses that enhance host immunity are important with higher sociality. Our approach provides an inexpensive means of exploring microbiomes of a given taxa and identifying avenues for further research. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relationships between bees and their associated microbial communities, highlighting the importance of considering microbiome dynamics in investigations of bee health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Mee
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Department of Evolution, Ecology and BehaviourUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | - Seth M. Barribeau
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Department of Evolution, Ecology and BehaviourUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
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7
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Herrera CM, Núñez A, Valverde J, Alonso C. Body mass decline in a Mediterranean community of solitary bees supports the size shrinking effect of climatic warming. Ecology 2023; 104:e4128. [PMID: 37342062 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
The long-known, widely documented inverse relationship between body size and environmental temperature ("temperature-size rule") has recently led to predictions of body size decline following current climatic warming ("size shrinking effect"). For keystone pollinators such as wild bees, body shrinking in response to warming can have significant effects on pollination processes but there is still little direct evidence of the phenomenon because adequate tests require controlling for confounding factors linked to climate change (e.g., habitat change). This paper assesses the shrinking effect in a community of solitary bees from well-preserved habitats in the core of a large nature reserve experiencing climatic warming without disturbances or habitat changes. Long-term variation in mean body mass was evaluated using data from 1704 individual bees (137 species, 27 genera, 6 families) sampled over 1990-2023. Climate warmed at a fast rate during this period, annual mean of daily maximum temperature increasing 0.069°C/year on average during 2000-2020. Changes in bee body mass verified expectations from the size shrinking effect. The mean individual body mass of the community of solitary bees declined significantly, irrespective of whether the analysis referred to the full species sample or only to the subset of species that were sampled in both the old (1990-1997) and recent (2022-2023) periods. On average, body mass declined ~0.7%·year-1 , or an estimated average cumulative reduction of ~20 mg per individual bee from 1990 to 2023. Proportional size reduction was greatest among large-bodied species, ranging from around -0.6%·year-1 for the smallest species to -0.9%·year-1 for the largest ones. Declining rate was steeper for cavity-nesting than ground-nesting species. The pollination and mating systems of bee-pollinated plants in the study region are probably undergoing significant alterations as a consequence of supra-annual decline in bee body mass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Herrera
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
| | - Alejandro Núñez
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
| | - Javier Valverde
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
| | - Conchita Alonso
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
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8
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Ghisbain G, Rosa P, Bogusch P, Flaminio S, Divelec RLE, Dorchin A, Kasparek M, Kuhlmann M, Litman J, Mignot M, Mller A, Praz C, Radchenko VG, Rasmont P, Risch S, Roberts SPM, Smit J, Wood TJ, Michez D, Revert S. The new annotated checklist of the wild bees of Europe (Hymenoptera: Anthophila). Zootaxa 2023; 5327:1-147. [PMID: 38220888 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5327.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
At a time when nature conservation has become essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of our environment, it is widely acknowledged that conservation actions must be implemented within a solid taxonomic framework. In preparation for the upcoming update of the IUCN Red List, we here update the European checklist of the wild bees (sensu the IUCN geographical framework). The original checklist, published in 2014, was revised for the first time in 2017. In the present revision, we add one genus, four subgenera and 67 species recently described, 40 species newly recorded since the latest revision (including two species that are not native to Europe), 26 species overlooked in the previous European checklists and 63 published synonymies. We provide original records for eight species previously unknown to the continent and, as original taxonomic acts, we provide three new synonyms, we consider two names as nomina nuda, ten names as nomina dubia, three as species inquirenda, synonymize three species and exclude 40 species from the previous checklist. Around a hundred other taxonomic changes and clarifications are also included and discussed. The present work revises the total number of genera for IUCN Europe to 77 and the total number of species to 2,138. In addition to specifying the taxonomic changes necessary to update the forthcoming Red List of European bees, we discuss the sampling and taxonomic biases that characterise research on the European bee fauna and highlight the growing importance of range expansions and species invasions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Ghisbain
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium.
| | - Paolo Rosa
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium.
| | - Petr Bogusch
- Faculty of Science; University of Hradec Krlov; Hradec Krlov; Czech Republic.
| | - Simone Flaminio
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgiu; Centro di Ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente; (CREA) Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e lanalisi dellEconomia Agraria-via di Corticella 133; 40128 Bologna; Italy.
| | - Romain LE Divelec
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium.
| | - Achik Dorchin
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium; Muse Royal de lAfrique Centrale; Leuvensesteenweg 13; 3080 Tervuren; Belgium.
| | | | - Michael Kuhlmann
- Zoological Museum; University of Kiel; Hegewischstr. 3; 24105 Kiel; Germany.
| | - Jesse Litman
- Zoological Museum; University of Kiel; Hegewischstr. 3; 24105 Kiel; Germany..
| | - Maud Mignot
- Natural History Museum of Neuchtel; Terreaux 14; 2000 Neuchtel; Switzerland.
| | - Andreas Mller
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium.
| | - Christophe Praz
- ETH Zrich; Institute of Agricultural Sciences; Biocommunication and Entomology; Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO; 8092 Zrich; Switzerland.
| | - Vladimir G Radchenko
- Info fauna Swiss Zoological Records Center; Avenue de Bellevaux 51; 2000 Neuchtel; Switzerland. Institute of Biology; University of Neuchatel; Rue Emile-Argand 16; 2000 Neuchtel; Switzerland.
| | - Pierre Rasmont
- Institute for Evolutionary Ecology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; acad. Lebedev; 37; 03143 Kiev; Ukraine.
| | - Stephan Risch
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium.
| | | | - Jan Smit
- Agroecology Lab;Universit Libre de Bruxelles (ULB); Boulevard du Triomphe CP 264/02; 1050 Brussels; Belgium.
| | | | - Denis Michez
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium.
| | - Sara Revert
- Laboratory of Zoology; Research Institute for Biosciences; University of Mons; Place du parc 20; 7000; Mons; Belgium.
