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Sang H, Li Y, Tan S, Gao P, Wang B, Guo S, Luo S, Sun C. Conservation genomics analysis reveals recent population decline and possible causes in bumblebee Bombus opulentus. INSECT SCIENCE 2024. [PMID: 38297451 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Bumblebees are a genus of pollinators (Bombus) that play important roles in natural ecosystem and agricultural production. Several bumblebee species have been recorded as under population decline, and the proportion of species experiencing population decline within subgenus Thoracobombus is higher than average. Bombus opulentus is 1 species in Thoracobombus, but little is known about its recent population dynamics. Here, we employed conservation genomics methods to investigate the population dynamics of B. opulentus during the recent past and identify the likely environmental factors that may cause population decline. Firstly, we placed the scaffold-level of B. opulentus reference genome sequence onto chromosome-level using Hi-C technique. Then, based on this reference genome and whole-genome resequencing data for 51 B. opulentus samples, we reconstructed the population structure and effective population size (Ne ) trajectories of B. opulentus and identified genes that were under positive selection. Our results revealed that the collected B. opulentus samples could be divided into 2 populations, and 1 of them experienced a recent population decline; the declining population also exhibited lower genetic diversity and higher inbreeding levels. Genes related to high-temperature tolerance, immune response, and detoxication showed signals of positive selection in the declining population, suggesting that climate warming and pathogen/pesticide exposures may contribute to the decline of this B. opulentus population. Taken together, our study provided insights into the demography of B. opulentus populations and highlighted that populations of the same bumblebee species could have contrasting Ne trajectories and population decline could be caused by a combination of various stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiling Sang
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yancan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- Western Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Shuxin Tan
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Pu Gao
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Bei Wang
- Yan'an Beekeeping Experimental Station, Yan'an, Shannxi, China
| | - Shengnan Guo
- Hengshui center for Disease Prevention and Control, Hengshui, Hebei, China
| | - Shudong Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- Western Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji, Xinjiang, China
| | - Cheng Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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2
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Yurtseven A, Buyanova S, Agrawal AA, Bochkareva OO, Kalinina OV. Machine learning and phylogenetic analysis allow for predicting antibiotic resistance in M. tuberculosis. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23:404. [PMID: 38124060 PMCID: PMC10731705 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-03147-7] [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: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global health threat, and an accurate prediction of bacterial resistance patterns is critical for effective treatment and control strategies. In recent years, machine learning (ML) approaches have emerged as powerful tools for analyzing large-scale bacterial AMR data. However, ML methods often ignore evolutionary relationships among bacterial strains, which can greatly impact performance of the ML methods, especially if resistance-associated features are attempted to be detected. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) methods like linear mixed models accounts for the evolutionary relationships in bacteria, but they uncover only highly significant variants which have already been reported in literature. RESULTS In this work, we introduce a novel phylogeny-related parallelism score (PRPS), which measures whether a certain feature is correlated with the population structure of a set of samples. We demonstrate that PRPS can be used, in combination with SVM- and random forest-based models, to reduce the number of features in the analysis, while simultaneously increasing models' performance. We applied our pipeline to publicly available AMR data from PATRIC database for Mycobacterium tuberculosis against six common antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS Using our pipeline, we re-discovered known resistance-associated mutations as well as new candidate mutations which can be related to resistance and not previously reported in the literature. We demonstrated that taking into account phylogenetic relationships not only improves the model performance, but also yields more biologically relevant predicted most contributing resistance markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alper Yurtseven
- Department of Drug Bioinformatics, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus E8.1, Saarbrücken, 66123, Saarland, Germany.
- Graduate School of Computer Science, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Saarland, Germany.
| | - Sofia Buyanova
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg, 3400, Austria
| | - Amay Ajaykumar Agrawal
- Department of Drug Bioinformatics, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus E8.1, Saarbrücken, 66123, Saarland, Germany
- Graduate School of Computer Science, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Saarland, Germany
| | - Olga O Bochkareva
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Am Campus 1, Klosterneuburg, 3400, Austria
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Division of Computational System Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1 A, Wien, 1030, Austria
| | - Olga V Kalinina
- Department of Drug Bioinformatics, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus E8.1, Saarbrücken, 66123, Saarland, Germany
- Graduate School of Computer Science, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, 66123, Saarland, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, 66421, Saarland, Germany
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3
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Rahman SR, Lozier JD. Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) populations from spatial-environmental range extremes. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14901. [PMID: 37689750 PMCID: PMC10492822 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41896-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Unraveling molecular mechanisms of adaptation to complex environments is crucial to understanding tolerance of abiotic pressures and responses to climatic change. Epigenetic variation is increasingly recognized as a mechanism that can facilitate rapid responses to changing environmental cues. To investigate variation in genetic and epigenetic diversity at spatial and thermal extremes, we use whole genome and methylome sequencing to generate a high-resolution map of DNA methylation in the bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii. We sample two populations representing spatial and environmental range extremes (a warm southern low-elevation site and a cold northern high-elevation site) previously shown to exhibit differences in thermal tolerance and determine positions in the genome that are consistently and variably methylated across samples. Bisulfite sequencing reveals methylation characteristics similar to other arthropods, with low global CpG methylation but high methylation concentrated in gene bodies and in genome regions with low nucleotide diversity. Differentially methylated sites (n = 2066) were largely hypomethylated in the northern high-elevation population but not related to local sequence differentiation. The concentration of methylated and differentially methylated sites in exons and putative promoter regions suggests a possible role in gene regulation, and this high-resolution analysis of intraspecific epigenetic variation in wild Bombus suggests that the function of methylation in niche adaptation would be worth further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeffrey D Lozier
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
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4
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Zhuang M, Colgan TJ, Guo Y, Zhang Z, Liu F, Xia Z, Dai X, Zhang Z, Li Y, Wang L, Xu J, Guo Y, Qu Y, Yao J, Yang H, Yang F, Li X, Guo J, Brown MJF, Li J. Unexpected worker mating and colony-founding in a superorganism. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5499. [PMID: 37679330 PMCID: PMC10484907 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41198-6] [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: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of caste-differentiated colonies, which have been defined as 'superorganisms', in ants, bees, and wasps represents a major transition in evolution. Lifetime mating commitment by queens, pre-imaginal caste determination and lifetime unmatedness of workers are key features of these animal societies. Workers in superorganismal species like honey bees and many ants have consequently lost, or retain only vestigial spermathecal structures. However, bumble bee workers retain complete spermathecae despite 25-40 million years since their origin of superorganismality, which remains an evolutionary mystery. Here, we show (i) that bumble bee workers retain queen-like reproductive traits, being able to mate and produce colonies, underlain by queen-like gene expression, (ii) the social conditions required for worker mating, and (iii) that these abilities may be selected for by early queen-loss in these annual species. These results challenge the idea of lifetime worker unmatedness in superorganisms, and provide an exciting new tool for the conservation of endangered bumble bee species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingsheng Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
- Shanghai Suosheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shanghai, 201700, China
| | - Thomas J Colgan
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Yulong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Zhengyi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Fugang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongyan Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Xueyan Dai
- Shanghai Suosheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shanghai, 201700, China
| | - Zhihao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanjian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Liuhao Wang
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, China
| | - Jin Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yueqin Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yingping Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Huipeng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Fan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoying Li
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Guo
- Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China
| | - Mark J F Brown
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK.
| | - Jilian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China.
