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Pérez-Alfocea F, Borghi M, Guerrero JJ, Jiménez AR, Jiménez-Gómez JM, Fernie AR, Bartomeus I. Pollinator-assisted plant phenotyping, selection, and breeding for crop resilience to abiotic stresses. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 119:56-64. [PMID: 38581375 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Food security is threatened by climate change, with heat and drought being the main stresses affecting crop physiology and ecosystem services, such as plant-pollinator interactions. We hypothesize that tracking and ranking pollinators' preferences for flowers under environmental pressure could be used as a marker of plant quality for agricultural breeding to increase crop stress tolerance. Despite increasing relevance of flowers as the most stress sensitive organs, phenotyping platforms aim at identifying traits of resilience by assessing the plant physiological status through remote sensing-assisted vegetative indexes, but find strong bottlenecks in quantifying flower traits and in accurate genotype-to-phenotype prediction. However, as the transport of photoassimilates from leaves (sources) to flowers (sinks) is reduced in low-resilient plants, flowers are better indicators than leaves of plant well-being. Indeed, the chemical composition and amount of pollen and nectar that flowers produce, which ultimately serve as food resources for pollinators, change in response to environmental cues. Therefore, pollinators' preferences could be used as a measure of functional source-to-sink relationships for breeding decisions. To achieve this challenging goal, we propose to develop a pollinator-assisted phenotyping and selection platform for automated quantification of Genotype × Environment × Pollinator interactions through an insect geo-positioning system. Pollinator-assisted selection can be validated by metabolic, transcriptomic, and ionomic traits, and mapping of candidate genes, linking floral and leaf traits, pollinator preferences, plant resilience, and crop productivity. This radical new approach can change the current paradigm of plant phenotyping and find new paths for crop redomestication and breeding assisted by ecological decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Juan José Guerrero
- Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC), Murcia, Spain
| | | | | | - Alisdair R Fernie
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPIMP), Postdam-Golm, Germany
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2
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Nurdiansyah MA, Abduh MY, Aos A, Hidayat A, Permana AD. The effects of meliponicultural use of Tetragonula laeviceps on other bee pollinators and pollination efficacy of lemon. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17655. [PMID: 38952981 PMCID: PMC11216206 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
The augmentation of pollination success in lemon (Citrus limon Eureka) flowers remains contingent on the involvement of bee pollinators. With wild bee pollinator populations declining in agroecosystems, meliponiculture has emerged as a potential option in Indonesia. This study aimed to investigate the effects of meliponicultural use of Tetragonula laeviceps on diversity, foraging behavior, and monthly population of bee pollinators, as well as lemon pollination efficacy with and without meliponiculture treatment during two periods. Using scan and focal sampling methods in first and second periods, the study found that the diversity of wild bee pollinators was six species (Apis cerana, Lasioglossum albescens, Megachile laticeps, Xylocopa confusa, Xylocopa latipes, and Xylocopa caerulea), and T. laeviceps when using meliponiculture. The relative abundance and daily foraging activity of wild bee pollinators were initially reduced in the first period (March-June) and then maintained in the second period (July-October). T. laeviceps foraged on the flowers, involving specific sequences for 72 s with highest visitation rate of 0.25 flowers/h from 10:00-13:00. Light intensity was observed to be the most influential factor for bee pollinator density. Pollination efficacy results showed that meliponiculture usage has greater benefit compared to meliponiculture absence across various parameters, including fruit sets, fruit weight, yield, and estimated productivity. The effects of meliponicultural use of T. laeviceps can enhance lemon pollination efficacy while preserving the diversity of wild insect pollinators. This suggests that meliponiculture stingless bees could be a beneficial practice in agroecosystems, especially in tropical regions where wild bee populations and diversity are declining.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhamad Aldi Nurdiansyah
- Doctoral Program of Biology, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Muhammad Yusuf Abduh
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Aos Aos
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Asep Hidayat
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Agus Dana Permana
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
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3
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Russell AL, Buchmann SL, Ascher JS, Wang Z, Kriebel R, Jolles DD, Orr MC, Hughes AC. Global patterns and drivers of buzzing bees and poricidal plants. Curr Biol 2024:S0960-9822(24)00742-5. [PMID: 38925116 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.05.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Foraging behavior frequently plays a major role in driving the geographic distribution of animals. Buzzing to extract protein-rich pollen from flowers is a key foraging behavior used by bee species across at least 83 genera (these genera comprise ∼58% of all bee species). Although buzzing is widely recognized to affect the ecology and evolution of bees and flowering plants (e.g., buzz-pollinated flowers), global patterns and drivers of buzzing bee biogeography remain unexplored. Here, we investigate the global species distribution patterns within each bee family and how patterns and drivers differ with respect to buzzing bee species. We found that both distributional patterns and drivers of richness typically differed for buzzing species compared with hotspots for all bee species and when grouped by family. A major predictor of the distribution, but not species richness overall for buzzing members of four of the five major bee families included in analyses (Andrenidae, Halictidae, Colletidae, and to a lesser extent, Apidae), was the richness of poricidal flowering plant species, which depend on buzzing bees for pollination. Because poricidal plant richness was highest in areas with low wind and high aridity, we discuss how global hotspots of buzzing bee biodiversity are likely influenced by both biogeographic factors and plant host availability. Although we explored global patterns with state-level data, higher-resolution work is needed to explore local-level drivers of patterns. From a global perspective, buzz-pollinated plants clearly play a greater role in the ecology and evolution of buzzing bees than previously predicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avery L Russell
- Department of Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65897, USA.