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9
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Sless T, Rehan S. Phylogeny of the carpenter bees (Apidae: Xylocopinae) highlights repeated evolution of sociality. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20230252. [PMID: 37643643 PMCID: PMC10465191 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0252] [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: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Many groups of animals have evolved social behaviours in different forms, from intimate familial associations to the complex eusocial colonies of some insects. The subfamily Xylocopinae, including carpenter bees and their relatives, is a diverse clade exhibiting a wide range of social behaviours, from solitary to obligate eusociality with distinct morphological castes, making them ideal focal taxa in studying the evolution of sociality. We used ultraconserved element data to generate a broadly sampled phylogeny of the Xylocopinae, including several newly sequenced species. We then conducted ancestral state reconstructions on the evolutionary history of sociality in this group under multiple coding models. Our results indicate solitary origins for the Xylocopinae with multiple transitions to sociality across the tree and subsequent reversals to solitary life, demonstrating the lability and dynamic nature of social evolution in carpenter bees. Ultimately, this work clarifies the evolutionary history of the Xylocopinae, and expands our understanding of independent origins and gains and losses of social complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor Sless
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada M3J 1P3
| | - Sandra Rehan
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada M3J 1P3
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10
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Jones BM, Rubin BER, Dudchenko O, Kingwell CJ, Traniello IM, Wang ZY, Kapheim KM, Wyman ES, Adastra PA, Liu W, Parsons LR, Jackson SR, Goodwin K, Davidson SM, McBride MJ, Webb AE, Omufwoko KS, Van Dorp N, Otárola MF, Pham M, Omer AD, Weisz D, Schraiber J, Villanea F, Wcislo WT, Paxton RJ, Hunt BG, Aiden EL, Kocher SD. Convergent and complementary selection shaped gains and losses of eusociality in sweat bees. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:557-569. [PMID: 36941345 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02001-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
Sweat bees have repeatedly gained and lost eusociality, a transition from individual to group reproduction. Here we generate chromosome-length genome assemblies for 17 species and identify genomic signatures of evolutionary trade-offs associated with transitions between social and solitary living. Both young genes and regulatory regions show enrichment for these molecular patterns. We also identify loci that show evidence of complementary signals of positive and relaxed selection linked specifically to the convergent gains and losses of eusociality in sweat bees. This includes two pleiotropic proteins that bind and transport juvenile hormone (JH)-a key regulator of insect development and reproduction. We find that one of these proteins is primarily expressed in subperineurial glial cells that form the insect blood-brain barrier and that brain levels of JH vary by sociality. Our findings are consistent with a role of JH in modulating social behaviour and suggest that eusocial evolution was facilitated by alteration of the proteins that bind and transport JH, revealing how an ancestral developmental hormone may have been co-opted during one of life's major transitions. More broadly, our results highlight how evolutionary trade-offs have structured the molecular basis of eusociality in these bees and demonstrate how both directional selection and release from constraint can shape trait evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beryl M Jones
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Benjamin E R Rubin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Olga Dudchenko
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Callum J Kingwell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Ian M Traniello
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Z Yan Wang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Karen M Kapheim
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Eli S Wyman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Per A Adastra
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Weijie Liu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Lance R Parsons
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - S RaElle Jackson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Katharine Goodwin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Shawn M Davidson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Matthew J McBride
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Andrew E Webb
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Kennedy S Omufwoko
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Nikki Van Dorp
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Mauricio Fernández Otárola
- Biodiversity and Tropical Ecology Research Center (CIBET) and School of Biology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Melanie Pham
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Arina D Omer
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David Weisz
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Joshua Schraiber
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Illumina Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Illumina Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Fernando Villanea
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - William T Wcislo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Robert J Paxton
- Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
| | - Brendan G Hunt
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Erez Lieberman Aiden
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sarah D Kocher
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
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11
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Handy MY, Sbardellati DL, Yu M, Saleh NW, Ostwald MM, Vannette RL. Incipiently social carpenter bees (Xylocopa) host distinctive gut bacterial communities and display geographical structure as revealed by full-length PacBio 16S rRNA sequencing. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:1530-1543. [PMID: 36239475 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The gut microbiota of bees affects nutrition, immunity and host fitness, yet the roles of diet, sociality and geographical variation in determining microbiome structure, including variant-level diversity and relatedness, remain poorly understood. Here, we use full-length 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to compare the crop and gut microbiomes of two incipiently social carpenter bee species, Xylocopa sonorina and Xylocopa tabaniformis, from multiple geographical sites within each species' range. We found that Xylocopa species share a set of core taxa consisting of Bombilactobacillus, Bombiscardovia and Lactobacillus, found in >95% of all individual bees sampled, and Gilliamella and Apibacter were also detected in the gut of both species with high frequency. The crop bacterial community of X. sonorina comprised nearly entirely Apilactobacillus with occasionally abundant nectar bacteria. Despite sharing core taxa, Xylocopa species' microbiomes were distinguished by multiple bacterial lineages, including species-specific variants of core taxa. The use of long-read amplicons revealed otherwise cryptic species and population-level differentiation in core microbiome members, which was masked when a shorter fragment of the 16S rRNA (V4) was considered. Of the core taxa, Bombilactobacillus and Bombiscardovia exhibited differentiation in amplicon sequence variants among bee populations, but this was lacking in Lactobacillus, suggesting that some bacterial genera in the gut may be structured by different processes. We conclude that these Xylocopa species host a distinctive microbiome, similar to that of previously characterized social corbiculate apids, which suggests that further investigation to understand the evolution of the bee microbiome and its drivers is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline Y Handy
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Dino L Sbardellati
- Microbiology Graduate Group, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Michael Yu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Nicholas W Saleh
- Entomology and Nematology Department, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, USA
| | | | - Rachel L Vannette
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
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12
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Grüter C, Hayes L. Sociality is a key driver of foraging ranges in bees. Curr Biol 2022; 32:5390-5397.e3. [PMID: 36400034 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Bees are important pollinators of wild and agricultural plants1,2,3,4,5 and there is increasing evidence that many bee populations decline due to a combination of habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and other anthropogenic effects.6,7,8,9,10,11 One trait that shapes both their role in plant reproduction12,13 and their exposure to anthropogenic stressors is the distance at which bees forage. It has been suggested that bee sociality14 and diet15 affect bee foraging ranges, but how these traits and their potential interactions drive foraging ranges remains unclear. We analyzed flight distance data from 90 bee species and developed an agent-based model to test how social, dietary, and environmental factors affect foraging ranges. We confirm that bee sociality is positively associated with foraging range, with average-sized social bees foraging up to 3 times farther from the nest than size-matched solitary bees. A comparative analysis of social bees and computer simulations shows that foraging distances increase with colony size, supporting the hypothesis that greater foraging distances are an emergent property of increasing colony sizes in a food-limited environment. Flower constancy and communication, two traits often found in social bees, synergistically increase foraging distances further in many simulated environments. Diet breadth (oligolectic versus polylectic diet), on the other hand, does not appear to affect foraging ranges in solitary bees. Our findings suggest that multiple traits linked to bee sociality explain why social bees have greater foraging ranges. This has implications for predicting pollination services and for developing effective conservation strategies for bees and isolated plant populations.15,16,17,18,19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Grüter
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, UK.
| | - Lucy Hayes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, UK
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13
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González-Vaquero RA. Solitary and semisocial behaviour in the Corynura group: new findings in a clade sister to all other Augochlorini bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). J NAT HIST 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2022.2134833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rocío Ana González-Vaquero
- Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- División Entomología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” – CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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14
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Zhang D, Niu ZQ, Luo AR, Orr MC, Ferrari RR, Jin JF, Wu QT, Zhang F, Zhu CD. Testing the systematic status of Homalictus and Rostrohalictus with weakened cross-vein groups within Halictini (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) using low-coverage whole-genome sequencing. INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 29:1819-1833. [PMID: 35289982 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The halictid genus Lasioglossum, as one of the most species-rich bee groups with persistently contentious subgeneric boundaries, is one of the most challenging bee groups from a systematic standpoint. An enduring question is the relationship of Lasioglossum and Homalictus, whether all halictine bees with weakened distal wing venation comprise one or multiple genera. Here, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationships among the subgroups within Lasioglossum s.l. based on thousands of single-copy orthologs and ultraconserved elements, which were extracted from 23 newly sequenced low-coverage whole genomes alongside a published genome (22 ingroups plus 2 outgroups). Both marker sets provided consistent results across maximum likelihood and coalescent-based species tree approaches. The phylogenetic and topology test results show that the Lasioglossum and Hemihalictus series are reciprocally monophyletic and Homalictus and Rostrohalictus are valid subgenera of Lasioglossum. Consequently, we lower Homalictus to subgenus status within Lasioglossum again, and we also raise Rostrohalictus to subgenus status from its prior synonymy with subgenus Hemihalictus. Lasioglossum przewalskyi is also transferred to the subgenus Hemihalictus. Ultimately, we redefine Lasioglossum to include all halictine bees with weakened distal wing venation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ze-Qing Niu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - A-Rong Luo