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5
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Verbeke S, Boeraeve M, Carpentier S, Jacquemyn H, Pozo MI. The impact of plant diversity and vegetation composition on bumblebee colony fitness. OIKOS 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastiaan Verbeke
- Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
| | - Margaux Boeraeve
- Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
| | - Sebastien Carpentier
- Division of Crop Biotechnics, Dept of Biosystems, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
- SYBIOMA: Facility for Systems Biology Mass Spectrometry Leuven Belgium
| | - Hans Jacquemyn
- Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
| | - María I. Pozo
- Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
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6
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Maihoff F, Sahler S, Schoger S, Brenzinger K, Kallnik K, Sauer N, Bofinger L, Schmitt T, Nooten SS, Classen A. Cuticular hydrocarbons of alpine bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Bombus) are species-specific, but show little evidence of elevation-related climate adaptation. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1082559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Alpine bumble bees are the most important pollinators in temperate mountain ecosystems. Although they are used to encounter small-scale successions of very different climates in the mountains, many species respond sensitively to climatic changes, reflected in spatial range shifts and declining populations worldwide. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) mediate climate adaptation in some insects. However, whether they predict the elevational niche of bumble bees or their responses to climatic changes remains poorly understood. Here, we used three different approaches to study the role of bumble bees’ CHCs in the context of climate adaptation: using a 1,300 m elevational gradient, we first investigated whether the overall composition of CHCs, and two potentially climate-associated chemical traits (proportion of saturated components, mean chain length) on the cuticle of six bumble bee species were linked to the species’ elevational niches. We then analyzed intraspecific variation in CHCs of Bombus pascuorum along the elevational gradient and tested whether these traits respond to temperature. Finally, we used a field translocation experiment to test whether CHCs of Bombus lucorum workers change, when translocated from the foothill of a cool and wet mountain region to (a) higher elevations, and (b) a warm and dry region. Overall, the six species showed distinctive, species-specific CHC profiles. We found inter- and intraspecific variation in the composition of CHCs and in chemical traits along the elevational gradient, but no link to the elevational distribution of species and individuals. According to our expectations, bumble bees translocated to a warm and dry region tended to express longer CHC chains than bumble bees translocated to cool and wet foothills, which could reflect an acclimatization to regional climate. However, chain lengths did not further decrease systematically along the elevational gradient, suggesting that other factors than temperature also shape chain lengths in CHC profiles. We conclude that in alpine bumble bees, CHC profiles and traits respond at best secondarily to the climate conditions tested in this study. While the functional role of species-specific CHC profiles in bumble bees remains elusive, limited plasticity in this trait could restrict species’ ability to adapt to climatic changes.
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7
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Zoller L, Bennett J, Knight TM. Plant-pollinator network change across a century in the subarctic. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:102-112. [PMID: 36593294 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01928-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Animal-mediated pollination is a vital ecosystem service to crops and wild plants, and long-term stability of plant-pollinator interactions is therefore crucial for maintaining plant biodiversity and food security. However, it is unknown how the composition of pollinators and the structure of pollinator interactions have changed across longer time spans relevant to examining responses to human activities such as climate change. We resampled an historical dataset of plant-pollinator interactions across several orders of pollinating insects in a subarctic location in Finland that has already experienced substantial climate warming but little land use change. Our results reveal a dramatic turnover in pollinator species and rewiring of plant-pollinator interactions, with only 7% of the interactions shared across time points. The relative abundance of moth and hoverfly pollinators declined between time points, whereas muscoid flies, a group for which little is known regarding conservation status and responses to climate, became more common. Specialist pollinators disproportionately declined, leading to a decrease in network-level specialization, which could have harmful consequences for pollination services. Our results exemplify the changes in plant-pollinator networks that might be expected in other regions as climate change progresses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leana Zoller
- Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany. .,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Joanne Bennett
- Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,Centre for Applied Water Science, Institute for Applied Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Tiffany M Knight
- Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Halle (Saale), Germany
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8
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Manlik O, Mundra S, Schmid‐Hempel R, Schmid‐Hempel P. Impact of climate change on parasite infection of an important pollinator depends on host genotypes. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:69-80. [PMID: 36176231 PMCID: PMC10092497 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is predicted to affect host-parasite interactions, and for some hosts, parasite infection is expected to increase with rising temperatures. Global population declines of important pollinators already have been attributed to climate change and parasitism. However, the role of climate in driving parasite infection and the genetic basis for pollinator hosts to respond often remain obscure. Based on decade-long field data, we investigated the association between climate and Nosema bombi (Microsporidia) infection of buffed-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), and whether host genotypes play a role. For this, we genotyped 876 wild bumblebee queens and screened for N. bombi infection of those queens between 2000 and 2010. We recorded seven climate parameters during those 11 years and tested for correlations between climate and infection prevalence. Here we show that climatic factors drive N. bombi infection and that the impact of climate depends on mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) haplotypes of the host. Infection prevalence was correlated with climatic variables during the time when queens emerge from hibernation. Remarkably, COI haplotypes best predict this association between climatic factors and infection. In particular, two host haplotypes ("A" and "B") displayed phenotypic plasticity in response to climatic variation: Temperature was positively correlated with infection of host haplotype B, but not haplotype A. The likelihood of infection of haplotype A was associated with moisture, conferring greater resistance to parasite infection during wetter years. In contrast, infection of haplotype B was unrelated to moisture. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that identifies specific host genotypes that confer differential parasite resistance under variable climatic conditions. Our results underscore the importance of mitochondrial haplotypes to ward off parasites in a changing climate. More broadly, this also suggests that COI may play a pertinent role in climate change adaptations of insect pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Manlik
- Biology Department, College of ScienceUnited Arab Emirates UniversityAl AinUnited Arab Emirates
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological Earth and Environmental ScienceUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Sunil Mundra
- Biology Department, College of ScienceUnited Arab Emirates UniversityAl AinUnited Arab Emirates
- Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and BiotechnologyUnited Arab Emirates UniversityAl AinUnited Arab Emirates
| | - Regula Schmid‐Hempel
- Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and BiotechnologyUnited Arab Emirates UniversityAl AinUnited Arab Emirates
| | - Paul Schmid‐Hempel
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology (IBZ), ETH‐Zentrum CHNZurichSwitzerland
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9
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Williams PH, Françoso E, Martinet B, Orr MC, Ren Z, Júnior JS, Thanoosing C, Vandame R. When did bumblebees reach South America? Unexpectedly old montane species may be explained by Mexican stopover (Hymenoptera: Apidae). SYST BIODIVERS 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2022.2092229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Elaine Françoso
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Baptiste Martinet
- Avenue F.D, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Roosevelt 50, Brussels, B-1050, Belgium
| | - Michael C. Orr
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang, 100101, Beijing, China
| | - Zongxin Ren
- Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China
| | - José Santos Júnior
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Rémy Vandame
- El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, 29290, México
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10
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Liang C, Liu D, Song P, Zhou Y, Yu H, Sun G, Ma X, Yan J. Transcriptomic Analyses Suggest the Adaptation of Bumblebees to High Altitudes. INSECTS 2022; 13:1173. [PMID: 36555083 PMCID: PMC9783775 DOI: 10.3390/insects13121173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Determining the adaptive mechanisms by which bumblebees adapt to high altitudes can help us to better understand their distribution, providing a basis for the future protection and utilization of bumblebee resources. For this study, the adaptive mechanisms of two dominant bumblebee species in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau-Bombus kashmirensis and B. waltoni-were studied through transcriptomics methods. For each species, enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes and gene set enrichment analysis were carried out between samples collected at different altitudes (4000 m, 4500 m, and 5000 m). The results indicate that these bumblebees tend to up-regulate energy metabolism-related genes when facing extremely high-altitude environments. Of the enriched pathways up-regulated in higher altitudes, the pentose and glucuronate interconversions pathway presented the most severe up-regulation in multiple comparisons of different altitudes for B. kashmirensis, as well as the AMPK signaling pathway, which was found to be up-regulated in both species. Notably, limited by the extreme hypoxic conditions in this study, oxidative phosphorylation was found to be down-regulated with increasing altitude, which is uncommon in studies on bumblebee adaptation to high altitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengbo Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Daoxin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
- Kunlun College, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
- Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China
| | - Pengfei Song
- Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China
| | - Yuantao Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Hongyan Yu
- Qinghai Service Guarantee Center of Qilian Mountain National Park, Xining 810001, China
| | - Guo Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Jingyan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
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11
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Maihoff F, Friess N, Hoiss B, Schmid‐Egger C, Kerner J, Neumayer J, Hopfenmüller S, Bässler C, Müller J, Classen A. Smaller, more diverse and on the way to the top: Rapid community shifts of montane wild bees within an extraordinary hot decade. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fabienne Maihoff
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | - Nicolas Friess
- Faculty of Geography University of Marburg Marburg Germany
| | - Bernhard Hoiss
- Bayerische Akademie für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege Laufen Germany
| | | | - Janika Kerner
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
| | | | - Sebastian Hopfenmüller
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics University of Ulm Ulm Germany
| | - Claus Bässler
- Department of Conservation Biology, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity University of Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany
- National Park Bavarian Forest Grafenau Germany
| | - Jörg Müller
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
- National Park Bavarian Forest Grafenau Germany
| | - Alice Classen
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany
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12
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Franke S, Pinkert S, Brandl R, Thorn S. Modeling the extinction risk of European butterflies and odonates. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9465. [PMID: 36381396 PMCID: PMC9643075 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9465] [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: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect populations have become increasingly threatened during the last decades due to climate change and landuse intensification. Species characteristics driving these threats remain poorly understood. Trait‐based analyses provide a straight‐forward approach to gain a mechanistic understanding of species' extinction risk, guiding the development of conservation strategies. We combined morphological traits and phylogenetic relationship for 332 European species of butterflies and 115 species of odonates (dragon and damselflies) to model their red list status via phylogenetically controlled ordered logistic regression. We hypothesized that extinction risk increases with increasing body volume and wing area, decreasing range size, and is larger for brighter species. All investigated traits exhibited a strong phylogenetic signal. When controlling for phylogenetic relationship, we found that extinction risk of butterflies increased with decreasing range size. The extinction risk of odonates showed no relationship with the selected traits. Our results show that there is no universal trait defining the extinction risk of our investigated insect taxa. Furthermore, evolutionary history, measured as the phylogenetically predicted part of our analyzed traits, poorly predicted extinction risk. Our study confirms the focus of conservation measures on European butterfly species with small range sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Franke
- Department of Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology Philipps‐Universität Marburg Marburg Germany
| | - Stefan Pinkert
- Department of Conservation Ecology, Faculty of Biology Philipps‐Universität Marburg Marburg Germany
| | - Roland Brandl
- Department of Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology Philipps‐Universität Marburg Marburg Germany
| | - Simon Thorn
- Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology State Institute for the Protection of Birds Gießen Germany
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13
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Bumble bees exhibit body size clines across an urban gradient despite low genetic differentiation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4166. [PMID: 35264687 PMCID: PMC8907314 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08093-4] [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: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental heterogeneity resulting from human-modified landscapes can increase intraspecific trait variation. However, less known is whether such phenotypic variation is driven by plastic or adaptive responses to local environments. Here, we study five bumble bee (Apidae: Bombus) species across an urban gradient in the greater Saint Louis, Missouri region in the North American Midwest and ask: (1) Can urban environments induce intraspecific spatial structuring of body size, an ecologically consequential functional trait? And, if so, (2) is this body size structure the result of plasticity or adaptation? We additionally estimate genetic diversity, inbreeding, and colony density of these species—three factors that affect extinction risk. Using ≥ 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci per species and measurements of body size, we find that two of these species (Bombus impatiens, Bombus pensylvanicus) exhibit body size clines across the urban gradient, despite a lack of population genetic structure. We also reaffirm reports of low genetic diversity in B. pensylvanicus and find evidence that Bombus griseocollis, a species thought to be thriving in North America, is inbred in the greater Saint Louis region. Collectively, our results have implications for conservation in urban environments and suggest that plasticity can cause phenotypic clines across human-modified landscapes.