| | - Stephen L Buchmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - John S Ascher
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhiheng Wang
- College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing, China
| | - Ricardo Kriebel
- Department of Botany, Institute of Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Diana D Jolles
- Department of Biological Sciences, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH, USA
| | - Michael C Orr
- Entomologie, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany; Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Alice C Hughes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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4
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Bernauer OM, Jain A, de Bivort B, Holbrook NM, Myers SS, Ziska LH, Crall JD. Elevated atmospheric CO 2 has small, species-specific effects on pollen chemistry and plant growth across flowering plant species. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13760. [PMID: 38877021 PMCID: PMC11178917 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63967-z] [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: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO2) can affect plant growth and physiology, which can, in turn, impact herbivorous insects, including by altering pollen or plant tissue nutrition. Previous research suggests that eCO2 can reduce pollen nutrition in some species, but it is unknown whether this effect is consistent across flowering plant species. We experimentally quantified the effects of eCO2 across multiple flowering plant species on plant growth in 9 species and pollen chemistry (%N an estimate for protein content and nutrition in 12 species; secondary chemistry in 5 species) in greenhouses. For pollen nutrition, only buckwheat significantly responded to eCO2, with %N increasing in eCO2; CO2 treatment did not affect pollen amino acid composition but altered secondary metabolites in buckwheat and sunflower. Plant growth under eCO2 exhibited two trends across species: plant height was taller in 44% of species and flower number was affected for 63% of species (3 species with fewer and 2 species with more flowers). The remaining growth metrics (leaf number, above-ground biomass, flower size, and flowering initiation) showed divergent, species-specific responses, if any. Our results indicate that future eCO2 is unlikely to uniformly change pollen chemistry or plant growth across flowering species but may have the potential to alter ecological interactions, or have particularly important effects on specialized pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia M Bernauer
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
| | - Anupreksha Jain
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Benjamin de Bivort
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - N Michele Holbrook
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Samuel S Myers
- Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Lewis H Ziska
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168Th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - James D Crall
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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5
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Vallejo-Marin M, Russell AL. Harvesting pollen with vibrations: towards an integrative understanding of the proximate and ultimate reasons for buzz pollination. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 133:379-398. [PMID: 38071461 PMCID: PMC11006549 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Buzz pollination, a type of interaction in which bees use vibrations to extract pollen from certain kinds of flowers, captures a close relationship between thousands of bee and plant species. In the last 120 years, studies of buzz pollination have contributed to our understanding of the natural history of buzz pollination, and basic properties of the vibrations produced by bees and applied to flowers in model systems. Yet, much remains to be done to establish its adaptive significance and the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of buzz pollination across diverse plant and bee systems. Here, we review for bees and plants the proximate (mechanism and ontogeny) and ultimate (adaptive significance and evolution) explanations for buzz pollination, focusing especially on integrating across these levels to synthesize and identify prominent gaps in our knowledge. Throughout, we highlight new technical and modelling approaches and the importance of considering morphology, biomechanics and behaviour in shaping our understanding of the adaptive significance of buzz pollination. We end by discussing the ecological context of buzz pollination and how a multilevel perspective can contribute to explain the proximate and evolutionary reasons for this ancient bee-plant interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Vallejo-Marin
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 752 36, Sweden
| | - Avery L Russell
- Department of Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 65897, USA
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6
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Slijepcevic P. Principles of cognitive biology and the concept of biocivilisations. Biosystems 2024; 235:105109. [PMID: 38157923 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.105109] [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: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
A range of studies published in the last few decades promotes the cognitive aspects of life: all organisms, from bacteria to mammals, are capable of sensing/perception, decision-making, problem-solving, learning, and other cognitive functions, including sentience and consciousness. In this paper I present a scientific and philosophical synthesis of these studies, leading to an integrated view of cognitive biology. This view is expressed through the four principles applicable to all living systems: (1) sentience and consciousness, (2) autopoiesis, (3) free energy principle and relational biology, and (4) cognitive repertoire. The principles are circular, and they reinforce themselves. The circularity is not rigid, meaning that hierarchical and heterarchical shifts are widespread in the biosphere. The above principles emerged at the dawn of life, with the first cells, bacteria and archaea. All biogenic forms and functions that emerged since then can be traced to the first cells - indivisible units of biological agency. Following these principles, I developed the concept of biocivilisations to explain various forms of social intelligence in different kingdoms of life. The term biociviloisations draws on the human interpretation of the concept of civilisation, which searches for non-human equivalents of communication, engineering, science, medicine, art, and agriculture, in all kingdoms of life by applying the principles of cognitive biology. Potential avenues for testing the concept of biocivilisations are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Predrag Slijepcevic
- Department of Life Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, England, UK.