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- International College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Michael C Orr
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- International College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rafael R Ferrari
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian-Feng Jin
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qing-Tao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Feng Zhang
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chao-Dong Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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15
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Jaboor SK, da Silva CRB, Kellermann V. The effect of environmental temperature on bee activity at strawberry farms. AUSTRAL ECOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Carmen Rose Buke da Silva
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Victoria 3800 Australia
- Department of Biology Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Ohio USA
| | - Vanessa Kellermann
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Victoria 3800 Australia
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16
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Boulton RA, Field J. Sensory plasticity in a socially plastic bee. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1218-1228. [PMID: 35849730 PMCID: PMC9543577 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The social Hymenoptera have contributed much to our understanding of the evolution of sensory systems. Attention has focussed chiefly on how sociality and sensory systems have evolved together. In the Hymenoptera, the antennal sensilla are important for optimizing the perception of olfactory social information. Social species have denser antennal sensilla than solitary species, which is thought to enhance social cohesion through nestmate recognition. In the current study, we test whether sensilla numbers vary between populations of the socially plastic sweat bee Halictus rubicundus from regions that vary in climate and the degree to which sociality is expressed. We found population differences in both olfactory and hygro/thermoreceptive sensilla numbers. We also found evidence that olfactory sensilla density is developmentally plastic: when we transplanted bees from Scotland to the south-east of England, their offspring (which developed in the south) had more olfactory hairs than the transplanted individuals themselves (which developed in Scotland). The transplanted bees displayed a mix of social (a queen plus workers) and solitary nesting, but neither individual nor nest phenotype was related to sensilla density. We suggest that this general, rather than caste-specific sensory plasticity provides a flexible means to optimize sensory perception according to the most pressing demands of the environment. Sensory plasticity may support social plasticity in H. rubicundus but does not appear to be causally related to it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A Boulton
- Laboratory of Genetics, Plant Sciences Group, University of Stirling, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Biological and Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Stirling, UK
| | - Jeremy Field
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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17
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Brown J, Cunningham SA. Biogeographic history predicts bee community structure across floral resource gradients in south‐east Australia. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Julian Brown
- Fenner School of Environment and Society Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences University of Melbourne Richmond Victoria Australia
| | - Saul A. Cunningham
- Fenner School of Environment and Society Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia
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18
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Jeanne RL, Loope KJ, Bouwma AM, Nordheim EV, Smith ML. Five decades of misunderstanding in the social Hymenoptera: a review and meta-analysis of Michener's paradox. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1559-1611. [PMID: 35338566 PMCID: PMC9546470 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In a much-cited 1964 paper entitled "Reproductive efficiency in relation to colony size in hymenopterous societies," Charles Michener investigated the correlation between a colony's size and its reproductive efficiency - the ability of its adult females to produce reproductives, measured as per-capita output. Based on his analysis of published data from destructively sampled colonies in 18 species, he reported that in most of these species efficiency decreased with increasing colony size. His conclusion that efficiency is higher in smaller groups has since gained widespread acceptance. But it created a seeming paradox: how can natural selection maintain social behaviour when a female apparently enjoys her highest per-capita output by working alone? Here we treat Michener's pattern as a hypothesis and perform the first large-scale test of its prediction across the eusocial Hymenoptera. Because data on actual output of reproductives were not available for most species, Michener used various proxies, such as nest size, numbers of brood, or amounts of stored food. We show that for each of Michener's data sets the reported decline in per-capita productivity can be explained by factors other than decreasing efficiency, calling into question his conclusion that declining efficiency is the cause of the pattern. The most prominent cause of bias is the failure of the proxy to capture all forms of output in which the colony invests during the course of its ontogeny. Other biasing factors include seasonal effects and a variety of methodological flaws in the data sets he used. We then summarize the results of 215 data sets drawn from post-1964 studies of 80 species in 33 genera that better control for these factors. Of these, 163 data sets are included in two meta-analyses that statistically synthesize the available data on the relationship between colony size and efficiency, accounting for variable sample sizes and non-independence among the data sets. The overall effect, and those for most taxonomic subgroups, indicates no loss of efficiency with increasing colony size. Two exceptional taxa, the halictid bees and independent-founding paper wasps, show negative trends consistent with the Michener hypothesis in some species. We conclude that in most species, particularly those with large colony sizes, the hypothesis of decreasing efficiency with increasing colony size is not supported. Finally, we explore potential mechanisms through which the level of efficiency can decrease, be maintained, or even increase, as colonies increase in size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L Jeanne
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, U.S.A
| | - Kevin J Loope
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Cheatham Hall, 310 W. Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, U.S.A
| | - Andrew M Bouwma
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Cordley Hall, 3029, 2701 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR, 97331, U.S.A
| | - Erik V Nordheim
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, U.S.A
| | - Michael L Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, U.S.A
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19
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Gibbs J, Bass A, Morgan K. Habralictus and Lasioglossum of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Lesser Antilles (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Halictidae). Zookeys 2022; 1089:125-167. [PMID: 35586602 PMCID: PMC8956565 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1089.72645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The new species and the first halictid bees documented from Saint Lucia Habralictusreinae, Lasioglossum (Dialictus) luciae, and L. (Habralictellus) delphiae are described. A fourth species, L. (D.) dominicense, is tentatively recorded from the island. The species are illustrated and compared to similar ones from the Lesser Antilles. Lasioglossum and Habralictus from neighbouring Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are reviewed and a key to Lasioglossum provided, including the description of another new species, L. (Dialictus) gemmeum. Trigonanigrocyanea Ashmead and Dufoureasubcyanea Ashmead are synonymised under Lasioglossumcyaneum (Ashmead). Notes on the obscure Lasioglossum (Dialictus) minutum (Fabricius) are provided. A new name, Lasioglossum (Homalictus) minuens, is provided for a secondary homonym Homalictusminutus Pauly. The potential for additional species richness in Saint Lucia and the Lesser Antilles is briefly discussed.
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20
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Gonçalves RB, De Meira OM, Rosa B. Total-evidence dating and morphological partitioning: a novel approach to understand the phylogeny and biogeography of augochlorine bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Zool J Linn Soc 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Augochlorini comprise 646 described bee species primarily distributed in the Neotropical region. According to molecular and morphological phylogenies, the tribe is monophyletic and subdivided into seven genus groups. Our main objective is to propose a revised phylogeny of Augochlorini based on a comprehensive data set including fossil species as terminals and new characters from the internal skeleton. We also aim to develop a total-evidence framework incorporating a morphological-partitioned homoplasy approach and molecular data and propose a detailed biogeographic and evolutionary scenario based on ancestor range estimation. Our results recovered Augochlorini and most genus groups as monophyletic, despite some uncertainties about monophyly of the Megalopta and Neocorynura groups. The position of the cleptoparasite Temonosoma is still uncertain. All analyses recovered Augochloropsis s.l. as related to the Megaloptidia group. Internal characters from the head, mesosoma and sting apparatus provided important synapomorphies for most internal nodes, genus groups and genera. Augochlorini diversification occurred in the uplands of the Neotropical region, especially the Brazilian Plateau. Multiple dispersals to Amazonia, Central America and North America with returns to the Atlantic endemism area were recovered in our analysis. Total evidence, including morphological partitioning, was shown to be a reliable approach for phylogenetic reconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Barbosa Gonçalves
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil, Cx. Postal 19020, 81531-980, Curitiba, PR,Brazil
| | - Odair Milioni De Meira
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil, Cx. Postal 19020, 81531-980, Curitiba, PR,Brazil
| | - Brunnobueno Rosa
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil, Cx. Postal 19020, 81531-980, Curitiba, PR,Brazil
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21
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Silva JD. The Extension of Foundress Lifespan and the Evolution of Eusociality in the Hymenoptera. Am Nat 2021; 199:E140-E155. [DOI: 10.1086/718594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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22
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Abstract
Although indirect selection through relatives (kin selection) can explain the evolution of effectively sterile offspring that act as helpers at the nest (eusociality) in the ants, bees, and stinging wasps (aculeate Hymenoptera), the genetic, ecological, and life history conditions that favor transitions to eusociality are poorly understood. In this study, ancestral state reconstruction on recently published phylogenies was used to identify the independent transitions to eusociality in each of the taxonomic families that exhibit eusociality. Semisociality, in which a single nest co-foundress monopolizes reproduction, often precedes eusociality outside the vespid wasps. Such a route to eusociality, which is consistent with groups consisting of a mother and her daughters (subsocial) at some stage and ancestral monogamy, is favored by the haplodiploid genetic sex determination of the Hymenoptera (diploid females and haploid males) and thus may explain why eusociality is common in the Hymenoptera. Ancestral states were also reconstructed for life history characters that have been implicated in the origins of eusociality. A loss of larval diapause during unfavorable seasons or conditions precedes, or coincides with, all but one transition to eusociality. This pattern is confirmed using phylogenetic tests of associations between state transition rates for sweat bees and apid bees. A loss of larval diapause may simply reflect the subsocial route to eusociality since subsociality is defined as females interacting with their adult daughters. A loss of larval diapause and a gain of subsociality may be associated with an extended breeding season that permits the production of at least two broods, which is necessary for helpers to evolve. Adult diapause may also lower the selective barrier to a first-brood daughter becoming a helper. Obligate eusociality meets the definition of a major evolutionary transition, and such transitions have occurred five times in the Hymenoptera.