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14
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Fisher K, Watrous KM, Williams NM, Richardson LL, Woodard SH. A contemporary survey of bumble bee diversity across the state of California. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8505. [PMID: 35342613 PMCID: PMC8933253 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 10/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Bumble bees (genus Bombus) are important pollinators with more than 260 species found worldwide, many of which are in decline. Twenty-five species occur in California with the highest species abundance and diversity found in coastal, northern, and montane regions. No recent studies have examined California bumble bee diversity across large spatial scales nor explored contemporary community composition patterns across the state. To fill these gaps, we collected 1740 bumble bee individuals, representing 17 species from 17 sites (~100 bees per site) in California, using an assemblage monitoring framework. This framework is intended to provide an accurate estimate of relative abundance of more common species without negatively impacting populations through overcollection. Our sites were distributed across six ecoregions, with an emphasis on those that historically hosted high bumble bee diversity. We compared bumble bee composition among these sites to provide a snapshot of California bumble bee biodiversity in a single year. Overall, the assemblage monitoring framework that we employed successfully captured estimated relative abundance of species for most sites, but not all. This shortcoming suggests that bumble bee biodiversity monitoring in California might require multiple monitoring approaches, including greater depth of sampling in some regions, given the variable patterns in bumble bee abundance and richness throughout the state. Our study sheds light on the current status of bumble bee diversity in California, identifies some areas where greater sampling effort and conservation action should be focused in the future, and performs the first assessment of an assembly monitoring framework for bumble bee communities in the state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaleigh Fisher
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of California, RiversideRiversideCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kristal M. Watrous
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of California, RiversideRiversideCaliforniaUSA
| | - Neal M. Williams
- Department of Entomology and NematologyUniversity of California, DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Sarah Hollis Woodard
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of California, RiversideRiversideCaliforniaUSA
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15
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Bravo Y, Hanson PE, Chacón‐Madrigal E, Lobo‐Segura J. Long‐term comparison of the orchid bee community in the tropical dry forest of Costa Rica. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13067] [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)
- Yanil Bravo
- Sistema de Estudios de Posgrado en Biología Universidad de Costa Rica San José Costa Rica
| | - Paul E. Hanson
- Escuela de Biología Universidad de Costa Rica San José Costa Rica
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16
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17
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Robertson SM, Dowling APG, Wiedenmann RN, Joshi NK, Westerman EL. Nocturnal Pollinators Significantly Contribute to Apple Production. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 114:2155-2161. [PMID: 34293132 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toab145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural dependency on insect-mediated pollination is increasing at the same time that pollinator populations are experiencing declines in diversity and abundance. Current pollinator research in agriculture focuses largely on diurnal pollinators, yet the evidence for pollination by moths and other nocturnal pollinators is growing. Apples are one of the most valuable and important fruits produced globally, and apple production is dependent on insect-mediated cross-pollination to generate a profitable crop. We examined contributions to apple production provided by nocturnal insects via an exclusion experiment. We compared the relative contributions to apple production provided by nocturnal and diurnal pollinators using fruit set, the likelihood of cluster pollination, and seed set. We found nocturnal pollinators capable of facilitating the production of as many apples at similar levels of pollination as diurnal pollinators. We further found evidence that nocturnal and diurnal pollinators pollinate synergistically, with pollination contributions being additive in one year of our study. Our research identifies significant contributions to apple production provided by nocturnal pollinators, which may interact with diurnal pollinators in ways that are currently unrecognized. Expansions of this research into additional pollinator-dependent crops and focused investigations on specific nocturnal insects will provide more accurate assessments of nocturnal-pollinator roles in agriculture and improve our overall understanding of pollination in agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen M Robertson
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, PTSC 217, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Ashley P G Dowling
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, PTSC 217, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Robert N Wiedenmann
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, PTSC 217, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Neelendra K Joshi
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, PTSC 217, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Erica L Westerman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Science and Engineering, Room 601, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
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18
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Guzman LM, Chamberlain SA, Elle E. Network robustness and structure depend on the phenological characteristics of plants and pollinators. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13321-13334. [PMID: 34646472 PMCID: PMC8495816 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Many structural patterns have been found to be important for the stability and robustness of mutualistic plant-pollinator networks. These structural patterns are impacted by a suite of variables, including species traits, species abundances, their spatial configuration, and their phylogenetic history. Here, we consider a specific trait: phenology, or the timing of life history events. We expect that timing and duration of activity of pollinators, or of flowering in plants, could greatly affect the species' roles within networks in which they are embedded. Using plant-pollinator networks from 33 sites in southern British Columbia, Canada, we asked (a) how phenological species traits, specifically timing of first appearance in the network and duration of activity in a network, were related to species' roles within a network, and (b) how those traits affected network robustness to phenologically biased species loss. We found that long duration of activity increased connection within modules for both pollinators and plants and among modules for plants. We also found that date of first appearance was positively related to interaction strength asymmetry in plants but negatively related to pollinators. Networks were generally more robust to the loss of pollinators than plants, and robustness increased if the models allow new interactions to form when old ones are lost, constrained by overlapping phenology of plants and pollinators. Robustness declined with the loss of late-flowering plants, which tended to have higher interaction strength asymmetry. In addition, robustness declined with loss of early-flying or long-duration pollinators. These pollinators tended to be among-module connectors. Our results point to networks being limited by early-flying pollinators. If plants flower earlier due to climate change, plant fitness may decline as they will depend on early emerging pollinators, unless pollinators also emerge earlier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Melissa Guzman
- Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology Research GroupDepartment of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Scott A. Chamberlain
- Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology Research GroupDepartment of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Elizabeth Elle
- Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology Research GroupDepartment of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBritish ColumbiaCanada
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19
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Martinet B, Dellicour S, Ghisbain G, Przybyla K, Zambra E, Lecocq T, Boustani M, Baghirov R, Michez D, Rasmont P. Global effects of extreme temperatures on wild bumblebees. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2021; 35:1507-1518. [PMID: 33319368 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Climate plays a key role in shaping population trends and determining the geographic distribution of species because of limits in species' thermal tolerance. An evaluation of species tolerance to temperature change can therefore help predict their potential spatial shifts and population trends triggered by ongoing global warming. We assessed inter- and intraspecific variations in heat resistance in relation to body mass, local mean temperatures, and evolutionary relationships in 39 bumblebee species, a major group of pollinators in temperate and cold ecosystems, across 3 continents, 6 biomes, and 20 regions (2386 male specimens). Based on experimental bioassays, we measured the time before heat stupor of bumblebee males at a heatwave temperature of 40 °C. Interspecific variability was significant, in contrast to interpopulational variability, which was consistent with heat resistance being a species-specific trait. Moreover, cold-adapted species are much more sensitive to heat stress than temperate and Mediterranean species. Relative to their sensitivity to extreme temperatures, our results help explain recent population declines and range shifts in bumblebees following climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baptiste Martinet
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
- Evolutionary Biology & Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Avenue Paul Héger - CP 160/12, Brussels, 1000, Belgium
| | - Simon Dellicour
- Spatial Epidemiology Lab. (SpELL), Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP160/12 50, av. FD Roosevelt, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Guillaume Ghisbain
