Assessing pollen nutrient content: a unifying approach for the study of bee nutritional ecology

Lau, Pierre; Lesne, Pierre; Grebenok, Robert J.; Rangel, Juliana; Behmer, Spencer T.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0510

Cited by 27 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…The physiological mechanism of such a tradeoff and its ecological consequences constitute an interesting topic for future studies. Importantly, this study shows that, as suggested earlier Lau et al, 2022;Parreño et al, 2022), a holistic approach to the chemical composition of pollen, complementary to the most common currently used examination of the concentration and proportion of proteins and lipids, is necessary to develop our understanding of the nutritional ecology of bees and consequently their health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

The conserved and high K-to-Na ratio in sunflower pollen: Possible implications for bee health and plant-bee interactions

et al. 2022

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Sodium (Na) concentrations are low in plant tissues, and its metabolic function in plants is minor; however, Na is a key nutrient for plant consumers. Previous studies have thus far focused on Na concentration. Nevertheless, a balanced potassium (K) to Na ratio (K:Na) is more important than Na concentration alone since food with high K:Na has detrimental effects on consumers irrespective of Na concentration. Therefore, plants may actively regulate K:Na in their tissues and products, shaping plant-insect interactions. Studies considering nutritional aspects of plant-insect interactions have focused on nonreproductive tissues and nectar. In this study, we consider pollen as serving a primary reproductive function for plants as well as a food of pollinivores. Plants might regulate K:Na in pollen to affect their interactions with pollinivorous pollinators. To investigate whether such a mechanism exists, we manipulated Na concentrations in soil and measured the proportion of K, Na, and 13 other nutrient elements in the pollen of two sunflower (Helianthus annuus) cultivars. This approach allowed us to account for the overall nutritional quality of pollen by investigating the proportions of many elements that could correlate with the concentrations of K and Na. Of the elements studied, only the concentrations of Na and K were highly correlated. Pollen K:Na was high in both cultivars irrespective of Na fertilization, and it remained high regardless of pollen Na concentration. Interestingly, pollen K:Na did not decrease as pollen increased the Na concentration. We hypothesize that high K:Na in pollen might benefit plant fertilization and embryonic development; therefore, a tradeoff might occur between producing low K:Na pollen as a reward for pollinators and high K:Na pollen to optimize the plant fertilization process. This is the first study to provide data on pollen K:Na regulation by plants. Our findings broaden the understanding of plant-bee interactions and provide a foundation for a better understanding of the role of the soil-plant-pollen-pollinator pathway in nutrient cycling in ecosystems. Specifically, unexplored costs and tradeoffs related to balancing the K:Na by plants and pollinivores might play a role in past and current shaping of pollination ecology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

The conserved and high K-to-Na ratio in sunflower pollen: Possible implications for bee health and plant-bee interactions

et al. 2022

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“…The analysis of Brassica and Rosa pollens [ 54 ] included major elements: this area of pollinator nutrition is receiving increased attention and may be important for the health of honeybee colonies [ 56 ]. De Sousa et al [ 57 ] tested the dose-related responses of young worker honeybees in cages to mineral-laced sucrose solutions.…”

Section: Nutrients In Nectar and Pollen And Their Importance For Poll...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Differences in methods make it difficult to compare studies. In this issue, Lau et al [54] review the common methods used to analyse pollen protein and lipids-the macronutrients most often linked to bee health. Using Brassica and Rosa pollens, they compared a subset of these methods while also carrying out a more complete analysis.…”

Section: Nutrients In Nectar and Pollen And Their Importance For Poll...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural processes influencing pollinator health

Stevenson

Koch

Nicolson

et al. 2022

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Evidence from the last few decades indicates that pollinator abundance and diversity are at risk, with many species in decline. Anthropogenic impacts have been the focus of much recent work on the causes of these declines. However, natural processes, from plant chemistry, nutrition and microbial associations to landscape and habitat change, can also profoundly influence pollinator health. Here, we argue that these natural processes require greater attention and may even provide solutions to the deteriorating outlook for pollinators. Existing studies also focus on the decline of individuals and colonies and only occasionally at population levels. In the light of this we redefine pollinator health and argue that a top-down approach is required focusing at the ecological level of communities. We use examples from the primary research, opinion and review articles published in this special issue to illustrate how natural processes influence pollinator health, from community to individuals, and highlight where some of these processes could mitigate the challenges of anthropogenic and natural drivers of change. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes’.

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“…The nutritional needs of honey bees vary seasonally as the colony lifecycle follows a progression of brood development, colony growth, and overwintering (DeGrandi-Hoffman et al 2021). Any deviation from optimal nutritional levels poses significant risks to the physiological attributes in bees (Stabler et al 2015) and bees exhibit distinct strategies to balance uptake of nutrients (Paoli et al 2014, Reade and Naug 2016, Lau et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal patterns of beneficial phytochemical availability in honey and stored pollen from honey bee colonies in large apiaries

Bernklau

Arathi

2023

Journal of Economic Entomology

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Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.; Hymenoptera, Apidae) are the most efficient pollinators in agroecosystems, responsible for the successful production of fruits, nuts, and vegetables, but they continue to face debilitating challenges. One of the major factors leading to these challenges could be linked to poor nutrition that results in weakening the colony, increasing susceptibility to pests and pathogens, and reducing the ability of bees to adapt to other abiotic stresses. Extensively used for commercial pollination, honey bee colonies regularly face exposure to limited diversity in their pollen diet as they are placed in flowering monocrops. Lack of access to diverse plant species compromises the availability of plant secondary compounds (phytochemicals), which, in small amounts, provide significant benefits to honey bee health. We analyzed the beneficial phytochemical content of honey and stored pollen (bee bread) samples from colonies in large apiaries through the active bee season. Samples were evaluated for 4 beneficial phytochemicals (caffeine, kaempferol, gallic acid, and p-coumaric acid), which have previously been shown to improve honey bee health. Our results, as relevant to the apiary locations in the study, indicated that p-coumaric acid is uniformly available throughout the season. Caffeine is completely absent, and gallic acid and kaempferol are not regularly available. Our results suggest the need to explore the potential to deliver beneficial phytochemicals as nutritional supplements to improve bee health. It may be vital for the pollination industry to consider such targeted dietary supplementation as beekeepers strive to meet the increasing demand for crop pollination services.

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Assessing pollen nutrient content: a unifying approach for the study of bee nutritional ecology

Cited by 27 publications

References 117 publications

The conserved and high K-to-Na ratio in sunflower pollen: Possible implications for bee health and plant-bee interactions

The conserved and high K-to-Na ratio in sunflower pollen: Possible implications for bee health and plant-bee interactions

Natural processes influencing pollinator health

Seasonal patterns of beneficial phytochemical availability in honey and stored pollen from honey bee colonies in large apiaries

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