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23
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Pahlke S, Seid MA, Jaumann S, Smith A. The Loss of Sociality Is Accompanied by Reduced Neural Investment in Mushroom Body Volume in the Sweat Bee Augochlora Pura (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). ANNALS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 114:637-642. [PMID: 34512860 PMCID: PMC8423109 DOI: 10.1093/aesa/saaa019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Social behavior has been predicted to select for increased neural investment (the social brain hypothesis) and also to select for decreased neural investment (the distributed cognition hypothesis). Here, we use two related bees, the social Augochlorella aurata (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) and the related Augochlora pura (Say), which has lost social behavior, to test the contrasting predictions of these two hypotheses in these taxa. We measured the volumes of the mushroom body (MB) calyces, a brain area shown to be important for cognition in previous studies, as well as the optic lobes and antennal lobes. We compared females at the nest foundress stage when both species are solitary so that brain development would not be influenced by social interactions. We show that the loss of sociality was accompanied by a loss in relative neural investment in the MB calyces. This is consistent with the predictions of the social brain hypothesis. Ovary size did not correlate with MB calyx volume. This is the first study to demonstrate changes in mosaic brain evolution in response to the loss of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Pahlke
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Marc A Seid
- Department of Biology and Program in Neurobiology, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA
| | - Sarah Jaumann
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Adam Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC
- Corresponding author, e-mail:
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24
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Mayr AV, Keller A, Peters MK, Grimmer G, Krischke B, Geyer M, Schmitt T, Steffan‐Dewenter I. Cryptic species and hidden ecological interactions of halictine bees along an elevational gradient. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:7700-7712. [PMID: 34188845 PMCID: PMC8216903 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes of abiotic and biotic conditions along elevational gradients represent serious challenges to organisms which may promote the turnover of species, traits and biotic interaction partners. Here, we used molecular methods to study cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, biotic interactions and phylogenetic relationships of halictid bees of the genus Lasioglossum along a 2,900 m elevational gradient at Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We detected a strong species turnover of morphologically indistinguishable taxa with phylogenetically clustered cryptic species at high elevations, changes in CHC profiles, pollen resource diversity, and a turnover in the gut and body surface microbiome of bees. At high elevations, increased proportions of saturated compounds in CHC profiles indicate physiological adaptations to prevent desiccation. More specialized diets with higher proportions of low-quality Asteraceae pollen imply constraints in the availability of food resources. Interactive effects of climatic conditions on gut and surface microbiomes, CHC profiles, and pollen diet suggest complex feedbacks among abiotic conditions, ecological interactions, physiological adaptations, and phylogenetic constraints as drivers of halictid bee communities at Mt. Kilimanjaro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia V. Mayr
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Alexander Keller
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
- Center for Computational and Theoretical BiologyCampus NordUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
- Department of BioinformaticsBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Marcell K. Peters
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Gudrun Grimmer
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Beate Krischke
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Mareen Geyer
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Thomas Schmitt
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - Ingolf Steffan‐Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
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25
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Steitz I, Paxton RJ, Schulz S, Ayasse M. Chemical Variation among Castes, Female Life Stages and Populations of the Facultative Eusocial Sweat Bee Halictus rubicundus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). J Chem Ecol 2021; 47:406-419. [PMID: 33788128 PMCID: PMC8116247 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01267-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In eusocial insects, chemical communication is crucial for mediating many aspects of social activities, especially the regulation of reproduction. Though queen signals are known to decrease ovarian activation of workers in highly eusocial species, little is known about their evolution. In contrast, some primitively eusocial species are thought to control worker reproduction through physical aggression by the queen rather than via pheromones, suggesting the evolutionary establishment of chemical signals with more derived sociality. However, studies supporting this hypothesis are largely missing. Socially polymorphic halictid bees, such as Halictus rubicundus, with social and solitary populations in both Europe and North America, offer excellent opportunities to illuminate the evolution of caste-specific signals. Here we compared the chemical profiles of social and solitary populations from both continents and tested whether (i) population or social level affect chemical dissimilarity and whether (ii) caste-specific patterns reflect a conserved queen signal. Our results demonstrate unique odor profiles of European and North American populations, mainly due to different isomers of n-alkenes and macrocyclic lactones; chemical differences may be indicative of phylogeographic drift in odor profiles. We also found common compounds overproduced in queens compared to workers in both populations, indicating a potential conserved queen signal. However, North American populations have a lower caste-specific chemical dissimilarity than European populations which raises the question if both use different mechanisms of regulating reproductive division of labor. Therefore, our study gives new insights into the evolution of eusocial behavior and the role of chemical communication in the inhibition of reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Steitz
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Robert J Paxton
- General Zoology, Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefan Schulz
- Departement of Life Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry, TU Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
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26
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Chak STC, Baeza JA, Barden P. Eusociality Shapes Convergent Patterns of Molecular Evolution across Mitochondrial Genomes of Snapping Shrimps. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:1372-1383. [PMID: 33211078 PMCID: PMC8480187 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Eusociality is a highly conspicuous and ecologically impactful behavioral syndrome that has evolved independently across multiple animal lineages. So far, comparative genomic analyses of advanced sociality have been mostly limited to insects. Here, we study the only clade of animals known to exhibit eusociality in the marine realm-lineages of socially diverse snapping shrimps in the genus Synalpheus. To investigate the molecular impact of sociality, we assembled the mitochondrial genomes of eight Synalpheus species that represent three independent origins of eusociality and analyzed patterns of molecular evolution in protein-coding genes. Synonymous substitution rates are lower and potential signals of relaxed purifying selection are higher in eusocial relative to noneusocial taxa. Our results suggest that mitochondrial genome evolution was shaped by eusociality-linked traits-extended generation times and reduced effective population sizes that are hallmarks of advanced animal societies. This is the first direct evidence of eusociality impacting genome evolution in marine taxa. Our results also strongly support the idea that eusociality can shape genome evolution through profound changes in life history and demography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solomon T C Chak
- Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ
- Department of Biological Sciences, SUNY College at Old Westbury, Old Westbury, NY
| | - Juan Antonio Baeza
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
- Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce, FL
- Departamento de Biología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
| | - Phillip Barden
- Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
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27
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Hagadorn MA, Johnson MM, Smith AR, Seid MA, Kapheim KM. Experience, but not age, is associated with volumetric mushroom body expansion in solitary alkali bees. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.238899. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.238899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