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7
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Pemberton RW. Plant Resource Use and Pattern of Usage by the Naturalized Orchid Bee ( Euglossa dilemma: Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Florida. INSECTS 2023; 14:909. [PMID: 38132583 PMCID: PMC10743517 DOI: 10.3390/insects14120909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The Neotropical orchid bee Euglossa dilemma was found to be naturalized in southern Florida in 2003, and, by 2022, it had colonized the southern half of Florida. Observations of the bee's collection of plant resources, primarily flowers, were made from 2003 through to 2022 to document its plant usage and understand the patterns of its plant usage. The bee utilized 259 plant taxa, 237 species, and 22 horticultural forms, in 156 genera and 56 families in 263 total uses. Of 247 taxa of flowers, 120 were visited primarily for nectar, 46 for both nectar and pollen, 60 for pollen, including 42 buzz-pollinated flowers, 15 for fragrance chemicals for the males, and 5 for resin rewards by females for nesting. Fragrance chemicals were also collected by males from the leaves of 12 plant species. These extensive resource use data allowed the following predictions to be made. (1) The bee's presence in Florida, distant from its native region of Mexico and Central America and the geographical ranges of other orchid bees, would result the usage of many new taxa of plants. True, half, 74/148 (50%), of the genera and one third, 16/51(31%), of the plant families of the plants with flowers used by the bee were not previously recorded as being utilized by Euglossine bees. (2) Like other naturalized bees, it would use relatively more plants from its native range or congeners of these plants. True, 113/148 (76%) of genera with species bearing collected floral rewards are native or congeners with species native to the bee's native range. (3) Given the bee's long tongue, ability to buzz pollen from poricidal anthers, and ability to collect and use specialized rewards, it would disproportionately use plants with protected or highly specialized floral rewards. True, 180/247 (72%) utilized species bear rewards which were protected and unavailable to, or of no interest to, most other flower visitors.
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8
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Franchini P, Fruciano C, Wood TJ, Shastry V, Goulson D, Hughes WOH, Jones JC. Limited introgression from non-native commercial strains and signatures of adaptation in the key pollinator Bombus terrestris. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:5709-5723. [PMID: 37789741 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17151] [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: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Insect pollination is fundamental for natural ecosystems and agricultural crops. The bumblebee species Bombus terrestris has become a popular choice for commercial crop pollination worldwide due to its effectiveness and ease of mass rearing. Bumblebee colonies are mass produced for the pollination of more than 20 crops and imported into over 50 countries including countries outside their native ranges, and the risk of invasion by commercial non-native bumblebees is considered an emerging issue for global conservation and biological diversity. Here, we use genome-wide data from seven wild populations close to and far from farms using commercial colonies, as well as commercial populations, to investigate the implications of utilizing commercial bumblebee subspecies in the UK. We find evidence for generally low levels of introgression between commercial and wild bees, with higher admixture proportions in the bees occurring close to farms. We identify genomic regions putatively involved in local and global adaptation, and genes in locally adaptive regions were found to be enriched for functions related to taste receptor activity, oxidoreductase activity, fatty acid and lipid biosynthetic processes. Despite more than 30 years of bumblebee colony importation into the UK, we observe low impact on the genetic integrity of local B. terrestris populations, but we highlight that even limited introgression might negatively affect locally adapted populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Franchini
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viale dell'Università s.n.c, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Carmelo Fruciano
- Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology, National Research Council (IRBIM-CNR), Messina, Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy
| | - Thomas J Wood
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute for Biosciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Vivaswat Shastry
- Committee on Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Dave Goulson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Julia C Jones
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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9
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Graham KK, Milbrath MO, Killewald M, Soehnlen A, Zhang Y, Isaacs R. Identity and diversity of pollens collected by two managed bee species while in blueberry fields for pollination. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 52:907-917. [PMID: 37498984 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvad072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The nutritional needs and foraging behavior of managed bees often lead to pollen collection from flowers other than the focal crop during crop pollination. To understand the pollen needs and preferences of managed bees during blueberry pollination, we identified pollen collected by Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies across two years. Bumble bees collected a wider diversity of pollens compared to honey bees, whereas honey bees were more focused on abundant resources. Despite blueberries being the most abundant resource in the landscape, it was not the most collected pollen by either bee species in 2018. However, it was the most collected pollen by bumble bees in 2019 and they collected substantially more blueberry pollen than honey bees in both years. In 2018, buckthorn, Rhamnus L. (Rosales: Rhamnaceae) or Frangula Mill. (Rosales: Rhamnaceae), and willow, Salix L. (Malpighiales: Salicaceae), pollens were abundantly collected by both bee species. In 2019, cherry, Prunus L. (Rosales: Rosaceae), and willow (Salix) pollens were collected at high proportions by both species. Brambles, Rubus L. (Rosales: Rosaceae), and white clover, Trifolium repens L. (Fabales: Fabaceae), were also common pollen sources for honey bees, whereas oak, Quercus L. (Fagales: Fagaceae), was collected by bumble bees. Landscape analyses also revealed that certain land cover types were positively correlated with the collection of preferred pollen types. Herbaceous wetlands were associated with collection of buckthorn (Rhamnus/Frangula), willow (Salix), and cherry (Prunus) pollen, which were primary pollen resources for both bee species. There was no correlation between landscape diversity and pollen diversity, suggesting that colonies forage based on nutritional requirements rather than resource availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey K Graham
