A century of temporal stability of genetic diversity in wild bumblebees

Maebe, Kevin; Meeus, Ivan; Vray, Sarah; Claeys, Tom; Dekoninck, Wouter; Boevé, Jean‐Luc; Rasmont, Pierre; Smagghe, Guy

doi:10.1038/srep38289

Cited by 20 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…392 bumblebee specimens were collected from the four selected Belgian locations: Francorchamps, Moorsel, Torgny, and Trivières, and were already genotyped at 16 microsatellite loci within a previous study (Maebe et al, 2016; Table 2). These specimens were part of an intensive sampling performed within a national bumblebee project (Belbees) during 3 days in the bumblebee foraging season of 2013 and 5 days in 2015.…”

Section: Sampling and Proportional Abundance Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DNA extraction and analysis were performed only on the Estonian specimens, with the same method as was done in a previous study for the Belgian specimens (see Maebe et al, 2016). One middle leg of an individual bumblebee worker was used for DNA extraction using a Chelex DNA extraction protocol (see methods described in Maebe et al, 2015).…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Microsatellite Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One middle leg of an individual bumblebee worker was used for DNA extraction using a Chelex DNA extraction protocol (see methods described in Maebe et al, 2015). Specimens were genotyped with 16 microsatellite (MS) loci which gave reliable signals in previous research using different bumblebee species ( Supplementary Table 1; Maebe et al, 2015;Maebe et al, 2016;Maebe et al, 2018). MS were amplified using the Type-it QIAGEN PCR kit using four multiplex mixes as described in Maebe et al (2016).…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Microsatellite Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specimens were genotyped with 16 microsatellite (MS) loci which gave reliable signals in previous research using different bumblebee species ( Supplementary Table 1; Maebe et al, 2015;Maebe et al, 2016;Maebe et al, 2018). MS were amplified using the Type-it QIAGEN PCR kit using four multiplex mixes as described in Maebe et al (2016). The PCR protocol, capillary electrophoreses, and fragment scoring were performed with the method as described in Maebe et al (2013).…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Microsatellite Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…agricultural intensification, new pathogens, and climate changes, lowering population sizes (Potts et al, 2010;Meeus et al, 2011;Vanbergen et al, 2013;Rasmont et al, 2015). However, studies using historical populations found a similar difference in genetic variation between declining and stable bumblebee species (Lozier and Cameron, 2009;Lozier et al, 2011;Maebe et al, 2015;Maebe et al, 2016), detecting no major drop in genetic diversity over one century in Belgium, possibly due to dispersal countering drift effects (Maebe et al, 2016). The latter result indicates that, at least for Belgian populations, species abundance, and genetic diversity are not linked.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Level of Genetic Diversity in European Bumblebees is Not Determined by Local Species Abundance

et al. 2019

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Bumblebee species with declining population trends tend to show lower genetic diversity levels than stable species. The observed difference might be explained by abundance differences, with declining bumblebee species having lower genetic diversity levels simply due to their lower local species abundances. However, whether this holds true is not known. Here, we investigated whether bumblebee local abundances determines population genetic diversity levels. Therefore, local species abundances were measured for bumblebee species at four locations in Belgium and two locations in Estonia during bumblebee foraging years 2013-2017. These locations and countries were chosen to ensure the greatest possible variance in both local abundances and population trends for these species. Hence, genetic diversity levels were obtained for seven species by genotyping collected specimens with 16 microsatellites. Our results showed that the observed patterns in genetic diversity did not depend on local species abundance. So, although declining bumblebee species can become locally abundant, they will still show lower genetic diversity levels than stable species. This result implies that measuring bumblebees' local abundance cannot be used to directly determine the health status of a population. Furthermore, this result has also major impact on future conservation strategies as increasing the genetic diversity levels of declining species will be very difficult, and habitat quality should be high to maintain their populations, otherwise these species are doomed to disappear first.

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Section: Sampling and Proportional Abundance Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dna Extraction and Microsatellite Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dna Extraction and Microsatellite Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dna Extraction and Microsatellite Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Level of Genetic Diversity in European Bumblebees is Not Determined by Local Species Abundance

et al. 2019

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Drastic shifts in the Belgian bumblebee community over the last century

et al. 2020

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Bumblebees are undergoing strong declines in Europe caused by habitat loss and fragmentation, agricultural intensification, and climate change. Long-term records are necessary to estimate population trends precisely and to propose appropriate mitigation strategies. Based on an original database of 173,788 specimens from museum collections, scientific monitoring, and opportunistic citizen data from 1810 to 2016, we compared changes in species richness and area of occupancy of Belgian bumblebee species through three time-periods (1910-1930, 1970-1989, and 1990-2016). We also assessed if the observed trends are related to species-specific ecological traits and spatial scales (local, regional and national). Overall, species richness decreased over the last century in Belgium, but some regions retained relatively species-rich communities.A strong shift in community composition occurred. Three species remained among the "top five" in terms of species occurrence (area of occupancy) between the three timeperiods (B. pascuorum, B. lapidarius, and B. pratorum), but several species that were once widespread declined drastically (B. muscorum, B. humilis, B. ruderatus, and B. veteranus), while a few species increased their distribution (e.g. B. hypnorum and B. terrestris). Habitat preferences significantly explained the observed trends, with declining species preferring open habitats and increasing species preferring wooded habitats.

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Temporal changes in genetic variability in three bumblebee species from Rio Grande do Sul, South Brazil

et al. 2018

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In order to protect biodiversity, conservation genetics are of great importance. Until now, a few population genetic studies of Neotropical bumblebees are available but studies of temporal stability in genetic diversity are lacking. Here, genetic variability of three South Brazilian species Bombus bellicosus , B. pauloensis , and B. morio was investigated over time. Hereto, museum collection specimens of 1946 until 2012, from eight locations in Rio Grande do Sul, were genotyped at 16 microsatellite loci. During an additional sampling in the foraging season of 2015, no bumblebees could be collected possibly due to the super El Niño of 2015-2016. Our results on the collection specimens demonstrated a significantly higher genetic diversity in B. morio than in B. pauloensis. Genetic variability in B. pauloensis gradually and significantly decreased over time from 1946 until 2012; while in B. morio , genetic variability remained stable until the last time period (2010-2012). For B. bellicosus , not enough data was available. Although the studied populations became more vulnerable over time, for the conservation of Neotropical bumblebees, still more information is needed and could include more frequent monitoring of bumblebees. Adding B. bellicosus to the Brazilian list of threatened species is suggested. genetic diversity / microsatellites / Bombus / temporal stability / Rio Grande do Sul Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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A century of temporal stability of genetic diversity in wild bumblebees

Cited by 20 publications

References 52 publications

Level of Genetic Diversity in European Bumblebees is Not Determined by Local Species Abundance

Level of Genetic Diversity in European Bumblebees is Not Determined by Local Species Abundance

Drastic shifts in the Belgian bumblebee community over the last century

Temporal changes in genetic variability in three bumblebee species from Rio Grande do Sul, South Brazil

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