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
| | - Kimberly Przybyla
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
| | - Ella Zambra
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
| | - Thomas Lecocq
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
- INRAE, URAFPA, University of Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Mira Boustani
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
| | - Ruslan Baghirov
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Tomsk State University, Leninast 36, Tomsk, 634050, Russia
- Department of Biology and Genetics, Siberian State Medical University, Moskovskiy Trakt, 2, Tomsk, 634050, Russia
| | - Denis Michez
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
| | - Pierre Rasmont
- Laboratory of Zoology, Research Institute of Biosciences, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, Mons, 7000, Belgium
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20
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Deng Y, Jiang X, Zhao H, Yang S, Gao J, Wu Y, Diao Q, Hou C. Microplastic Polystyrene Ingestion Promotes the Susceptibility of Honeybee to Viral Infection. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:11680-11692. [PMID: 34374532 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c01619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging threat to ecological conservation and biodiversity; however, little is known of the types and possible impacts of MPs in pollinators. To examine whether MPs were present in honeybees, we analyzed the honeybee samples collected in fields from six provinces in China. Four types MPs were identified in honeybee including polystyrene (PS) by Raman spectroscopic analysis, and these plastic polymers were detected in 66.7% bee samples. Then, we assessed the physical and biological impacts of PS of three sizes (0.5, 5, and 50 μm) on bees for 21 days. Next, we measured how the presence of PS affected the Israeli acute paralysis virus proliferation, a small RNA virus associated with bee colony decline. Experimental evidence showed that a large mass of PS was ingested and accumulated within the midgut and enhanced the susceptibility of bees to viral infection. Not only histological analysis showed that PS, especially 0.5 μm PS, damaged the midgut tissue and was subsequently transferred to the hemolymph, trachea, and Malpighian tubules, but also qPCR and transcriptomic results indicated that genes correlated with membrane lipid metabolism, immune response, detoxification, and the respiratory system were significantly regulated after PS ingestion. Our results highlight neglected MP contamination to the bees, a pollination ecosystem stressed by the anthropogenic pollution, and have implications for human health via ingestion of bee products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanchun Deng
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Xuejian Jiang
- Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Forestry Research Institute, Nanning 530002, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongxia Zhao
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, People's Republic of China
| | - Sa Yang
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Gao
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanyan Wu
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingyun Diao
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Chunsheng Hou
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China
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21
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Rohde AT, Pilliod DS. Spatiotemporal dynamics of insect pollinator communities in sagebrush steppe associated with weather and vegetation. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
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22
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Sun C, Huang J, Wang Y, Zhao X, Su L, Thomas GWC, Zhao M, Zhang X, Jungreis I, Kellis M, Vicario S, Sharakhov IV, Bondarenko SM, Hasselmann M, Kim CN, Paten B, Penso-Dolfin L, Wang L, Chang Y, Gao Q, Ma L, Ma L, Zhang Z, Zhang H, Zhang H, Ruzzante L, Robertson HM, Zhu Y, Liu Y, Yang H, Ding L, Wang Q, Ma D, Xu W, Liang C, Itgen MW, Mee L, Cao G, Zhang Z, Sadd BM, Hahn MW, Schaack S, Barribeau SM, Williams PH, Waterhouse RM, Mueller RL. Genus-Wide Characterization of Bumblebee Genomes Provides Insights into Their Evolution and Variation in Ecological and Behavioral Traits. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:486-501. [PMID: 32946576 PMCID: PMC7826183 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Bumblebees are a diverse group of globally important pollinators in natural ecosystems and for agricultural food production. With both eusocial and solitary life-cycle phases, and some social parasite species, they are especially interesting models to understand social evolution, behavior, and ecology. Reports of many species in decline point to pathogen transmission, habitat loss, pesticide usage, and global climate change, as interconnected causes. These threats to bumblebee diversity make our reliance on a handful of well-studied species for agricultural pollination particularly precarious. To broadly sample bumblebee genomic and phenotypic diversity, we de novo sequenced and assembled the genomes of 17 species, representing all 15 subgenera, producing the first genus-wide quantification of genetic and genomic variation potentially underlying key ecological and behavioral traits. The species phylogeny resolves subgenera relationships, whereas incomplete lineage sorting likely drives high levels of gene tree discordance. Five chromosome-level assemblies show a stable 18-chromosome karyotype, with major rearrangements creating 25 chromosomes in social parasites. Differential transposable element activity drives changes in genome sizes, with putative domestications of repetitive sequences influencing gene coding and regulatory potential. Dynamically evolving gene families and signatures of positive selection point to genus-wide variation in processes linked to foraging, diet and metabolism, immunity and detoxification, as well as adaptations for life at high altitudes. Our study reveals how bumblebee genes and genomes have evolved across the Bombus phylogeny and identifies variations potentially linked to key ecological and behavioral traits of these important pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Sun
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxing Huang
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yun Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaomeng Zhao
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Long Su
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Gregg W C Thomas
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
| | - Mengya Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xingtan Zhang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Irwin Jungreis
- MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Manolis Kellis
- MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
| | - Saverio Vicario
- Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research-Italian National Research Council C/O Department of Physics, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Igor V Sharakhov
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, VA.,Department of Cytology and Genetics, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation
| | - Semen M Bondarenko
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, VA
| | - Martin Hasselmann
- Department of Livestock Population Genomics, Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Chang N Kim
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
| | - Benedict Paten
- UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
| | | | - Li Wang
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuxiao Chang
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qiang Gao
- BGI Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ling Ma
- BGI Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lina Ma
- China National Center for Bioinformation & Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhang Zhang
- China National Center for Bioinformation & Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hongbo Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Huahao Zhang
- College of Pharmacy and Life Science, Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, China
| | - Livio Ruzzante
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Hugh M Robertson
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
| | - Yihui Zhu
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Genome Center, and MIND Institute, University of California Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Yanjie Liu
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Huipeng Yang
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lele Ding
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Quangui Wang
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dongna Ma
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Weilin Xu
- Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng Liang
- Institute of Sericultural and Apiculture, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Mengzi, China
| | - Michael W Itgen
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Lauren Mee
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Gang Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ze Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ben M Sadd
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
| | - Matthew W Hahn
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.,Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
| | | | - Seth M Barribeau
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Paul H Williams
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robert M Waterhouse
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
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23