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, 202 CIPS, 578 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Present Affiliation: U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Pollinating Insect - Biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit, 1410 N. 800 E., Logan, UT 84341, USA
| | - Meghan O Milbrath
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, 202 CIPS, 578 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Michael Killewald
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, 202 CIPS, 578 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, 12 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Annuet Soehnlen
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, 202 CIPS, 578 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Yajun Zhang
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, 202 CIPS, 578 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Rufus Isaacs
- Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, 202 CIPS, 578 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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10
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Roch JC, Malfi R, Van Wyk JI, Muñoz Agudelo DC, Milam J, Adler LS. The intersection of bee and flower sexes: pollen presence shapes sex-specific bee foraging associations in sunflower. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 52:480-490. [PMID: 36961107 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvad021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Foraging preferences are known to differ among bee taxa, and can also differ between male and female bees of the same species. Similarly, bees can prefer a specific flower sex, particularly if only one sex provides pollen. Such variation in foraging preferences could lead to divergent bee communities visiting different flower sexes of a plant species. We sampled bees visiting sunflowers to characterize bee species richness, abundance, and sex ratios on pollen-fertile and pollen-sterile cultivars. We asked whether female or male bees were more abundant on sunflowers, whether female bees were more abundant on pollen-fertile or pollen-sterile cultivars, and whether pollen presence predicted the sex of sampled bees. We further asked whether the bee community differed between pollen-fertile and pollen-sterile cultivars. Females of most bee species were more abundant on sunflowers compared to males, and females were usually more abundant on pollen-fertile cultivars. In three bee species, pollen presence was predictive of a bee's sex, with females more abundant on pollen-fertile cultivars than males. Further, the bee community differed significantly between pollen-fertile and pollen-sterile cultivars, with two bee species functioning as indicators for pollen-fertile sunflowers. Our results demonstrate that a bee's sex shapes foraging associations on sunflowers and influences abundance between pollen-fertile and pollen-sterile cultivars, and that pollen-fertile and pollen-sterile cultivars are visited by different bee communities. Bee sexes and flower pollen presence may be under-appreciated factors shaping pollination services in both agricultural and natural ecosystems, and could be important considerations for pollination of crops with pollen-fertile and pollen-sterile flowers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C Roch
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Rosemary Malfi
- Massachusetts Pollinator Network, Northeast Organic Farming Association, Florence, MA 01062, USA
| | - Jennifer I Van Wyk
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Deicy Carolina Muñoz Agudelo
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Joan Milam
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Lynn S Adler
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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11
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Murphy AM, Jiang S, Elderfield JA, Pate AE, Halliwell C, Glover BJ, Cunniffe NJ, Carr JP. Biased pollen transfer by bumblebees favors the paternity of virus-infected plants in cross-pollination. iScience 2023; 26:106116. [PMID: 36994192 PMCID: PMC10040881 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
We used a green fluorescent protein marker gene for paternity analysis to determine if virus infection affected male reproductive success of tomato in bumblebee-mediated cross-pollination under glasshouse conditions. We found that bumblebees that visited flowers of infected plants showed a strong preference to subsequently visit flowers of non-infected plants. The behavior of the bumblebees to move toward non-infected plants after pollinating virus-infected plants appears to explain the paternity data, which demonstrate a statistically significant ∼10-fold bias for fertilization of non-infected plants with pollen from infected parents. Thus, in the presence of bumblebee pollinators, CMV-infected plants exhibit enhanced male reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex M. Murphy
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
- Corresponding author
| | - Sanjie Jiang
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
| | - James A.D. Elderfield
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
| | - Adrienne E. Pate
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
| | - Chay Halliwell
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
| | - Beverley J. Glover
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
| | - Nik J. Cunniffe
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
| | - John P. Carr
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA United Kingdom
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12
