Gene Flow from Wild to Managed Colonies in the Stingless Bee Scaptotrigona Mexicana and an Update on its Mating Frequency

Abstract Researchers have hypothesized that wild stingless bee colonies are a repository of genes for managed populations via the mating of managed virgin queens with males from wild colonies. We tested this hypothesis with the stingless bee, Scaptotrigona mexicana, a culturally important species in the study region. Each of ten colonies were split into two colonies and placed in a meliponary, which resulted in ten queen-right mother colonies and ten queenless daughter colonies. We allowed daughter colonies to produce gynes, which then naturally mated with males of unknown origins. Six months later, five third-instar larvae from each colony were genotyped at six microsatellite loci. Four new alleles (12% of 33 alleles) were found in daughter colonies that were not present in any other mother colony. The Fst index showed no overall significant differences between mother and daughter colonies, indicating that they belonged to the same population despite the new alleles. Interestingly, nine queens were estimated to be polyandrous, with an average mating frequency of 1.3, unlike previous reports for this species. These results have implications for the fitness of managed stingless bee colonies and suggest that a better understanding of how gene flow is affected by human management practices would be beneficial.

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Directed evolution of Metarhizium fungus improves its biocontrol efficacy against Varroa mites in honey bee colonies

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-89811-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer O. Han ◽

Nicholas L. Naeger ◽

Brandon K. Hopkins ◽

David Sumerlin ◽

Paul E. Stamets ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Directed Evolution ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Entomopathogenic Fungi ◽

Management Practices ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Control Measures ◽

Residual Effects ◽

Effective Control ◽

Great Promise ◽

Bee Colonies

AbstractEntomopathogenic fungi show great promise as pesticides in terms of their relatively high target specificity, low non-target toxicity, and low residual effects in agricultural fields and the environment. However, they also frequently have characteristics that limit their use, especially concerning tolerances to temperature, ultraviolet radiation, or other abiotic factors. The devastating ectoparasite of honey bees, Varroa destructor, is susceptible to entomopathogenic fungi, but the relatively warm temperatures inside honey bee hives have prevented these fungi from becoming effective control measures. Using a combination of traditional selection and directed evolution techniques developed for this system, new strains of Metarhizium brunneum were created that survived, germinated, and grew better at bee hive temperatures (35 °C). Field tests with full-sized honey bee colonies confirmed that the new strain JH1078 is more virulent against Varroa mites and controls the pest comparable to current treatments. These results indicate that entomopathogenic fungi are evolutionarily labile and capable of playing a larger role in modern pest management practices.

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Physicochemical characterization, antioxidant and antifungal activity of three stingless bee pollen aggregate (Apidae: Meliponini) from Soconusco, Chiapas

Revista Mexicana de Fitopatología Mexican Journal of Phytopathology ◽

10.18781/r.mex.fit.2009-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Víctor Albores-Flores ◽

Erick Saavedra-Camacho ◽

José Alfonso López-García ◽

Julieta Grajales-Conesa ◽

Liliana Carolina Córdova-Albores

Keyword(s):