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Wood TJ, Ghisbain G, Rasmont P, Kleijn D, Raemakers I, Praz C, Killewald M, Gibbs J, Bobiwash K, Boustani M, Martinet B, Michez D. Global patterns in bumble bee pollen collection show phylogenetic conservation of diet. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:2421-2430. [PMID: 34096055 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Bumble bees (Bombus) are a group of eusocial bees with a strongly generalised feeding pattern, collecting pollen from many different botanical families. Though predominantly generalists, some bumble bee species seem to have restricted dietary choices. It is unclear whether restricted diets in bumble bees are inherent or a function of local conditions due to a lack of data for many species across different regions. The objective of this study was to determine whether bumble bee species displayed specific patterns of pollen collection, and whether patterns were influenced by phylogenetic relatedness or tongue length, a trait known to be associated with structuring floral visitation. Bumble bee pollen collection patterns were quantified from 4,132 pollen loads taken from 58 bumble bee species, representing 24% of the pollen-collecting diversity of this genus. Phylogenetic trait mapping showed a conserved pattern of dietary dissimilarity across species, but not for dietary breadth. Dietary dissimilarity was driven by collection of Fabaceae, with the most similar species collecting around 50%-60% of their diet from this botanical family. The proportion of the diet collected from Fabaceae also showed a conserved phylogenetic signal. Greater collection of Fabaceae was associated with longer tongue lengths, with shorter tongued species focusing on alternative botanical families. However, this result was largely driven by phylogenetic relatedness, not tongue length per se. These results demonstrate that, though generalists, bumble bees are still subject to dietary restrictions that constrain their foraging choices. These dietary constraints have implications for their persistence should their core resources decline in abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Wood
- Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | | | - Pierre Rasmont
- Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - David Kleijn
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ivo Raemakers
- Van Caldenborghstraat 26, Gronsveld, The Netherlands
| | - Christophe Praz
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,InfoFauna, Swiss Zoological Records Centre, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | | | - Jason Gibbs
- Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Kyle Bobiwash
- Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Mira Boustani
- Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Baptiste Martinet
- Evolutionary Biology & Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Denis Michez
- Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
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24
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Hu X, Liu J, Ding G, Naeem M, Li J, Ma F, Huang J, An J. An Evaluation of Habitat Uses and Their Implications for the Conservation of the Chinese Bumblebee Bombus pyrosoma (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.667949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bumblebees are important pollinators for many wild plants and crops. However, the bumblebee populations are seriously declining in many parts of the world. Hence, the bumblebee conservation strategy should be urgently addressed, and the species distribution modeling approach can effectively evaluate the potentially suitable areas for their conservation. Here, one of the most abundant and endemic species of bumblebee in China, Bombus pyrosoma, was selected to assess current and future climates’ influence on its distribution with MaxEnt. Nine high-resolution bioclimatic/environmental variables with high contribution rates and low correlations were used. Four of the nine bioclimatic/environmental variables, min temperature of the coldest month (bio_06), annual mean temperature (bio_01), precipitation of wettest month (bio_13) and radiation of warmest quarter (bio_26), were found to be the most critical factors influencing the distribution of B. pyrosoma. The modeling results showed that the areas with high and moderate suitability for B. pyrosoma covered 141,858 and 186,198 km2 under the current climate conditions. More than 85% of the sampling sites in 2019 were found to be suitable under the current scenario. Under the future A1B and A2 scenarios in 2050 and 2100, the areas with low and moderate suitability for B. pyrosoma increased. However, alarmingly, the high suitability areas decreased under the future A1B and A2 scenarios in 2050 and 2100. Furthermore, regions covering seven provinces of northern China were the most crucial for developing nature reserves for B. pyrosoma, with the following order of suitable areas: Gansu, Shanxi, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Hebei and Beijing. Our study highlights the impact of future climate changes on the distribution of B. pyrosoma, and conservation strategies should mitigate the threats posed by environmental changes, particularly in the current high suitability areas.
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Bucking the trend of pollinator decline: the population genetics of a range expanding bumblebee. Evol Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-021-10111-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Daughenbaugh KF, Kahnonitch I, Carey CC, McMenamin AJ, Wiegand T, Erez T, Arkin N, Ross B, Wiedenheft B, Sadeh A, Chejanovsky N, Mandelik Y, Flenniken ML. Metatranscriptome Analysis of Sympatric Bee Species Identifies Bee Virus Variants and a New Virus, Andrena-Associated Bee Virus-1. Viruses 2021; 13:291. [PMID: 33673324 PMCID: PMC7917660 DOI: 10.3390/v13020291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Bees are important plant pollinators in agricultural and natural ecosystems. High average annual losses of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in some parts of the world, and regional population declines of some mining bee species (Andrena spp.), are attributed to multiple factors including habitat loss, lack of quality forage, insecticide exposure, and pathogens, including viruses. While research has primarily focused on viruses in honey bees, many of these viruses have a broad host range. It is therefore important to apply a community level approach in studying the epidemiology of bee viruses. We utilized high-throughput sequencing to evaluate viral diversity and viral sharing in sympatric, co-foraging bees in the context of habitat type. Variants of four common viruses (i.e., black queen cell virus, deformed wing virus, Lake Sinai virus 2, and Lake Sinai virus NE) were identified in honey bee and mining bee samples, and the high degree of nucleotide identity in the virus consensus sequences obtained from both taxa indicates virus sharing. We discovered a unique bipartite + ssRNA Tombo-like virus, Andrena-associated bee virus-1 (AnBV-1). AnBV-1 infects mining bees, honey bees, and primary honey bee pupal cells maintained in culture. AnBV-1 prevalence and abundance was greater in mining bees than in honey bees. Statistical modeling that examined the roles of ecological factors, including floral diversity and abundance, indicated that AnBV-1 infection prevalence in honey bees was greater in habitats with low floral diversity and abundance, and that interspecific virus transmission is strongly modulated by the floral community in the habitat. These results suggest that land management strategies that aim to enhance floral diversity and abundance may reduce AnBV-1 spread between co-foraging bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie F. Daughenbaugh
- Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (K.F.D.); (B.R.)
- Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (C.C.C.); (A.J.M.); (T.W.)
| | - Idan Kahnonitch
- The Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 5290002, Israel; (I.K.); (Y.M.)
- Agroecology Lab, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat Yishay 30095, Israel; (N.A.); (A.S.)
| | - Charles C. Carey
- Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (C.C.C.); (A.J.M.); (T.W.)
| | - Alexander J. McMenamin
- Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (C.C.C.); (A.J.M.); (T.W.)
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA;
| | - Tanner Wiegand
- Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (C.C.C.); (A.J.M.); (T.W.)
| | - Tal Erez
- Entomology Department, ARO, The Volcani Center, Rishon Lezion 7528809, Israel; (T.E.); (N.C.)
| | - Naama Arkin
- Agroecology Lab, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat Yishay 30095, Israel; (N.A.); (A.S.)
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Brian Ross
- Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (K.F.D.); (B.R.)
- Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (C.C.C.); (A.J.M.); (T.W.)
| | - Blake Wiedenheft
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA;
| | - Asaf Sadeh
- Agroecology Lab, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat Yishay 30095, Israel; (N.A.); (A.S.)
| | - Nor Chejanovsky
- Entomology Department, ARO, The Volcani Center, Rishon Lezion 7528809, Israel; (T.E.); (N.C.)
| | - Yael Mandelik
- The Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 5290002, Israel; (I.K.); (Y.M.)
| | - Michelle L. Flenniken
- Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (K.F.D.); (B.R.)
- Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; (C.C.C.); (A.J.M.); (T.W.)
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA;
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Zattara EE, Aizen MA. Worldwide occurrence records suggest a global decline in bee species richness. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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Validating Morphometrics with DNA Barcoding to Reliably Separate Three Cryptic Species of Bombus Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae). INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11100669. [PMID: 33007903 PMCID: PMC7600840 DOI: 10.3390/insects11100669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Despite their large size and striking markings, the identification of bumble bees (Bombus spp.) is surprisingly difficult. This is particularly true for three North American sympatric species in the subgenus Pyrobombus that are often misidentified: B. sandersoni Franklin, B. vagans Smith B. perplexus Cresson. Traditionally, the identification of these cryptic species was based on observations of differences in hair coloration and pattern and qualitative comparisons of morphological characters including malar length. Unfortunately, these characteristics do not reliably separate these species. We present quantitative morphometric methods to separate these species based on the malar length to width ratio (MRL) and the ratios of the malar length to flagellar segments 1 (MR1) and 3 (MR3) for queens and workers, and validated our determinations based on DNA barcoding. All three measurements discriminated queens of B. sandersoni and B. vagans with 100% accuracy. For workers, we achieved 99% accuracy by combining both MR1 and MR3 measurements, and 100% accuracy differentiating workers using MRL. Moreover, measurements were highly repeatable within and among both experienced and inexperienced observers. Our results, validated by genetic evidence, demonstrate that malar measurements provide accurate identifications of B. vagans and B. sandersoni. There was considerable overlap in the measurements between B. perplexus and B. sandersoni. However, these species can usually be reliably separated by combining malar ratio measurements with other morphological features like hair color. The ability to identify bumble bees is key to monitoring the status and trends of their populations, and the methods we present here advance these efforts.