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van der Niet T, Egan PA, Schlüter PM. Evolutionarily inspired solutions to the crop pollination crisis. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:435-445. [PMID: 36737302 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The global decline in insect diversity threatens pollination services, potentially impacting crop production and food security. Here, we argue that this looming pollination crisis is generally approached from an ecological standpoint, and that consideration of evolutionary principles offers a novel perspective. First, we outline that wild plant species have overcome 'pollination crises' throughout evolutionary history, and show how associated principles can be applied to crop pollination. We then highlight technological advances that can be used to adapt crop flowers for optimal pollination by local wild pollinators, especially by increasing generalization in pollination systems. Thus, synergies among fundamental evolutionary research, genetic engineering, and agro-ecological science provide a promising template for addressing a potential pollination crisis, complementing much-needed strategies focused on pollinator conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timotheüs van der Niet
- Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P. Bag X01, 3209, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
| | - Paul A Egan
- Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Philipp M Schlüter
- Department of Plant Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstraße 30, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
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13
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Ferreira AIS, da Silva NFF, Mesquita FN, Rosa TC, Monzón VH, Mesquita-Neto JN. Automatic acoustic recognition of pollinating bee species can be highly improved by Deep Learning models accompanied by pre-training and strong data augmentation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1081050. [PMID: 37123860 PMCID: PMC10140520 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1081050] [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: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Bees capable of performing floral sonication (or buzz-pollination) are among the most effective pollinators of blueberries. However, the quality of pollination provided varies greatly among species visiting the flowers. Consequently, the correct identification of flower visitors becomes indispensable to distinguishing the most efficient pollinators of blueberry. However, taxonomic identification normally depends on microscopic characteristics and the active participation of experts in the decision-making process. Moreover, the many species of bees (20,507 worldwide) and other insects are a challenge for a decreasing number of insect taxonomists. To overcome the limitations of traditional taxonomy, automatic classification systems of insects based on Machine-Learning (ML) have been raised for detecting and distinguishing a wide variety of bioacoustic signals, including bee buzzing sounds. Despite that, classical ML algorithms fed by spectrogram-type data only reached marginal performance for bee ID recognition. On the other hand, emerging systems from Deep Learning (DL), especially Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), have provided a substantial boost to classification performance in other audio domains, but have yet to be tested for acoustic bee species recognition tasks. Therefore, we aimed to automatically identify blueberry pollinating bee species based on characteristics of their buzzing sounds using DL algorithms. Methods We designed CNN models combined with Log Mel-Spectrogram representations and strong data augmentation and compared their performance at recognizing blueberry pollinating bee species with the current state-of-the-art models for automatic recognition of bee species. Results and Discussion We found that CNN models performed better at assigning bee buzzing sounds to their respective taxa than expected by chance. However, CNN models were highly dependent on acoustic data pre-training and data augmentation to outperform classical ML classifiers in recognizing bee buzzing sounds. Under these conditions, the CNN models could lead to automating the taxonomic recognition of flower-visiting bees of blueberry crops. However, there is still room to improve the performance of CNN models by focusing on recording samples for poorly represented bee species. Automatic acoustic recognition associated with the degree of efficiency of a bee species to pollinate a particular crop would result in a comprehensive and powerful tool for recognizing those that best pollinate and increase fruit yields.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Thierson Couto Rosa
- Instituto de Informatica, Universidade Federal de Goias, Goiania, Goias, Brazil
| | - Victor Hugo Monzón
- Laboratorio Ecologıa de Abejas, Departamento de Biologıa y Quımica, Facultad de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad Catolica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - José Neiva Mesquita-Neto
- Laboratorio Ecologıa de Abejas, Departamento de Biologıa y Quımica, Facultad de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad Catolica del Maule, Talca, Chile
- *Correspondence: José Neiva Mesquita-Neto,
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14
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Rocha FH, Peraza DN, Medina S, Quezada-Euán JJG. Pollination service provided by honey bees to buzz-pollinated crops in the Neotropics. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280875. [PMID: 36696409 PMCID: PMC9876385 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Generalist honey bees grant significant pollination services worldwide. Although honey bees can provide compensatory pollination services, their service to buzz-pollinated crops, compared to specialized pollinators, is not clear. In this study, we assessed the contribution of Africanized honey bees (AHB) and native sonicating bees (NBZ) to the pollination of eggplant (Solanum melongena) and annatto (Bixa orellana) in Yucatan, Mexico, one of the largest producers of these crops in the Americas and a region with one of the largest densities of honey bees in the world. We first compared the relative frequency and abundance of both bee types on flowers of both crops. Secondly, we controlled access to flowers to compare the number and weight of fruit and number of seed produced after single visits of AHB and native bees. For a better assessment of pollination services, we evaluated the productivity of individual flowers multiply visited by AHB. The results were compared against treatments using pollinator-excluded flowers and flowers that were supplied with additional pollen, which allowed an overall measure of pollination service provision (PSP). Our results showed that AHB were the predominant flower visitors in both crops and that were poorly efficient on individual visits. Notably, fruit quantity and seed number increased concomitantly with the number of AHB visits per flower on eggplant, but not on annatto. Estimation of PSP revealed no pollination deficit on eggplant but that a deficit existed on the pollination services to annatto. We found that AHB numerical predominance compensates their poor individual performance and can complement the services of native bees on eggplant, but not on annatto. We discuss possible explanations and implications of these results for buzz-pollinated crops in the neotropics an area with little assessment of pollination services and a high density of honey bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franklin H. Rocha
- Departamento de Apicultura Tropical, Campus Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias- Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida-Xmatkuil, México
| | - Daniel N. Peraza
- Departamento de Apicultura Tropical, Campus Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias- Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida-Xmatkuil, México
| | - Salvador Medina
- Facultad de Matemáticas-Campus de Ingenierías y Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Anillo Periférico, Mérida, México
| | - José Javier G. Quezada-Euán
- Departamento de Apicultura Tropical, Campus Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias- Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida-Xmatkuil, México
- * E-mail:
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15
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Liu J, Zhang J, Shen J, Zhao H, Ma W, Jiang Y. Differences in EAG Response and Behavioral Choices between Honey Bee and Bumble Bee to Tomato Flower Volatiles. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13110987. [PMID: 36354811 PMCID: PMC9697709 DOI: 10.3390/insects13110987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Bumble bees and honey bees are of vital importance for tomato pollination, although honey bees are less attracted to tomato flowers than bumble bees. Little is known about how tomato flower volatile compounds influence the foraging behaviors of honey bees and bumble bees. In this study, compounds of tomato flower volatiles were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Electroantennography (EAG) and a dynamic two-choice olfactometer were used, respectively, to compare the differences of antennal and behavioral responses between Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris towards selected volatile compounds. A total of 46 compounds were detected from the tomato flower volatiles. Of the 16 compounds tested, A. mellifera showed strong antennal responses to 3 compounds (1-nonanal, (+)-dihydrocarvone, and toluene) when compared with a mineral oil control, and B. terrestris showed 7 pronounced EAG responses (1,3-xylene, (+)-dihydrocarvone, toluene, piperitone, eucarvone, 1-nonanal, and β-ocimene). Additionally, 1-nonanal and (+)-dihydrocarvone elicited significant avoidance behavior of A. mellifera, but not of B. terrestris. In conclusion, bumble bees are more sensitive to the compounds of tomato flower volatiles compared to honey bees, and honey bees showed aversion to some compounds of tomato flower volatiles. The findings indicated that compounds of flower volatiles significantly influenced bee foraging preference for tomato.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinjia Liu
- College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
| | - Jiangchao Zhang
- College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
| | - Jinshan Shen
- College of Horticulture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China
| | - Huiting Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
| | - Weihua Ma
- College of Horticulture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China
| | - Yusuo Jiang
- College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
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16
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DeVetter LW, Chabert S, Milbrath MO, Mallinger RE, Walters J, Isaacs R, Galinato SP, Kogan C, Brouwer K, Melathopoulos A, Eeraerts M. Toward evidence-based decision support systems to optimize pollination and yields in highbush blueberry. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.1006201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) is a globally important fruit crop that depends on insect-mediated pollination to produce quality fruit and commercially viable yields. Pollination success in blueberry is complex and impacted by multiple interacting factors including flower density, bee diversity and abundance, and weather conditions. Other factors, including floral traits, bee traits, and economics also contribute to pollination success at the farm level but are less well understood. As blueberry production continues to expand globally, decision-aid technologies are needed to optimize and enhance the sustainability of pollination strategies. The objective of this review is to highlight our current knowledge about blueberry pollination, where current research efforts are focused, and where future research should be directed to successfully implement a comprehensive blueberry pollination decision-making framework for modern production systems. Important knowledge gaps remain, including how to integrate wild and managed pollinators to optimize pollination, and how to provide predictable and stable crop pollination across variable environmental conditions. In addition, continued advances in pesticide stewardship are required to optimize pollinator health and crop outcomes. Integration of on- and off-farm data, statistical models, and software tools could distill complex scientific information into decision-aid systems that support sustainable, evidence-based pollination decisions at the farm level. Utility of these tools will require multi-disciplinary research and strategic deployment through effective extension and information-sharing networks of growers, beekeepers, and extension/crop advisors.