In social insects, changes in behavior are often accompanied by structural changes in the brain. This neuroplasticity may come with experience (experience-dependent) or age (experience-expectant). Yet, the evolutionary relationship between neuroplasticity and sociality is unclear, because we know little about neuroplasticity in the solitary relatives of social species. We used confocal microscopy to measure brain changes in response to age and experience in a solitary halictid bee (Nomia melanderi). First, we compared the volume of individual brain regions among newly emerged females, laboratory females deprived of reproductive and foraging experience, and free-flying, nesting females. Experience, but not age, led to significant expansion of the mushroom bodies – higher-order processing centers associated with learning and memory. Next, we investigated how social experience influences neuroplasticity by comparing the brains of females kept in the laboratory either alone or paired with another female. Paired females had significantly larger olfactory regions of the mushroom bodies. Together, these experimental results indicate that experience-dependent neuroplasticity is common to both solitary and social taxa, whereas experience-expectant neuroplasticity may be an adaptation to life in a social colony. Further, neuroplasticity in response to social chemical signals may have facilitated the evolution of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallory A. Hagadorn
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Makenna M. Johnson
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Adam R. Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, 800 22nd St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Marc A. Seid
- Biology Department, University of Scranton, 800 Linden St, Scranton, PA 18510, USA
| | - Karen M. Kapheim
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
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28
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Kingwell C, Böröczky K, Steitz I, Ayasse M, Wcislo W. Cuticular and Dufour's Gland Chemistry Reflect Reproductive and Social State in the Facultatively Eusocial Sweat Bee Megalopta genalis (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). J Chem Ecol 2021; 47:420-432. [PMID: 33682070 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01262-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Queen pheromones evolved independently in multiple eusocial insect lineages, in which they mediate reproductive conflict by inhibiting worker ovarian development. Although fundamentally important for reproductive division of labor - the hallmark of eusociality - their evolutionary origins are enigmatic. Here, we analyze cuticular and Dufour's gland chemistries across alternative social and reproductive phenotypes in Megalopta genalis bees (tribe Augochlorini, family Halictidae) that facultatively express simple eusociality. Reproductive bees have distinct overall glandular and cuticular chemical phenotypes compared with non-reproductive workers. On the cuticle, a likely site of signal transmission, reproductives are enriched for certain alkenes, most linear alkanes, and are heavily enriched for all methyl-branched alkanes. Chemicals belonging to these compound classes are known to function as fertility signals in other eusocial insect taxa. Some macrocyclic lactones, compounds that serve as queen pheromones in the other eusocial halictid tribe (Halictini), are also enriched among reproductives relative to workers. The intra-population facultative eusociality of M. genalis permits direct comparisons between individuals expressing alternative reproductive phenotypes - females that reproduce alone (solitary reproductives) and social queens - to highlight traits in the latter that may be important mediators of eusociality. Compared with solitary reproductives, the cuticular chemistries of queens are more strongly differentiated from those of workers, and furthermore are especially enriched for methyl-branched alkanes. Determining the pheromonal function(s) and information content of the candidate signaling compounds we identify will help illuminate the early evolutionary history of queen pheromones, chemical signals central to the organization of insect eusocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Callum Kingwell
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
| | - Katalin Böröczky
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Iris Steitz
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - William Wcislo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
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29
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Zaninotto V, Perrard A, Babiar O, Hansart A, Hignard C, Dajoz I. Seasonal Variations of Pollinator Assemblages among Urban and Rural Habitats: A Comparative Approach Using a Standardized Plant Community. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12030199. [PMID: 33673434 PMCID: PMC7996759 DOI: 10.3390/insects12030199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Urbanization modifies the composition of all biological communities, including insect pollinator communities, but what is filtered out? To answer this question, we compared the pollinators and their morphological and behavioral characteristics between Paris green spaces and nearby rural grasslands. We monitored the pollinators foraging on identical plant plots in these two environments for two years, and from spring to fall. Pollinators in the city were relatively less diverse than their rural counterparts. They comprised fewer bees belonging to solitary or ground-nesting species, but the bees had a larger body size overall. These data add to the body of evidence of a filtering of pollinator communities by the urban environment, partly because the abundance and distribution of nesting and feeding resources are modified. Since the diversity of pollinators is important for plant pollination, such effects must be considered in order to preserve the insect pollinator community and maintain the pollination function despite the increasing urbanization of our landscapes. Abstract Even though urban green spaces may host a relatively high diversity of wild bees, urban environments impact the pollinator taxonomic and functional diversity in a way that is still misunderstood. Here, we provide an assessment of the taxonomic and functional composition of pollinator assemblages and their response to urbanization in the Paris region (France). We performed a spring-to-fall survey of insect pollinators in green spaces embedded in a dense urban matrix and in rural grasslands, using a plant setup standardized across sites and throughout the seasons. We compared pollinator species composition and the occurrence of bee functional traits over the two habitats. There was no difference in species richness between habitats, though urban assemblages were dominated by very abundant generalist species and displayed a lower evenness. They also included fewer brood parasitic, solitary or ground-nesting bees. Overall, bees tended to be larger in the city than in the semi-natural grasslands, and this trait exhibited seasonal variations. The urban environment filters out some life history traits of insect pollinators and alters their seasonal patterns, likely as a result of the fragmentation and scarcity of feeding and nesting resources. This could have repercussions on pollination networks and the efficiency of the pollination function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Zaninotto
- Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris (iEES-Paris), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université de Paris, UPEC, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France; (A.P.); (I.D.)
- Direction des Espaces verts et de l’Environnement, Mairie de Paris, 103 Avenue de France, 75013 Paris, France
- Correspondence:
| | - Adrien Perrard
- Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris (iEES-Paris), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université de Paris, UPEC, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France; (A.P.); (I.D.)
| | - Olivier Babiar
- Station d’Écologie Forestière, Université de Paris, Route de la tour Dénécourt, 77300 Fontainebleau, France; (O.B.); (C.H.)
| | - Amandine Hansart
- Centre de Recherche en Écologie Expérimentale et Prédictive (CEREEP-Ecotron IleDeFrance), Département de biologie, École Normale Supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, UMS 3194, 11 Chemin de Busseau, 77140 Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, France;
| | - Cécile Hignard
- Station d’Écologie Forestière, Université de Paris, Route de la tour Dénécourt, 77300 Fontainebleau, France; (O.B.); (C.H.)
| | - Isabelle Dajoz
- Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris (iEES-Paris), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université de Paris, UPEC, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France; (A.P.); (I.D.)
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Sociality sculpts similar patterns of molecular evolution in two independently evolved lineages of eusocial bees. Commun Biol 2021; 4:253. [PMID: 33637860 PMCID: PMC7977082 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01770-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
While it is well known that the genome can affect social behavior, recent models posit that social lifestyles can, in turn, influence genome evolution. Here, we perform the most phylogenetically comprehensive comparative analysis of 16 bee genomes to date: incorporating two published and four new carpenter bee genomes (Apidae: Xylocopinae) for a first-ever genomic comparison with a monophyletic clade containing solitary through advanced eusocial taxa. We find that eusocial lineages have undergone more gene family expansions, feature more signatures of positive selection, and have higher counts of taxonomically restricted genes than solitary and weakly social lineages. Transcriptomic data reveal that caste-affiliated genes are deeply-conserved; gene regulatory and functional elements are more closely tied to social phenotype than phylogenetic lineage; and regulatory complexity increases steadily with social complexity. Overall, our study provides robust empirical evidence that social evolution can act as a major and surprisingly consistent driver of macroevolutionary genomic change.