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Graves TA, Janousek WM, Gaulke SM, Nicholas AC, Keinath DA, Bell CM, Cannings S, Hatfield RG, Heron JM, Koch JB, Loffland HL, Richardson LL, Rohde AT, Rykken J, Strange JP, Tronstad LM, Sheffield CS. Western bumble bee: declines in the continental United States and range‐wide information gaps. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Tabitha A. Graves
- U.S. Geological Survey Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center Glacier Field Station, 38 Mather Drive West Glacier Montana 59936 USA
| | - William M. Janousek
- U.S. Geological Survey Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center Glacier Field Station, 38 Mather Drive West Glacier Montana 59936 USA
| | - Sarah M. Gaulke
- U.S. Geological Survey Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center Glacier Field Station, 38 Mather Drive West Glacier Montana 59936 USA
| | - Amy C. Nicholas
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 334 Parsley Blvd Cheyenne Wyoming 82007 USA
| | - Douglas A. Keinath
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 334 Parsley Blvd Cheyenne Wyoming 82007 USA
| | - Christine M. Bell
- Wyoming Natural Diversity Database University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming 82071 USA
| | - Syd Cannings
- Environment and Climate Change Canada Canadian Wildlife Service Whitehorse Y1A 5B7 Canada
| | | | - Jennifer M. Heron
- Conservation Science Section British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy Suite 200, 10428, 153rd Street Surrey British Columbia V3R 1E1 Canada
| | - Jonathan B. Koch
- Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program University of Hawai‘i, Hilo 200 W. Kāwili Street Hilo Hawaii 96720 USA
- Pollinating Insects ‐ Biology, Management, and Systematics Research Unit U.S. Department of Agriculture ‐ Agricultural Research Service 1410 N 800 E Logan Utah 84341 USA
| | - Helen L. Loffland
- The Institute for Bird Populations PO Box 1346 Point Reyes Station California 94956 USA
| | - Leif L. Richardson
- Gund Institute for Environment Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington Vermont 05405 USA
| | - Ashley T. Rohde
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University 5200 Old Main Hill Logan Utah84322 USA
| | - Jessica Rykken
- Denali National Park and Preserve PO Box 9 Denali Park Alaska 99755 USA
| | - James P. Strange
- Entomology Department The Ohio State University 216 Kottman Hall Columbus Ohio 43210 USA
| | - Lusha M. Tronstad
- Wyoming Natural Diversity Database University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming 82071 USA
| | - Cory S. Sheffield
- Royal Saskatchewan Museum 2340 Albert Street Regina Saskatchewan S4P 2V7 Canada
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Gervais A, Courtois È, Fournier V, Bélisle M. Landscape composition and local floral resources influence foraging behavior but not the size of Bombus impatiens Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) workers. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234498. [PMID: 32584843 PMCID: PMC7316238 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Bumble bee communities are strongly disrupted worldwide through the population decline of many species; a phenomenon that has been generally attributed to landscape modification, pesticide use, pathogens, and climate change. The mechanisms by which these causes act on bumble bee colonies are, however, likely to be complex and to involve many levels of organization spanning from the community down to the least understood individual level. Here, we assessed how the morphology, weight and foraging behavior of individual workers are affected by their surrounding landscape. We hypothesized that colonies established in landscapes showing high cover of intensive crops and low cover of flowering crops, as well as low amounts of local floral resources, would produce smaller workers, which would perform fewer foraging trips and collect pollen loads less constant in species composition. We tested these predictions with 80 colonies of commercially reared Bombus impatiens Cresson placed in 20 landscapes spanning a gradient of agricultural intensification in southern Québec, Canada. We estimated weekly rate at which workers entered and exited colonies and captured eight workers per colony over a period of 14 weeks during the spring and summer of 2016. Captured workers had their wing, thorax, head, tibia, and dry weight measured, as well as their pollen load extracted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. We did not detect any effect of landscape habitat composition on worker morphology or body weight, but found that foraging activity decreased with intensive crops. Moreover, higher diversity of local floral resources led to lower pollen constancy in intensively cultivated landscapes. Finally, we found a negative correlation between the size of workers and the diversity of their pollen load. Our results provide additional evidence that conservation actions regarding pollinators in arable landscapes should be made at the landscape rather than at the farm level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Gervais
- Département de Phytologie, Centre de Recherche et d’Innovation sur les Végétaux (CRIV), Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada
| | - Ève Courtois
- Département de Biologie, Centre d’Étude de la Forêt (CEF), Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
| | - Valérie Fournier
- Département de Phytologie, Centre de Recherche et d’Innovation sur les Végétaux (CRIV), Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada
| | - Marc Bélisle
- Département de Biologie, Centre d’Étude de la Forêt (CEF), Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
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Rapid Gastrointestinal Passage May Protect Bombus terrestris from Becoming a True Host for Nosema ceranae. Appl Environ Microbiol 2020; 86:AEM.00629-20. [PMID: 32276975 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00629-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Pollination provided by managed honey bees as well as by all the wild bee species is a crucial ecosystem service contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and human food security. Therefore, it is not only the health status of honey bees but also the health status of wild bees that concerns us all. In this context, recent field studies suggesting interspecies transmission of the microsporidium parasite Nosema ceranae from honey bees (Apis mellifera) to bumblebees (Bombus spp.) were alarming. On the basis of these studies, N. ceranae was identified as an emerging infectious agent (EIA) of bumblebees, although knowledge of its impact on its new host was still elusive. In order to investigate the infectivity, virulence, and pathogenesis of N. ceranae infections in bumblebees, we performed controlled laboratory exposure bioassays with Bombus terrestris by orally inoculating the bees with infectious N. ceranae spores. We comprehensively analyzed the infection status of the bees via microscopic analysis of squash preparations, PCR-based detection of N. ceranae DNA, histology of Giemsa-stained tissue sections, and species-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization. We did not find any evidence for a true infection of bumblebees by N. ceranae Through a series of experiments, we ruled out the possibility that spore infectivity, spore dosage, incubation time, or age and source of the bumblebees caused these negative results. Instead, our results clearly demonstrate that no infection and production of new spores took place in bumblebees after they ingested N. ceranae spores in our experiments. Thus, our results question the classification of N. ceranae as an emerging infectious agent for bumblebees.IMPORTANCE Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose a major health threat to both humans and animals. EIDs include, for instance, those that have spread into hitherto naive populations. Recently, the honey bee-specific microsporidium Nosema ceranae has been detected by molecular methods in field samples of bumblebees. This detection of N. ceranae DNA in bumblebees led to the assumption that N. ceranae infections represent an EID of bumblebees and resulted in speculations on the role of this pathogen in driving bumblebee declines. In order to address the issue of whether N. ceranae is an emerging infectious agent for bumblebees, we experimentally analyzed host susceptibility and pathogen reproduction in this new host-pathogen interaction. Surprisingly, we did not find any evidence for a true infection of Bombus terrestris by N. ceranae, questioning the classification of N. ceranae infections as EIDs of bumblebees and demonstrating that detection of microsporidian DNA does not equal detection of microsporidian infection.
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Barraud A, Vanderplanck M, Nadarajah S, Michez D. The impact of pollen quality on the sensitivity of bumblebees to pesticides. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2020.103552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Phelps JD, Strang CG, Sherry DF. Imidacloprid impairs performance on a model flower handling task in bumblebees (Bombus impatiens). ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2020; 29:359-374. [PMID: 32124147 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-020-02182-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Bumblebees exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides collect less pollen on foraging trips. Exposed bumblebees are also slower to learn to handle flowers, which may account for reduced pollen collection. It is unclear, however, why neonicotinoid exposure slows learning to handle flowers. We investigated the effect of imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid pesticide, on bumblebee motor learning using a lab model of flower handling. Bumblebees learned to invert inside a narrow tube and lift a petal-shaped barrier to reach a reward chamber. Imidacloprid-exposed bumblebees showed a dose-dependent delay to solve the task, which resulted from reduced switching between behavioural strategies and a subsequent delay in use of the successful strategy. This effect was consistent in colonies exposed at 10 but not 2.6 ppb, suggesting a variable effect on individuals at lower doses. These results help to explain why exposed bumblebees are slow to learn to handle flowers and collect less pollen on foraging trips.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan D Phelps
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada.