Antifungal Activity ◽

Colletotrichum Gloeosporioides ◽

Physicochemical Characterization ◽

Stingless Bee ◽

Melipona Beecheii ◽

Bee Pollen ◽

Scaptotrigona Mexicana ◽

Tetragonisca Angustula

La interacción planta-abeja puede generar productos de la colmena con diferentes características fisicoquímicas, bioactivos y actividad antimicrobiana. Por lo cual, en este trabajo se determinó la composición química de conglomerados o agregados de polen colectados de 12 colmenas establecidas en Chiapas, México, en los municipios Tapachula, Mazatán y Cacahoatán, dentro de tres meliponarios comerciales asociados a las especies: Melipona beecheii, Scaptotrigona mexicana y Tetragonisca angustula. Asimismo, se evaluó el efecto de los agregados de polen en Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Se encontró una composición química muy diversa independientemente de la especie de abeja. El polen obtenido de colmenas con M. beecheii tuvieron la mayor cantidad de fenoles, flavonoides y acidez libre. Estas propiedades, en adición de la capacidad antioxidante (trolox), glucosa y pH, estuvieron asociados a la inhibición del crecimiento in vitro de C. gloeosporioides. La velocidad de crecimiento radial del hongo durante nueve días fue de 0.013 a 0.009 mm h-1 con extractos de polen, 44 % menor que el efecto del clorotalonil. La actividad antifúngica de los extractos de polen fue de 65 y 37 % para M. beecheii, 57 y 16 % para T. angustula y 60 y 30 % para S. mexicana, respecto al tratamiento testigo y a la dosis más alta de clorotalonil, respectivamente.

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Integrating remote sensing and climate data with process-based models to map forest productivity within west-central Alberta's boreal forest: Ecoleap-West

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc82159-2 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 82 (2) ◽

pp. 159-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

R J Hall ◽

F. Raulier ◽

D T Price ◽

E. Arsenault ◽

P Y Bernier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Remote Sensing ◽

Leaf Area Index ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Management Practices ◽

Forest Productivity ◽

Process Models ◽

Growth And Yield ◽

Area Index ◽

Study Region

Forest yield forecasting typically employs statistically derived growth and yield (G&Y) functions that will yield biased growth estimates if changes in climate seriously influence future site conditions. Significant climate warming anticipated for the Prairie Provinces may result in increased moisture deficits, reductions in average site productivity and changes to natural species composition. Process-based stand growth models that respond realistically to simulated changes in climate can be used to assess the potential impacts of climate change on forest productivity, and hence can provide information for adapting forest management practices. We present an application of such a model, StandLEAP, to estimate stand-level net primary productivity (NPP) within a 2700 km2 study region in western Alberta. StandLEAP requires satellite remote-sensing derived estimates of canopy light absorption or leaf area index, in addition to spatial data on climate, topography and soil physical characteristics. The model was applied to some 80 000 stand-level inventory polygons across the study region. The resulting estimates of NPP correlate well with timber productivity values based on stand-level site index (height in metres at 50 years). This agreement demonstrates the potential to make site-based G&Y estimates using process models and to further investigate possible effects of climate change on future timber supply. Key words: forest productivity, NPP, climate change, process-based model, StandLEAP, leaf area index, above-ground biomass

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Assessment of gene flow using tetraploid genotypes of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar03156 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 55 (4) ◽

pp. 389 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

K. V. Cunliffe ◽

A. C. Vecchies ◽

E. S. Jones ◽

G. A. Kearney ◽

J. W. Forster ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Seed Production ◽

Lolium Perenne ◽

Perennial Ryegrass ◽

Grass Species ◽

Numerical Representation ◽

Pasture Grass ◽

Important Species ◽

Lolium Perenne L ◽

Total Seed

Ryegrass species are among the most important species in sown pastures, turf settings, and weed populations worldwide. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is an outcrossing, wind-pollinated grass. Recent research has demonstrated the feasibility of developing transgenic perennial ryegrass varieties. In order to model the consequences of gene flow from transgenic grass genotypes in a field situation, the model non-transgenic trait of fertility among autotetraploid genotypes was chosen. Gene flow over distance and direction from a donor plot to surrounding sexually compatible recipient plants was studied. Reproductive isolation was achieved through the fertility barrier that arises between tetraploid and diploid ryegrass genotypes, despite the presence of diploid plants in a meadow situation. Fertility was used as an indication of effective gene flow over distance and direction. Measures of the fertility of recipient plants included total seed production (TSP), floret site utilisation (FSU), and relative fertility of recipient plants as a percentage of those within the donor plot (RF%). A leptokurtic distribution for gene flow was identified, with differences in the rate of decline over distance depending on direction. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) polymorphism was used to identify the paternity of progeny plants. The proportional representation of parents among the progeny was not significantly different from that expected due to the numerical representation of the different donor parent genotypes. The results of this research will have important implications for risk analysis prior to the field release of transgenic ryegrasses, fescues, and other pasture grass species, and for seed production in terms of cultivar purity and optimum isolation distance.