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17
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Nevard L, Vallejo‐Marín M. Floral orientation affects outcross-pollen deposition in buzz-pollinated flowers with bilateral symmetry. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2022; 109:1568-1578. [PMID: 36193950 PMCID: PMC9828177 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Floral orientation is central to plant-pollinator interactions and is commonly associated with floral symmetry. Bilaterally symmetrical flowers are often oriented horizontally for optimal pollinator positioning and pollen transfer efficiency, while the orientation of radially symmetrical flowers is variable. Buzz-pollinated species (pollinated by vibration-producing bees) include bilateral, horizontally oriented flowers, and radial, pendant flowers. The effect of floral orientation on pollen transfer has never been tested in buzz-pollinated species. METHODS Here, we examined the effect of floral orientation on bumblebee-mediated pollen deposition in three buzz-pollinated Solanum species with different floral symmetry and natural orientations: S. lycopersicum and S. seaforthianum (radial, pendant), and S. rostratum (bilateral, horizontal). We tested whether orientation affects total stigmatic pollen deposition (both self and outcross pollen) when all flowers have the same orientation (either pendant or horizontal). In a second experiment, we evaluated whether different orientations of donor and recipient flowers affects the receipt of outcross pollen by S. rostratum. RESULTS For the three Solanum species studied, there was no effect of floral orientation on total pollen deposition (both self and outcross) when flowers shared the same orientation. In contrast, in our experiment with S. rostratum, we found that pendant flowers received fewer outcross-pollen grains when paired with pendant donors. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that floral orientation influences the quality of pollen transferred, with more outcross pollen transferred to horizontally oriented recipients in the bilaterally symmetrical S. rostratum. Whether other bilaterally symmetrical, buzz-pollinated flowers also benefit from increased cross-pollination when presented horizontally remains to be established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Nevard
- Biological & Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUKFK9 4LA
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18
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Badenes-Pérez FR. Plant-Insect Interactions. PLANTS 2022; 11:plants11091140. [PMID: 35567140 PMCID: PMC9104044 DOI: 10.3390/plants11091140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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19
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Aguirre LA, Adler LS. Interacting Antagonisms: Parasite Infection Alters Bombus impatiens (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Responses to Herbivory on Tomato Plants. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2022; 115:688-692. [PMID: 35244163 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toac023] [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: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about how simultaneous antagonistic interactions on plants and pollinators affect pollination services, even though herbivory can alter floral traits and parasites can change pollinator learning, perception, or behavior. We investigated how a common herbivore and bumble bee (Bombus spp.) parasite impact pollination in tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) (Solanales: Solanaceae). We exposed half the plants to low-intensity herbivory by the specialist Manduca sexta L. (Lepidoptera: Sphigidae), and observed bumble bee visits and time spent on flowers of damaged and control plants. Following observations, we caught the foraging bees and assessed infection by the common gut parasite, Crithidia bombi Lipa & Triggiani (Trypanosomatida: Trypanosomatidae). Interestingly, we found an interactive effect between herbivory and Crithidia infection; bees with higher parasite loads spent less time foraging on damaged plants compared to control plants. However, bees did not visit higher proportions of flowers on damaged or control plants, regardless of infection status. Our study demonstrates that multiple antagonists can have synergistic negative effects on the duration of pollinator visits, such that the consequences of herbivory may depend on the infection status of pollinators. If pollinator parasites indeed exacerbate the negative effects of herbivory on pollination services, this suggests the importance of incorporating bee health management practices to maximize crop production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A Aguirre
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Lynn S Adler
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
- Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
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20
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Kardum Hjort C, Paris JR, Olsson P, Herbertsson L, de Miranda JR, Dudaniec RY, Smith HG. Genomic divergence and a lack of recent introgression between commercial and wild bumblebees (
Bombus terrestris
). Evol Appl 2022; 15:365-382. [PMID: 35386397 PMCID: PMC8965379 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The global movement of bees for agricultural pollination services can affect local pollinator populations via hybridization. When commercial bumblebees are of the same species but of different geographic origin, intraspecific hybridization may result in beneficial integration of new genetic variation, or alternatively may disrupt locally adapted gene complexes. However, neither the existence nor the extent of genomic introgression and evolutionary divergence between wild and commercial bumblebees is fully understood. We obtained whole‐genome sequencing data from wild and commercial Bombus terrestris collected from sites in Southern Sweden with and without long‐term use of commercially imported B. terrestris. We search for evidence of introgression, dispersal and genome‐wide differentiation in a comparative genomic analysis of wild and commercial bumblebees. Commercial B. terrestris were found in natural environments near sites where commercial bumblebees were used, as well as drifting wild B. terrestris in commercial bumblebee colonies. However, we found no evidence for widespread, recent genomic introgression of commercial B. terrestris into local wild conspecific populations. We found that wild B. terrestris had significantly higher nucleotide diversity (Nei's pi, π), while the number of segregating sites (Watterson's theta, θw) was higher in commercial B. terrestris. A highly divergent region on chromosome 11 was identified in commercial B. terrestris and found to be enriched with structural variants. The genes present in this region are involved in flight muscle contraction and structure and pathogen immune response, providing evidence for differing evolutionary processes operating in wild and commercial B. terrestris. We did not find evidence for recent introgression, suggesting that co‐occurring commercial B. terrestris have not disrupted evolutionary processes in wild B. terrestris populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Josephine R. Paris
- College of Life and Environmental Science University of Exeter Exeter EX4 4QD United Kingdom
| | - Peter Olsson
- Department of Biology Lund University SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Lina Herbertsson
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science Lund University SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Joachim R. de Miranda