| | - Caroline G Strang
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - David F Sherry
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada
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Suhonen J, Ilvonen JJ, Nyman T, Sorvari J. Brood parasitism in eusocial insects (Hymenoptera): role of host geographical range size and phylogeny. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 374:20180203. [PMID: 30967081 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0203] [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
Interspecific brood parasitism is common in many animal systems. Brood parasites enter the nests of other species and divert host resources for producing their own offspring, which can lead to strong antagonistic parasite-host coevolution. Here, we look at commonalities among social insect species that are victims of brood parasites, and use phylogenetic data and information on geographical range size to predict which species are most probably to fall victims to brood parasites in the future. In our analyses, we focus on three eusocial hymenopteran groups and their brood parasites: (i) bumblebees, (ii) Myrmica ants, and (iii) vespine and polistine wasps. In these groups, some, but not all, species are parasitized by obligate workerless inquilines that only produce reproductive-caste descendants. We find phylogenetic signals for geographical range size and the presence of parasites in bumblebees, but not in ants and wasps. Phylogenetic logistic regressions indicate that the probability of being attacked by one or more brood parasite species increases with the size of the geographical range in bumblebees, but the effect is statistically only marginally significant in ants. However, non-phylogenetic logistic regressions suggest that bumblebee species with the largest geographical range sizes may have a lower likelihood of harbouring social parasites than do hosts with medium-sized ranges. Our results provide new insights into the ecology and evolution of host-social parasite systems, and indicate that host phylogeny and geographical range size can be used to predict threats posed by social parasites, as well to design efficient conservation measures for both hosts and their parasites. This article is part of the theme issue 'The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jukka Suhonen
- 1 Department of Biology, University of Turku , 20014 Turku , Finland
| | - Jaakko J Ilvonen
- 1 Department of Biology, University of Turku , 20014 Turku , Finland
| | - Tommi Nyman
- 2 Department of Ecosystems in the Barents Region, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research , Svanhovd Research Station, 9925 Svanvik , Norway.,3 Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland , PO Box 111, 80101 Joensuu , Finland
| | - Jouni Sorvari
- 4 Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland , PO Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio , Finland
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Costa CP, Duennes MA, Fisher K, Der JP, Watrous KM, Okamoto N, Yamanaka N, Woodard SH. Transcriptome analysis reveals nutrition‐ and age‐related patterns of gene expression in the fat body of pre‐overwintering bumble bee queens. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:720-737. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kaleigh Fisher
- Department of Entomology University of California Riverside CA USA
| | - Joshua P. Der
- Department of Biological Science California State University Fullerton CA USA
| | | | - Naoki Okamoto
- Department of Entomology University of California Riverside CA USA
| | - Naoki Yamanaka
- Department of Entomology University of California Riverside CA USA
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Soroye P, Newbold T, Kerr J. Climate change contributes to widespread declines among bumble bees across continents. Science 2020; 367:685-688. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aax8591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 231] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Climate change could increase species’ extinction risk as temperatures and precipitation begin to exceed species’ historically observed tolerances. Using long-term data for 66 bumble bee species across North America and Europe, we tested whether this mechanism altered likelihoods of bumble bee species’ extinction or colonization. Increasing frequency of hotter temperatures predicts species’ local extinction risk, chances of colonizing a new area, and changing species richness. Effects are independent of changing land uses. The method developed in this study permits spatially explicit predictions of climate change–related population extinction-colonization dynamics within species that explains observed patterns of geographical range loss and expansion across continents. Increasing frequencies of temperatures that exceed historically observed tolerances help explain widespread bumble bee species decline. This mechanism may also contribute to biodiversity loss more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Soroye
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Tim Newbold
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Jeremy Kerr
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
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Pérez‐Méndez N, Andersson GKS, Requier F, Hipólito J, Aizen MA, Morales CL, García N, Gennari GP, Garibaldi LA. The economic cost of losing native pollinator species for orchard production. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Néstor Pérez‐Méndez
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural Universidad Nacional de Río Negro San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
- IRTA Estació Experimental de l'Ebre Tarragona Spain
| | - Georg K. S. Andersson
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural Universidad Nacional de Río Negro San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Fabrice Requier
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural Universidad Nacional de Río Negro San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
- Evolution Génome Comportement et Ecologie CNRSIRDUniversité Paris‐SudUniversité Paris‐Saclay Paris France
| | - Juliana Hipólito
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural Universidad Nacional de Río Negro San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA Amazonas Manaus Brazil
| | - Marcelo A. Aizen
- Grupo de Ecología de la Polinización INIBIOMAUniversidad Nacional del Comahue and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina
| | - Carolina L. Morales
- Grupo de Ecología de la Polinización INIBIOMAUniversidad Nacional del Comahue and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina
| | - Nancy García
- Centro Pyme Adeneu Agencia de desarrollo económico del Neuquén Neuquén Argentina
| | - Gerardo P. Gennari
- Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá – Programa Nacional de Apicultura (PROAPI) Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) Tucumán Argentina
| | - Lucas A. Garibaldi
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural Universidad Nacional de Río Negro San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
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Abstract
Bumble bees (Bombus) are unusually important pollinators, with approximately 260 wild species native to all biogeographic regions except sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. As they are vitally important in natural ecosystems and to agricultural food production globally, the increase in reports of declining distribution and abundance over the past decade has led to an explosion of interest in bumble bee population decline. We summarize data on the threat status of wild bumble bee species across biogeographic regions, underscoring regions lacking assessment data. Focusing on data-rich studies, we also synthesize recent research on potential causes of population declines. There is evidence that habitat loss, changing climate, pathogen transmission, invasion of nonnative species, and pesticides, operating individually and in combination, negatively impact bumble bee health, and that effects may depend on species and locality. We distinguish between correlational and causal results, underscoring the importance of expanding experimental research beyond the study of two commercially available species to identify causal factors affecting the diversity of wild species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sydney A Cameron
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA;
| | - Ben M Sadd
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790, USA;
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39
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Jin PY, Sun JT, Hoffmann A, Guo YF, Zhou JC, Zhu YX, Chen L, Hong XY. Phylogenetic signals in pest abundance and distribution range of spider mites. BMC Evol Biol 2019; 19:223. [PMID: 31805865 PMCID: PMC6896397 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-019-1548-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Attributes of pest species like host range are frequently reported as being evolutionarily constrained and showing phylogenetic signal. Because these attributes in turn could influence the abundance and impact of species, phylogenetic information could be useful in predicting the likely status of pests. In this study, we used regional (China) and global datasets to investigate phylogenetic patterns in occurrence patterns and host ranges of spider mites, which constitute a pest group of many cropping systems worldwide. Results We found significant phylogenetic signal in relative abundance and distribution range both at the regional and global scales. Relative abundance and range size of spider mites were positively correlated with host range, although these correlations became weaker after controlling for phylogeny. Conclusions The results suggest that pest impacts are evolutionarily constrained. Information that is easily obtainable – including the number of known hosts and phylogenetic position of the mites – could therefore be useful in predicting future pest risk of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng-Yu Jin
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jing-Tao Sun
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ary Hoffmann
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Yan-Fei Guo
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jin-Cheng Zhou
- School of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, Liaoning, China
| | - Yu-Xi Zhu
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China
| | - Lei Chen
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiao-Yue Hong
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China.
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40
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Manfredini F, Arbetman M, Toth AL. A Potential Role for Phenotypic Plasticity in Invasions and Declines of Social Insects. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
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41
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Austin MW, Dunlap AS. Intraspecific Variation in Worker Body Size Makes North American Bumble Bees (Bombus spp.) Less Susceptible to Decline. Am Nat 2019; 194:381-394. [DOI: 10.1086/704280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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42
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Grab H, Branstetter MG, Amon N, Urban-Mead KR, Park MG, Gibbs J, Blitzer EJ, Poveda K, Loeb G, Danforth BN. Agriculturally dominated landscapes reduce bee phylogenetic diversity and pollination services. Science 2019; 363:282-284. [PMID: 30655441 DOI: 10.1126/science.aat6016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Land-use change threatens global biodiversity and may reshape the tree of life by favoring some lineages over others. Whether phylogenetic diversity loss compromises ecosystem service delivery remains unknown. We address this knowledge gap using extensive genomic, community, and crop datasets to examine relationships among land use, pollinator phylogenetic structure, and crop production. Pollinator communities in highly agricultural landscapes contain 230 million fewer years of evolutionary history; this loss was strongly associated with reduced crop yield and quality. Our study links landscape-mediated changes in the phylogenetic structure of natural communities to the disruption of ecosystem services. Measuring conservation success by species counts alone may fail to protect ecosystem functions and the full diversity of life from which they are derived.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Grab
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
| | - Michael G Branstetter
- U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Nolan Amon
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.,Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | | | - Mia G Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USA
| | - Jason Gibbs
- Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | | | - Katja Poveda
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Greg Loeb
- Department of Entomology, Cornell AgriTech, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456, USA
| | - Bryan N Danforth
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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43
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A neonicotinoid pesticide impairs foraging, but not learning, in free-flying bumblebees. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4764. [PMID: 30886154 PMCID: PMC6423345 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39701-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Neonicotinoids are widely-used pesticides implicated in the decline of bees, known to have sub-lethal effects on bees’ foraging and colony performance. One proposed mechanism for these negative effects is impairment to bees’ ability to learn floral associations. However, the effects of neonicotinoids on learning performance have largely been addressed using a single protocol, where immobilized bees learn an association based on a single sensory modality. We thus have an incomplete understanding of how these pesticides affect bee learning in more naturalistic foraging scenarios. We carried out the first free-foraging study into the effects of acute exposure of a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid) on bumblebees’ (Bombus impatiens) ability to learn associations with visual stimuli. We uncovered dose-dependent detrimental effects on motivation to initiate foraging, amount of nectar collected, and initiation of subsequent foraging bouts. However, we did not find any impairment to bees’ ability to learn visual associations. While not precluding the possibility that other forms of learning are impaired, our findings suggest that some of the major effects of acute neonicotinoid exposure on foraging performance may be due to motivational and/or sensory impairments. In light of these findings, we discuss more broadly how pesticide effects on pollinator cognition might be studied.