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31
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Sayol F, Collado MÁ, Garcia-Porta J, Seid MA, Gibbs J, Agorreta A, San Mauro D, Raemakers I, Sol D, Bartomeus I. Feeding specialization and longer generation time are associated with relatively larger brains in bees. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200762. [PMID: 32933447 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite their miniature brains, insects exhibit substantial variation in brain size. Although the functional significance of this variation is increasingly recognized, research on whether differences in insect brain sizes are mainly the result of constraints or selective pressures has hardly been performed. Here, we address this gap by combining prospective and retrospective phylogenetic-based analyses of brain size for a major insect group, bees (superfamily Apoidea). Using a brain dataset of 93 species from North America and Europe, we found that body size was the single best predictor of brain size in bees. However, the analyses also revealed that substantial variation in brain size remained even when adjusting for body size. We consequently asked whether such variation in relative brain size might be explained by adaptive hypotheses. We found that ecologically specialized species with single generations have larger brains-relative to their body size-than generalist or multi-generation species, but we did not find an effect of sociality on relative brain size. Phylogenetic reconstruction further supported the existence of different adaptive optima for relative brain size in lineages differing in feeding specialization and reproductive strategy. Our findings shed new light on the evolution of the insect brain, highlighting the importance of ecological pressures over social factors and suggesting that these pressures are different from those previously found to influence brain evolution in other taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferran Sayol
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Miguel Á Collado
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Joan Garcia-Porta
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA
| | - Marc A Seid
- Biology Department, Neuroscience Program, The University of Scranton, Scranton, PA, USA
| | - Jason Gibbs
- Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Ainhoa Agorreta
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Diego San Mauro
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Daniel Sol
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain.,CSIC, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Ignasi Bartomeus
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Sevilla, Spain
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32
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Ibalim S, Groom SV, Dorey JB, Velasco-Castrillon A, Schwarz MP, Stevens MI. Origin and dispersal of Homalictus (Apoidea: Halictidae) across Australia, Papua New Guinea and Pacific. T ROY SOC SOUTH AUST 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/03721426.2020.1740957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sentiko Ibalim
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
- Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Scott V.C. Groom
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - James B. Dorey
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
- South Australian Museum, Adelaide, Australia
| | | | - Michael P. Schwarz
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Mark I. Stevens
- South Australian Museum, Adelaide, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
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33
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Akankunda T, To H, Rodriguez Lopez C, Leijs R, Hogendoorn K. A method to generate multilocus barcodes of pinned insect specimens using MiSeq. Mol Ecol Resour 2020; 20. [PMID: 32104992 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Revised: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
For molecular insect identification, amplicon sequencing methods are recommended because they offer a cost-effective approach for targeting small sets of informative genes from multiple samples. In this context, high-throughput multilocus amplicon sequencing has been achieved using the MiSeq Illumina sequencing platform. However, this approach generates short gene fragments of <500 bp, which then have to be overlapped using bioinformatics to achieve longer sequence lengths. This increases the risk of generating chimeric sequences or leads to the formation of incomplete loci. Here, we propose a modified nested amplicon sequencing method for targeting multiple loci from pinned insect specimens using the MiSeq Illumina platform. The modification exists in using a three-step nested PCR approach targeting near full-length loci in the initial PCR and subsequently amplifying short fragments of between 300 and 350 bp for high-throughput sequencing using Illumina chemistry. Using this method, we generated 407 sequences of three loci from 86% of all the specimens sequenced. Out of 103 pinned bee specimens of replicated species, 71% passed the 95% sequence similarity threshold between species replicates. This method worked best for pinned specimens aged between 0 and 5 years, with a limit of 10 years for pinned and 14 years for ethanol-preserved specimens. Hence, our method overcomes some of the challenges of amplicon sequencing using short read next generation sequencing and improves the possibility of creating high-quality multilocus barcodes from insect collections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trace Akankunda
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Hien To
- The Bioinformatics Hub, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Carlos Rodriguez Lopez
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,Environmental Epigenetics and Genetics Group, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Remko Leijs
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.,South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Katja Hogendoorn
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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Steitz I, Ayasse M. Macrocyclic Lactones Act as a Queen Pheromone in a Primitively Eusocial Sweat Bee. Curr Biol 2020; 30:1136-1141.e3. [PMID: 32059770 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 01/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Eusociality is characterized by the reproductive division of labor between two castes: fertile queens and largely sterile workers. Queen pheromones are known to influence worker behavior and reproductive physiology and are therefore key components in regulating complex eusocial behavior [1]. Recent studies indicate that cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) act as queen pheromones in various eusocial hymenopteran species [2-8]. However, almost all species investigated to date are highly eusocial and do not include extant transitory stages from solitary to eusocial behavior [9]. Indeed, primitively eusocial species, which largely lack morphologically distinct castes, are thought to control worker reproduction through the physical aggression of the queen rather than via pheromones [10-12]. Halictid or sweat bees exhibit a high variability of eusociality including solitary and facultatively eusocial species [9, 13-16]. However, the mechanisms controlling worker reproduction in these transitory species are unknown. The results of a recent correlative study based on caste-specific chemical profiles in various halictid bees of different social levels have revealed an overproduction of macrocyclic lactones in queens compared with workers [17]. Using chemical analyses and behavioral experiments in which we simulated below-ground nests of the primitively eusocial sweat bee Lasioglossum malachurum, we identified a queen pheromone and found that macrocyclic lactones, not CHCs, influence worker behavior and decrease ovarian activation in this species. Our data suggest that the evolution of queen pheromones is more complex than previously inferred from highly eusocial species and shed new light on the complexity of the evolution of queen pheromones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Steitz
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany.
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany.
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35
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The effects of urbanization on bee communities depends on floral resource availability and bee functional traits. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225852. [PMID: 31790482 PMCID: PMC6886752 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Wild bees are important pollinators in many ecosystems threatened by anthropogenic disturbance. Urban development can reduce and degrade natural habitat for bees and other pollinators. However, some researchers suggest that cities could also provide refuge for bees, given that agricultural intensification may pose a greater risk. In this study, we surveyed bee communities at 15 farms and gardens across an urban-rural gradient in southeastern Michigan, USA to evaluate the effect of urbanization on bees. We examined how floral resources, bee functional traits, temperature, farm size, and the spatial scale of analysis influence bee response to urbanization. We found that urbanization positively affected bee diversity and evenness but had no effect on total abundance or species richness. Additionally, urbanization altered bee community composition via differential effects on bee species and functional groups. More urbanized sites supported a greater number of exotic, above-ground nesting, and solitary bees, but fewer eusocial bees. Blooming plant species richness positively influenced bee species diversity and richness. Furthermore, the amount of available floral resources was positively associated with exotic and eusocial bee abundances. Across sites, nearly 70% of floral resources were provided by exotic plants, most of which are characterized as weedy but not invasive. Our study demonstrates that urbanization can benefit some bee species and negatively impact others. Notably, Bombus and Lasioglossum (Dialictus), were two important pollinator groups negatively affected by urbanization. Our study supports the idea that urban environments can provide valuable habitat for diverse bee communities, but demonstrates that some bees are vulnerable to urbanization. Finally, while our results indicate that increasing the abundance and richness of floral resources could partially compensate for negative effects of urbanization on bees, the effectiveness of such measures may be limited by other factors, such as urban warming.
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36
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Onuferko TM, Bogusch P, Ferrari RR, Packer L. Phylogeny and biogeography of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Epeolus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and cophylogenetic analysis with its host bee genus Colletes (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2019; 141:106603. [PMID: 31470133 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 08/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The bee genus Epeolus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) consists of 109 species, which are known to be exclusively cleptoparasites of polyester (or cellophane) bees of the genus Colletes Latreille (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Both genera have a nearly cosmopolitan distribution and are represented on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. We present the most comprehensive phylogeny for Epeolus to date, based on combined molecular and morphological data. In total, 59 ingroup taxa (species of Epeolus) and 7 outgroup taxa (other Epeolini) were scored for 99 morphological characters, and sequence data were obtained for seven genes (one mitochondrial and six nuclear, 5399 bp in total). Epeolus was found to be monophyletic, with a crown age estimated to be 25.0-13.4 Ma (95% HPD) and its origins traced to the Nearctic region. Epeolus was found to contain six major clades, five of which were well supported. The evolutionary history of Epeolus is explored in the context of earth history events and the evolutionary history of its host genus Colletes, for which a molecular phylogeny was constructed based on the same seven genes. A comparison of Epeolus and Colletes phylogenies limited to taxa for which there is evidence of an association suggests there was some cospeciation. However, more cladogenetic events in Epeolus were linked to instances of dispersal/vicariance. It is not yet clear the extent to which allopatric speciation contributed to diversification in Colletes, but the genus' success in having colonized and diversified across much of the globe made it possible for Epeolus to do the same.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Onuferko
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada; The Beaty Centre for Species Discovery, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4, Canada.