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Spatial variability of mean daily estimates of actual evaporation from remotely sensed imagery and surface reference data

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-23-4891-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (12) ◽

pp. 4891-4907 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Robert N. Armstrong ◽

John W. Pomeroy ◽

Lawrence W. Martz

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Spatial Variability ◽

Land Surface ◽

Management Practices ◽

Reference Data ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Net Radiation ◽

Study Region ◽

Evaporation Model ◽

Actual Evaporation

Abstract. Land surface evaporation has considerable spatial variability that is not captured by point-scale estimates calculated from meteorological data alone. Knowing how evaporation varies spatially remains an important issue for improving parameterisations of land surface schemes and hydrological models and various land management practices. Satellite-based and aerial remote sensing has been crucial for capturing moderate- to larger-scale surface variables to indirectly estimate evaporative fluxes. However, more recent advances for field research via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) now allow for the acquisition of more highly detailed surface data. Integrating models that can estimate “actual” evaporation from higher-resolution imagery and surface reference data would be valuable to better examine potential impacts of local variations in evaporation on upscaled estimates. This study introduces a novel approach for computing a normalised ratiometric index from surface variables that can be used to obtain more-realistic distributed estimates of actual evaporation. For demonstration purposes the Granger–Gray evaporation model (Granger and Gray, 1989) was applied at a rolling prairie agricultural site in central Saskatchewan, Canada. Visible and thermal images and meteorological reference data required to parameterise the model were obtained at midday. Ratiometric indexes were computed for the key surface variables albedo and net radiation at midday. This allowed point observations of albedo and mean daily net radiation to be scaled across high-resolution images over a large study region. Albedo and net radiation estimates were within 5 %–10 % of measured values. A daily evaporation estimate for a grassed surface was 0.5 mm (23 %) larger than eddy covariance measurements. Spatial variations in key factors driving evaporation and their impacts on upscaled evaporation estimates are also discussed. The methods applied have two key advantages for estimating evaporation over previous remote-sensing approaches: (1) detailed daily estimates of actual evaporation can be directly obtained using a physically based evaporation model, and (2) analysis of more-detailed and more-reliable evaporation estimates may lead to improved methods for upscaling evaporative fluxes to larger areas.

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Hermetia illucens and Hermetia fenestrata (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Colonization of “Spoiled” Stingless Bee Geniotrigona thoracica (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Hives in Malaysia

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects11110737 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 737

Author(s):

Tania Ivorra ◽

Martin Hauser ◽

Van Lun Low ◽

Jeffery K. Tomberlin ◽

Natasha Azmi Nur Aliah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stingless Bees ◽

Adult Stage ◽

Stingless Bee ◽

Hermetia Illucens ◽

Agricultural Industry ◽

Bee Colony ◽

Morphological Differences ◽

Bee Colonies

Meliponiculture, the keeping of domesticated stingless bees such as Geniotrigona thoracica (Smith, 1857) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is an increasingly popular agricultural industry in Malaysia. This study reports the soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) species of the genus Hermetia colonizing stingless bee colonies in Malaysia. The larvae were reared in the laboratory to the adult stage and identified through molecular and morphological approaches. Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Hermetia fenestrata de Meijere, 1904 (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) were identified from the sample provided. Earlier records of stratiomyids in stingless bee nests were misidentified as H. illucens. This paper represents the first identified record of H. fenestrata colonizing a “spoiled” stingless bee colony. In addition, adult and larval morphological differences between both species and the roles of both species in bee nest decomposition are discussed.