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Sirois-Delisle C, Kerr JT. Climate change-driven range losses among bumblebee species are poised to accelerate. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14464. [PMID: 30337544 PMCID: PMC6194031 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32665-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Climate change has shaped bee distributions over the past century. Here, we conducted the first species-specific assessment of future climate change impacts on North American bumblebee distributions, using the most recent global change scenarios developed in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We assessed potential shifts in bumblebee species distributions with models generated using Maxent. We tested different assumptions about bumblebee species’ dispersal capacities, drawing on observed patterns of range shifts to date, dispersal rates observed for bumblebee queens, and, lastly, assuming unlimited dispersal. Models show significant contractions of current ranges even under scenarios in which dispersal rates were high. Results suggest that dispersal rates may not suffice for bumblebees to track climate change as rapidly as required under any IPCC scenario for future climate change. Areas where species losses are projected overlap for many species and climate scenarios, and are concentrated in eastern parts of the continent. Models also show overlap for range expansions across many species, suggesting the presence of “hotspots” where management activities could benefit many species, across all climate scenarios. Broad-scale strategies are likely to be necessary to improve bumblebee conservation prospects under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Sirois-Delisle
- Canadian Facility for Ecoinformatics Research, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie-Curie Private, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
| | - Jeremy T Kerr
- Canadian Facility for Ecoinformatics Research, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie-Curie Private, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
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45
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McArt SH, Urbanowicz C, McCoshum S, Irwin RE, Adler LS. Landscape predictors of pathogen prevalence and range contractions in US bumblebees. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.2181. [PMID: 29142119 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Several species of bumblebees have recently experienced range contractions and possible extinctions. While threats to bees are numerous, few analyses have attempted to understand the relative importance of multiple stressors. Such analyses are critical for prioritizing conservation strategies. Here, we describe a landscape analysis of factors predicted to cause bumblebee declines in the USA. We quantified 24 habitat, land-use and pesticide usage variables across 284 sampling locations, assessing which variables predicted pathogen prevalence and range contractions via machine learning model selection techniques. We found that greater usage of the fungicide chlorothalonil was the best predictor of pathogen (Nosema bombi) prevalence in four declining species of bumblebees. Nosema bombi has previously been found in greater prevalence in some declining US bumblebee species compared to stable species. Greater usage of total fungicides was the strongest predictor of range contractions in declining species, with bumblebees in the northern USA experiencing greater likelihood of loss from previously occupied areas. These results extend several recent laboratory and semi-field studies that have found surprising links between fungicide exposure and bee health. Specifically, our data suggest landscape-scale connections between fungicide usage, pathogen prevalence and declines of threatened and endangered bumblebees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott H McArt
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | | | | | - Rebecca E Irwin
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Lynn S Adler
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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46
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Abstract
Since pollination by insects is vitally important for much of global crop production, and to provide pollination services more widely throughout the planetary ecosystems, the prospect of an imminent 'pollination crisis', due to a die-off of flying insects, is most disquieting, to say the least. Indeed, the term 'ecological Armageddon' has been used in the media. However, to know whether or not a wholesale decline in flying pollinators (including non-bee species) is occurring across the world is very difficult, due to an insufficiency of geographically widespread and long-term data. Bees, as the best documented species, can be seen to be suffering from chronic exposure to a range of stressors, which include: a loss of abundance and diversity of flowers, and a decline in suitable habitat for them to build nests; long-term exposure to agrochemicals, including pesticides such as neonicotinoids; and infection by parasites and pathogens, many inadvertently spread by the actions of humans. It is likely that climate change may impact further on particular pollinators, for example bumble bees, which are cool-climate specialists. Moreover, the co-operative element of various different stress factors should be noted; thus, for example, exposure to pesticides is known to diminish detoxification mechanisms and also immune responses, hence lowering the resistance of bees to parasitic infections. It is further conspicuous that for those wild non-bee insects - principally moths and butterflies - where data are available, the picture is also one of significant population losses. Alarmingly, a recent study in Germany indicated that a decline in the biomass of flying insects had occurred by 76% in less than three decades, as sampled in nature reserves across the country. Accordingly, to fully answer the question posed in the title of this article 'pollinator decline - an ecological calamity in the making?' will require many more detailed, more geographically encompassing, more species-inclusive, and longer-term studies, but the available evidence points to a clear 'probably', and the precautionary principle would suggest this is not a prospect we can afford to ignore.
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47
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Boyle NK, Tripodi AD, Machtley SA, Strange JP, Pitts-Singer TL, Hagler JR. A Nonlethal Method to Examine Non-Apis Bees for Mark-Capture Research. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2018; 18:5020712. [PMID: 29873755 PMCID: PMC6007308 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iey043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Studies of bee movement and activities across a landscape are important for developing an understanding of their behavior and their ability to withstand environmental stress. Recent research has shown that proteins, such as egg albumin, are effective for mass-marking bees. However, current protein mass-marking techniques require sacrificing individual bees during the data collection process. A nonlethal sampling method for protein mark-capture research is sorely needed, particularly for vulnerable, sensitive, or economically valuable species. This study describes a nonlethal sampling method, in which three non-Apis bee species (Bombus bifarius Cresson [Hymenoptera: Apidae], Osmia lignaria Say [Hymenoptera: Megachilidae], and Megachile rotundata Fabricius [Hymenoptera: Megachilidae]) were tested for a unique protein marker by immersing them momentarily in saline buffer and releasing them. Results showed that an egg albumin-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was 100% effective at detecting the protein on bees that were sampled nonlethally. Furthermore, this sampling method did not have an impact on bee survivorship, suggesting that immersing bees in buffer is a reliable and valid surrogate to traditional, destructive sampling methods for mark-capture bee studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie K Boyle
- USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT
| | - Amber D Tripodi
- USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT
| | - Scott A Machtley
- USDA-ARS Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, N. Cardon Lane, Maricopa, AZ
| | - James P Strange
- USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Utah State University, Logan, UT
| | | | - James R Hagler
- USDA-ARS Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, N. Cardon Lane, Maricopa, AZ
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48
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Maliet O, Gascuel F, Lambert A. Ranked Tree Shapes, Nonrandom Extinctions, and the Loss of Phylogenetic Diversity. Syst Biol 2018; 67:1025-1040. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syy030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 04/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Odile Maliet
- Institut de Biologie de l’École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- ED 227, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
| | - Fanny Gascuel
- Institut de Biologie de l’École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- ED 227, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Amaury Lambert
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), Collège de France, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- Laboratoire Probabilités, Statistique et Modélisation (LPSM), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Paris, France
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49
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McMenamin AJ, Flenniken ML. Recently identified bee viruses and their impact on bee pollinators. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 26:120-129. [PMID: 29764651 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 02/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Bees are agriculturally and ecologically important plant pollinators. Recent high annual losses of honey bee colonies, and reduced populations of native and wild bees in some geographic locations, may impact the availability of affordable food crops and the diversity and abundance of native and wild plant species. Multiple factors including viral infections affect pollinator health. The majority of well-characterized bee viruses are picorna-like RNA viruses, which may be maintained as covert infections or cause symptomatic infections or death. Next generation sequencing technologies have been utilized to identify additional bee-infecting viruses including the Lake Sinai viruses and Rhabdoviruses. In addition, sequence data is instrumental for defining specific viral strains and characterizing associated pathogenicity, such as the recent characterization of Deformed wing virus master variants (DWV-A, DWV-B, and DWV-C) and their impact on bee health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J McMenamin
- Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA; Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Michelle L Flenniken
- Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA; Pollinator Health Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
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50
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Novel multiplex PCR reveals multiple trypanosomatid species infecting North American bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus). J Invertebr Pathol 2018; 153:147-155. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2018.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Revised: 03/03/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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