| | - Petr Bogusch
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Králové, Rokitanského 62, CZ-500 03 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
| | - Rafael R Ferrari
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Laurence Packer
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
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Santos PKF, Arias MC, Kapheim KM. Loss of developmental diapause as prerequisite for social evolution in bees. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190398. [PMID: 31409242 PMCID: PMC6731480 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Diapause is a physiological arrest of development ahead of adverse environmental conditions and is a critical phase of the life cycle of many insects. In bees, diapause has been reported in species from all seven taxonomic families. However, they exhibit a variety of diapause strategies. These different strategies are of particular interest since shifts in the phase of the insect life cycle in which diapause occurs have been hypothesized to promote the evolution of sociality. Here we provide a comprehensive evaluation of this hypothesis with phylogenetic analysis and ancestral state reconstruction (ASR) of the ecological and evolutionary factors associated with diapause phase. We find that social lifestyle, latitude and voltinism are significant predictors of the life stage in which diapause occurs. ASR revealed that the most recent common ancestor of all bees likely exhibited developmental diapause and shifts to adult, reproductive, or no diapause have occurred in the ancestors of lineages in which social behaviour has evolved. These results provide fresh insight regarding the role of diapause as a prerequisite for the evolution of sociality in bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila Karla Ferreira Santos
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências - Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, CEP 05508-090 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Maria Cristina Arias
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências - Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, CEP 05508-090 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Karen M Kapheim
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA
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Linksvayer TA, Johnson BR. Re-thinking the social ladder approach for elucidating the evolution and molecular basis of insect societies. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 34:123-129. [PMID: 31401545 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of large insect societies is a major evolutionary transition that occurred in the long-extinct ancestors of termites, ants, corbiculate bees, and vespid wasps. Researchers have long used 'social ladder thinking': assuming progressive stepwise phenotypic evolution and asserting that extant species with simple societies (e.g. some halictid bees) represent the ancestors of species with complex societies, and thus provide insight into general early steps of eusocial evolution. We discuss how this is inconsistent with data and modern evolutionary 'tree thinking'. Phylogenetic comparative methods with broad sampling provide the best means to make rigorous inferences about ancestral traits and evolutionary transitions that occurred within each lineage, and to determine whether consistent phenotypic and genomic changes occurred across independent lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brian R Johnson
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, United States
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Hung KLJ, Ascher JS, Davids JA, Holway DA. Ecological filtering in scrub fragments restructures the taxonomic and functional composition of native bee assemblages. Ecology 2019; 100:e02654. [PMID: 30942484 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the long-term consequences of habitat alteration for the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem function requires an understanding of how ecological filters drive taxonomic and functional biodiversity loss. Here, we test a set of predictions concerning the role of ecological filters in restructuring native bee assemblages inhabiting fragmented coastal sage scrub ecosystems in southern California, USA. In 2011 and 2012, we collected native bees in scrub habitat belonging to two treatment categories: large natural reserves and small habitat fragments embedded in an urban landscape. We compared bee assemblages in reserve and fragment sites with respect to their taxonomic and functional alpha diversity, beta diversity, assemblage composition, and mean geographical range size estimated via distribution maps compiled for this study from digitized specimen records. We found multiple lines of evidence that ecological filtering drove bee diversity loss in fragments: a disproportionate loss of functional diversity relative to taxonomic diversity, shifts in assemblage composition driven largely by the preferential extirpation of reserve-associated indicator species, and disproportionate loss of range-restricted species. However, we found no evidence of taxonomic or functional homogenization across fragment bee assemblages, suggesting that filtering was not sufficiently strong to cause a subset of functional traits (and their associated species) to dominate assemblages in fragments. Our results suggest that ecological filtering altered bee assemblages in habitat fragments, even when such fragments contained well-preserved native plant assemblages, underscoring the importance of preserving large areas of natural habitat for the conservation of bees (especially range-restricted taxa) and their associated ecological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keng-Lou James Hung
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, MC0116, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA
| | - John S Ascher
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore City, 117558, Singapore
| | - Jessica A Davids
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, MC0116, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA
| | - David A Holway
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, MC0116, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA
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40
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Kapheim KM, Pan H, Li C, Blatti C, Harpur BA, Ioannidis P, Jones BM, Kent CF, Ruzzante L, Sloofman L, Stolle E, Waterhouse RM, Zayed A, Zhang G, Wcislo WT. Draft Genome Assembly and Population Genetics of an Agricultural Pollinator, the Solitary Alkali Bee (Halictidae: Nomia melanderi). G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2019; 9:625-634. [PMID: 30642875 PMCID: PMC6404593 DOI: 10.1534/g3.118.200865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Alkali bees (Nomia melanderi) are solitary relatives of the halictine bees, which have become an important model for the evolution of social behavior, but for which few solitary comparisons exist. These ground-nesting bees defend their developing offspring against pathogens and predators, and thus exhibit some of the key traits that preceded insect sociality. Alkali bees are also efficient native pollinators of alfalfa seed, which is a crop of major economic value in the United States. We sequenced, assembled, and annotated a high-quality draft genome of 299.6 Mbp for this species. Repetitive content makes up more than one-third of this genome, and previously uncharacterized transposable elements are the most abundant type of repetitive DNA. We predicted 10,847 protein coding genes, and identify 479 of these undergoing positive directional selection with the use of population genetic analysis based on low-coverage whole genome sequencing of 19 individuals. We found evidence of recent population bottlenecks, but no significant evidence of population structure. We also identify 45 genes enriched for protein translation and folding, transcriptional regulation, and triglyceride metabolism evolving slower in alkali bees compared to other halictid bees. These resources will be useful for future studies of bee comparative genomics and pollinator health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen M Kapheim
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Hailin Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 650223, Kunming, China
- China National Genebank, BGI-Shenzhen, 518083, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 15, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Cai Li
- The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, United Kingdom
| | - Charles Blatti
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
| | - Brock A Harpur
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN, 47907
| | - Panagiotis Ioannidis
- Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, 70013 Vassilika Vouton, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Beryl M Jones
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Clement F Kent
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Livio Ruzzante
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laura Sloofman
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
| | - Eckart Stolle
- Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Robert M Waterhouse
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Amro Zayed
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Guojie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 650223, Kunming, China
- China National Genebank, BGI-Shenzhen, 518083, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, Universitetsparken 15, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - William T Wcislo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
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41
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Herhold HW, Davis SR, Smith CS, Engel MS, Grimaldi DA. Unique Metasomal Musculature in Sweat Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Halictidae) Revealed by Micro-CT Scanning. AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES 2019. [DOI: 10.1206/3920.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Steven R. Davis
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Corey S. Smith
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History
| | - Michael S. Engel
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History; Division of Entomology, Natura
| | - David A. Grimaldi
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History
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42
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Brain evolution in social insects: advocating for the comparative approach. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2019; 205:13-32. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-019-01315-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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43
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Kocher SD, Mallarino R, Rubin BER, Yu DW, Hoekstra HE, Pierce NE. The genetic basis of a social polymorphism in halictid bees. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4338. [PMID: 30337532 PMCID: PMC6194137 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06824-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of eusociality represents a major evolutionary transition from solitary to group reproduction. The most commonly studied eusocial species, honey bees and ants, represent the behavioral extremes of social evolution but lack close relatives that are non-social. Unlike these species, the halictid bee Lasioglossum albipes produces both solitary and eusocial nests and this intraspecific variation has a genetic basis. Here, we identify genetic variants associated with this polymorphism, including one located in the intron of syntaxin 1a (syx1a), a gene that mediates synaptic vesicle release. We show that this variant can alter gene expression in a pattern consistent with differences between social and solitary bees. Surprisingly, syx1a and several other genes associated with sociality in L. albipes have also been implicated in autism spectrum disorder in humans. Thus, genes underlying behavioral variation in L. albipes may also shape social behaviors across a wide range of taxa, including humans. The halictid bee Lasioglossum albipes has both solitary and eusocial individuals, making it a model for social evolution. Here, Kocher et al. identify a genetic variation associated with this social polymorphism, including a variant that can regulate the expression of an autism-associated gene, syntaxin 1a.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah D Kocher
- Department of Ecology and Evoutionary Biology, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA. .,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 28 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
| | - Ricardo Mallarino
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 28 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, 52 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA, 01238, USA.,Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Benjamin E R Rubin
- Department of Ecology and Evoutionary Biology, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Douglas W Yu
- Kunming Institute for Zoology, 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China.,School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Hopi E Hoekstra
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 28 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, 52 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA, 01238, USA
| | - Naomi E Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 28 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
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44
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Blaimer BB, Mawdsley JR, Brady SG. Multiple origins of sexual dichromatism and aposematism within large carpenter bees. Evolution 2018; 72:1874-1889. [PMID: 30039868 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 07/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of reversed sexual dichromatism and aposematic coloration has long been of interest to both theoreticians and empiricists. Yet despite the potential connections between these phenomena, they have seldom been jointly studied. Large carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa) are a promising group for such comparative investigations as they are a diverse clade in which both aposematism and reversed sexual dichromatism can occur either together or separately. We investigated the evolutionary history of dichromatism and aposematism and a potential correlation of these traits with diversification rates within Xylocopa, using a newly generated phylogeny for 179 Xylocopa species based on ultraconserved elements (UCEs). A monochromatic, inconspicuous ancestor is indicated for the genus, with subsequent convergent evolution of sexual dichromatism and aposematism in multiple lineages. Aposematism is found to covary with reversed sexual dichromatism in many species; however, reversed dichromatism also evolved in non-aposematic species. Bayesian Analysis of Macroevolutionary Models (BAMM) did not show increased diversification in any specific clade in Xylocopa, whereas support from Hidden State Speciation and Extinction (HiSSE) models remained inconclusive regarding an association of increased diversification rates with dichromatism or aposematism. We discuss the evolution of color patterns and diversification in Xylocopa by considering potential drivers of dichromatism and aposematism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie B Blaimer
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, 20560.,Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695
| | - Jonathan R Mawdsley
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, 20560
| | - Seán G Brady
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, 20560
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45
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Evolution of Caste-Specific Chemical Profiles in Halictid Bees. J Chem Ecol 2018; 44:827-837. [PMID: 30014321 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-0991-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Revised: 06/26/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Chemical communication is crucial for the maintenance of colony organization in eusocial insects and chemical signals are known to mediate important aspects of their social life, including the regulation of reproduction. Sociality is therefore hypothesized to be accompanied by an increase in the complexity of chemical communication. However, little is known about the evolution of odor signals at the transition from solitary living to eusociality. Halictid bees are especially suitable models to study this question as they exhibit considerable variability in social behavior. Here we investigated whether the dissimilarities in cuticle chemical signals in females of different castes and life stages reflect the level of social complexity across halictid bee species. Our hypothesis was that species with a higher social behavior ergo obligate eusocial species possess a more distinct chemical profile between castes or female life stages. We analyzed cuticular chemical profiles of foundresses, breeding females and workers of ancestrally solitary species, facultative and obligate eusocial halictid species. We also tested whether social complexity was associated with a higher investment in chemical signals. Our results revealed higher chemical dissimilarity between castes in obligate than in facultative eusocial species, especially regarding macrocyclic lactones, which were the single common compound class overproduced in queens compared with workers. Chemical dissimilarities were independent of differences in ovarian status in obligate eusocial species but were dependent on ovarian status in facultative eusocial species, which we discuss in an evolutionary framework.