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Box 7044 SE‐750 07 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Rachael Y. Dudaniec
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney 2109 NSW Australia
| | - Henrik G. Smith
- Department of Biology Lund University SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science Lund University SE‐223 62 Lund Sweden
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21
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The Honey Bee Apis mellifera: An Insect at the Interface between Human and Ecosystem Health. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11020233. [PMID: 35205099 PMCID: PMC8869587 DOI: 10.3390/biology11020233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Apis mellifera Linnaeus (1758), a honey bee, is a eusocial insect widely known for its role in pollination, an essential ecosystem service for plant biodiversity, and quality of vegetables and fruit products. In addition, honey bees and bee products are valuable bioindicators of pollutants, such as airborne particulate matter, heavy metals, and pesticides. In this review, we explore the provisioning, regulating, and cultural services provided by the honey bee, an insect at the interface between human and ecosystem health. Abstract The concept of ecosystem services is widely understood as the services and benefits thatecosystems provide to humans, and they have been categorised into provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services. This article aims to provide an updated overview of the benefits that the honey bee Apis mellifera provides to humans as well as ecosystems. We revised the role of honey bees as pollinators in natural ecosystems to preserve and restore the local biodiversity of wild plants; in agro-ecosystems, this species is widely used to enhance crop yield and quality, meeting the increasing food demand. Beekeeping activity provides humans not only with high-quality food but also with substances used as raw materials and in pharmaceuticals, and in polluted areas, bees convey valuable information on the environmental presence of pollutants and their impact on human and ecosystem health. Finally, the role of the honey bee in symbolic tradition, mysticism, and the cultural values of the bee habitats are also presented. Overall, we suggest that the symbolic value of the honey bee is the most important role played by this insect species, as it may help revitalise and strengthen the intimate and reciprocal relationship between humans and the natural world, avoiding the inaccuracy of considering the ecosystems as mere providers of services to humans.
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22
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Power CC, Nielsen A, Sheil D. Even small forest patches increase bee visits to flowers in an oil palm plantation landscape. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Candice C. Power
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) Ås Norway
- Department of Biology Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE) Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark
| | - Anders Nielsen
- Department of Landscape and Biodiversity Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) Ås Norway
- Department of Biosciences Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES) University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Douglas Sheil
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) Ås Norway
- Wageningen University and Research Wageningen The Netherlands
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Bogor Indonesia
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23
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Ribeiro AP, da Silva NFF, Mesquita FN, Araújo PDCS, Rosa TC, Mesquita-Neto JN. Machine learning approach for automatic recognition of tomato-pollinating bees based on their buzzing-sounds. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009426. [PMID: 34529654 PMCID: PMC8478199 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bee-mediated pollination greatly increases the size and weight of tomato fruits. Therefore, distinguishing between the local set of bees–those that are efficient pollinators–is essential to improve the economic returns for farmers. To achieve this, it is important to know the identity of the visiting bees. Nevertheless, the traditional taxonomic identification of bees is not an easy task, requiring the participation of experts and the use of specialized equipment. Due to these limitations, the development and implementation of new technologies for the automatic recognition of bees become relevant. Hence, we aim to verify the capacity of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in recognizing the taxonomic identity of visiting bees to tomato flowers based on the characteristics of their buzzing sounds. We compared the performance of the ML algorithms combined with the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) and with classifications based solely on the fundamental frequency, leading to a direct comparison between the two approaches. In fact, some classifiers powered by the MFCC–especially the SVM–achieved better performance compared to the randomized and sound frequency-based trials. Moreover, the buzzing sounds produced during sonication were more relevant for the taxonomic recognition of bee species than analysis based on flight sounds alone. On the other hand, the ML classifiers performed better in recognizing bees genera based on flight sounds. Despite that, the maximum accuracy obtained here (73.39% by SVM) is still low compared to ML standards. Further studies analyzing larger recording samples, and applying unsupervised learning systems may yield better classification performance. Therefore, ML techniques could be used to automate the taxonomic recognition of flower-visiting bees of the cultivated tomato and other buzz-pollinated crops. This would be an interesting option for farmers and other professionals who have no experience in bee taxonomy but are interested in improving crop yields by increasing pollination. Bees are the most important pollinators of cultivated tomatoes. We also know that the distinct species of bees have different performances as pollinators, and these performances are directly related to the size and weight of the fruits. Moreover, the characteristics of the buzzing sounds tend to vary between the bee species. However, the buzzing sounds are complex and can widely vary over time, making the analysis of this data difficult using the usual statistical methods in Ecology. In the face of this problem, we proposed to automatically recognize pollinating bees of tomato flowers based on their buzzing sounds using Machine Learning (ML) tools. In fact, we found that the ML algorithms are capable of recognizing bees just based on their buzzing sounds. This could lead to automating the recognition of flower-visiting bees of the cultivated tomato, which would be a nice option for farmers and other professionals who have no experience in bee taxonomy but are interested in improving crop yields. On the other hand, this encourages the farmer to adopt sustainable agricultural practices for the conservation of native tomato pollinators. To achieve this goal, the next step is to develop applications compatible with smartphones capable of recognizing bees by their buzzing sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Thierson Couto Rosa
- Instituto de Informática, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiánia, Goiás, Brazil
| | - José Neiva Mesquita-Neto
- Centro de Investigación en Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
- * E-mail:
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