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Catalog of the Indo-Malayan/Australasian stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1935.1.1 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 1935 (1) ◽

pp. 1-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

CLAUS RASMUSSEN

Keyword(s):

Stingless Bees ◽

Species Group ◽

Stingless Bee ◽

Bee Colonies ◽

Australasian Region ◽

Valid Information

This catalog of the published literature on stingless bees from the Indo-Malayan/Australasian region was compiled from 520 references and deals with 129 proposed names for species-group taxa of which 89 are considered currently valid. Information is summarized on organisms associated with stingless bee colonies as well as the 225 plants from which the bees have been reported to forage. Lectotypes are designated for Trigona ornata described by Rayment and the following species described by Friese: Trigona anamitica, T. australis, T. borneënsis, T. flaviventris, T. keyensis, T. luteiventris, T. pygmaea, T. reepeni, T. sericea, and T. versicolor.

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Genetic structure of the arboreal squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus and Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in the North American Black Hills

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z2012-087 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 90 (9) ◽

pp. 1191-1200 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A.M. Kiesow ◽

E.M. Monroe ◽

H.B. Britten

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Genetic Structure ◽

Management Practices ◽

Allelic Diversity ◽

Black Hills ◽

Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽

Glaucomys Sabrinus ◽

Red Squirrel ◽

Isolated Populations ◽

Red Squirrels

We selected two isolated mammalian populations, the Black Hills northern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw, 1801)) and red squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben, 1777)), to elucidate their genetic structure. We trapped both squirrels from 2005 to 2007, in three regions of the Black Hills, differing in geology and vegetation, to collect ear samples for genetic analyses. Microsatellite loci (northern flying (9) and red squirrel (13)) were used to examine genetic structure. Data analyses estimated genetic variability, substructure, and gene flow. Northern flying and red squirrel populations have allelic diversity and observed heterozygosity similar to other isolated populations. Each species shows weak substructure from STRUCTURE and GENELAND analyses, suggesting squirrel movements may be inhibited by topography or unsuitable habitat. Recent gene flow estimates from BAYESASS indicate that both species experience some within population gene flow and red squirrels may be more structured than northern flying squirrels because of lower migration rates. Concordant patterns of genetic structure in northern flying and red squirrels indicate that other species’ movements in the Black Hills may be affected by topography and habitat. Because their habitat is isolated in the Black Hills, management practices and conservation measures are recommended to promote viability and survival of each species.

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Floristic and structural patterns in South Brazilian coastal grasslands

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências ◽

10.1590/0001-3765201520140555 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 87 (4) ◽

pp. 2081-2090 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

LUCIANA S. MENEZES ◽

SANDRA C. MÜLLER ◽

GERHARD E. OVERBECK

Keyword(s):

Coastal Plain ◽

Management Practices ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Coastal Region ◽

Bare Soil ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Paspalum Notatum ◽

Southern Brazil ◽

Important Species ◽

Vegetation Height

ABSTRACT The natural vegetation of Southern Brazil's coastal region includes grasslands formations that are poorly considered in conservation policy, due to the lack of knowledge about these systems. This study reports results from a regional-scale survey of coastal grasslands vegetation along a 536 km gradient on southern Brazil. We sampled 16 sites along the coastal plain with 15 plots (1 m²) per site. All sites were grazed by cattle. We estimated plant species cover, vegetation height, percentage of bare soil, litter and manure, and classified species according to their growth forms. We found 221 species, 14 of them exotic and two threatened. The prostate grasses: Axonopus aff.affinis, Paspalum notatum and P. pumilumwere among the most important species. Prostrate graminoids species represented the most important vegetation cover, followed by cespitose grasses. Vegetation height, bare soil, litter and manure were similar among all areas, highlighting the homogeneity of sampling sites due to similar management. In comparison to other grasslands formations in Southern Brazil, the coastal grasslands presented rather low species richness. The presence of high values for bare soil at all sampling sites indicates the need to discuss management practices in the region, especially with regard to the intensity of livestock grazing.

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