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46
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Rubin BER, Sanders JG, Turner KM, Pierce NE, Kocher SD. Social behaviour in bees influences the abundance of Sodalis (Enterobacteriaceae) symbionts. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:180369. [PMID: 30109092 PMCID: PMC6083661 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.180369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions can facilitate transmission of microbes between individuals, reducing variation in gut communities within social groups. Thus, the evolution of social behaviours and symbiont community composition have the potential to be tightly linked. We explored this connection by characterizing the diversity of bacteria associated with both eusocial and solitary bee species within the behaviourally variable family Halictidae using 16S amplicon sequencing. Contrary to expectations, we found few differences in bacterial abundance or variation between social forms; most halictid species appear to share similar gut bacterial communities. However, several strains of Sodalis, a genus described as a symbiont in a variety of insects but yet to be characterized in bees, differ in abundance between eusocial and solitary bees. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on whole-genome alignments indicate that Sodalis has independently colonized halictids at least three times. These strains appear to be mutually exclusive within individual bees, although they are not host-species-specific and no signatures of vertical transmission were observed, suggesting that Sodalis strains compete for access to hosts. The symbiosis between halictids and Sodalis therefore appears to be in its early stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin E. R. Rubin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Jon G. Sanders
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kyle M. Turner
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Naomi E. Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sarah D. Kocher
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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47
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Unique Bee Communities within Vacant Lots and Urban Farms Result from Variation in Surrounding Urbanization Intensity. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su10061926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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48
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Limited social plasticity in the socially polymorphic sweat bee Lasioglossum calceatum. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018; 72:56. [PMID: 29568150 PMCID: PMC5845590 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2475-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Revised: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Eusociality is characterised by a reproductive division of labour, where some individuals forgo direct reproduction to instead help raise kin. Socially polymorphic sweat bees are ideal models for addressing the mechanisms underlying the transition from solitary living to eusociality, because different individuals in the same species can express either eusocial or solitary behaviour. A key question is whether alternative social phenotypes represent environmentally induced plasticity or predominantly genetic differentiation between populations. In this paper, we focus on the sweat bee Lasioglossum calceatum, in which northern or high-altitude populations are solitary, whereas more southern or low-altitude populations are typically eusocial. To test whether social phenotype responds to local environmental cues, we transplanted adult females from a solitary, northern population, to a southern site where native bees are typically eusocial. Nearly all native nests were eusocial, with foundresses producing small first brood (B1) females that became workers. In contrast, nine out of ten nests initiated by transplanted bees were solitary, producing female offspring that were the same size as the foundress and entered directly into hibernation. Only one of these ten nests became eusocial. Social phenotype was unlikely to be related to temperature experienced by nest foundresses when provisioning B1 offspring, or by B1 emergence time, both previously implicated in social plasticity seen in two other socially polymorphic sweat bees. Our results suggest that social polymorphism in L. calceatum predominantly reflects genetic differentiation between populations, and that plasticity is in the process of being lost by bees in northern populations. Significance statement Phenotypic plasticity is thought to play a key role in the early stages of the transition from solitary to eusocial behaviour, but may then be lost if environmental conditions become less variable. Socially polymorphic sweat bees exhibit either solitary or eusocial behaviour in different geographic populations, depending on the length of the nesting season. We tested for plasticity in the socially polymorphic sweat bee Lasioglossum calceatum by transplanting nest foundresses from a northern, non-eusocial population to a southern, eusocial population. Plasticity would be detected if transplanted bees exhibited eusocial behaviour. We found that while native bees were eusocial, 90% of transplanted bees and their offspring did not exhibit traits associated with eusociality. Environmental variables such as time of offspring emergence or temperatures experienced by foundresses during provisioning could not explain these differences. Our results suggest that the ability of transplanted bees to express eusociality is being lost, and that social polymorphism predominantly reflects genetic differences between populations. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00265-018-2475-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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49
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Simao MCM, Matthijs J, Perfecto I. Experimental small-scale flower patches increase species density but not abundance of small urban bees. J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jill Matthijs
- School for Environment and Sustainability; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor MI USA
| | - Ivette Perfecto
- School for Environment and Sustainability; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor MI USA
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50
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Branstetter MG, Childers AK, Cox-Foster D, Hopper KR, Kapheim KM, Toth AL, Worley KC. Genomes of the Hymenoptera. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 25:65-75. [PMID: 29602364 PMCID: PMC5993429 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Hymenoptera is the second-most sequenced arthropod order, with 52 publically archived genomes (71 with ants, reviewed elsewhere), however these genomes do not capture the breadth of this very diverse order (Figure 1, Table 1). These sequenced genomes represent only 15 of the 97 extant families. Although at least 55 other genomes are in progress in an additional 11 families (see Table 2), stinging wasps represent 35 (67%) of the available and 42 (76%) of the in progress genomes. A more comprehensive catalog of hymenopteran genomes is needed for research into the evolutionary processes underlying the expansive diversity in terms of ecology, behavior, and physiological traits within this group. Additional sequencing is needed to generate an assembly for even 0.05% of the estimated 1 million hymenopteran species, and we recommend premier level assemblies for at least 0.1% of the >150,000 named species dispersed across the order. Given the haplodiploid sex determination in Hymenoptera, haploid male sequencing will help minimize genome assembly issues to enable higher quality genome assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael G Branstetter
- Pollinating Insect-biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Logan, UT 84322, United States
| | - Anna K Childers
- Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States
| | - Diana Cox-Foster
- Pollinating Insect-biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Logan, UT 84322, United States
| | - Keith R Hopper
- Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Newark, DE 19713, United States
| | - Karen M Kapheim
- Utah State University, Department of Biology, Logan, UT 84322, United States
| | - Amy L Toth
- Iowa State University, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and Department of Entomology, Ames, IA 50011, United States
| | - Kim C Worley
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, United States
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