Crop domestication facilitated rapid geographical expansion of a specialist pollinator, the squash bee<i>Peponapis pruinosa</i>

While most organisms are negatively affected by anthropogenic disturbance, a few species thrive in landscapes altered by humans. Typically, native bees are negatively impacted by anthropogenic environmental change, including habitat alteration and climate change. Here, we investigate the population structure of the eastern carpenter bee Xylocopa virginica, a generalist pollinator with a broad geographic range spanning eastern North America. Eastern carpenter bees now nest almost exclusively in artificial wooden structures, linking their geographic distribution and population structure to human activities and disturbance. To investigate the population structure of these bees, we sampled females from 16 different populations from across their range. Nine species-specific microsatellite loci showed that almost all populations are genetically distinct, but with high levels of genetic diversity and low levels of inbreeding overall. Broadly speaking, populations clustered into three distinct genetic groups: a northern group, a western group and a core group. The northern group had low effective population sizes, decreased genetic variability and the highest levels of inbreeding in the data set, suggesting that carpenter bees may be expanding their range northward. The western group was genetically distinct, but lacked signals of a recent range expansion. Climatic data showed that summer and winter temperatures explained a significant amount of the genetic differentiation seen among populations, while precipitation did not. Our results indicate that X. virginica may be one of the rare 'anthrophilic' species that thrive in the face of anthropogenic disturbance.

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“…; López‐Uribe et al . ). This is the first study to examine the influence of nesting resource specialization on population structure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…A similar story is found in the squash specialist bee Peponapis pruinosa , where range expansion by its host plant for agriculture facilitated rapid range expansion of the bee as well (López‐Uribe et al . ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Nesting habits influence population genetic structure of a bee living in anthropogenic disturbance

Vickruck

Richards

2017

Molecular Ecology

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“…Agricultural expansion has facilitated the movement of wild bee species into areas from which they were previously absent, as can be seen in the example of the squash bee Peponapis pruinosa Say, which followed the cultivation of squash Cucurbita across the North American continent (López‐Uribe et al. ). Prior to the arrival of European settlers, Michigan was not a state with extensive open habitats, being almost entirely forested (Chapman and Brewer ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Narrow pollen diets are associated with declining Midwestern bumble bee species

Wood

Gibbs

Graham

et al. 2019

Ecology

110

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Many species of bumble bee (Bombus) have declined in range and abundance across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, whereas other species have persisted and remain common and widespread. One explanation as to why some species have declined, based primarily on studies of the European bumble bee fauna, is that declining species have relatively narrow pollen‐foraging niches and are less able to use alternative host plants in the absence of their preferred hosts. Though extensively explored in Europe, this hypothesis has not been investigated in North America, in part due to incomplete information on the foraging niche of many species. We selected 12 bumble bee species found in Michigan and quantified their pollen diets using museum specimens. We also extensively resurveyed the state to understand their contemporary status and distribution. Compared to a pre‐2000 baseline, six species remain relatively common and widespread, whereas six species show range contractions of over 50%. There was a significant relationship between dietary breadth and distributional range change, with declined or declining species collecting around one‐third fewer pollen types than stable species. Though there were significant compositional differences, we found no differences in the number of pollen types collected by species with differing tongue lengths. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that species with narrower dietary niches are at greater risk of decline. However, it is not clear if narrow dietary niches are a cause of declines, or if both are driven by an underlying factor such as proximity to the edge of climatic niches. Further research is needed to improve our understanding of dietary niche in bumble bees, and how it interacts with other factors to influence population trajectories of stable and at‐risk species.

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“…Alternatively, if there are flowers and other resources available in the landscape, dispersal may not be limiting and expansion could be rapid (López‐Uribe et al . ). Both scenarios emphasize the potential importance of corridors or ‘stepping stones’ of floral resources and nesting habitat at the landscape scale.…”

Section: Consideration Of Community Assembly and Disassembly Processesmentioning

confidence: 97%

A dual role for farmlands: food security and pollinator conservation

2017

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Summary1. We briefly review current understanding of wild pollinators and pollination services on farmlands. 2. We consider how concepts in plant ecology -community assembly and functional trait diversity -may be applied to create diverse, wild pollinator communities across scales in agroecosystems. 3. We also make recommendations for best practices to enhance pollination services and create more sustainable food production systems under changing environmental conditions, including creating greater landscape connectivity, embracing pollinator dynamics, and providing incentives and other motivations to support these practices. 4. Synthesis. We highlight the opportunity for agricultural lands to serve a dual role for both food production and pollinator conservation, and conclude by posing unanswered questions and top priorities for future studies.

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Crop domestication facilitated rapid geographical expansion of a specialist pollinator, the squash beePeponapis pruinosa

Cited by 99 publications

References 54 publications

Nesting habits influence population genetic structure of a bee living in anthropogenic disturbance

Nesting habits influence population genetic structure of a bee living in anthropogenic disturbance

Narrow pollen diets are associated with declining Midwestern bumble bee species

A dual role for farmlands: food security and pollinator conservation

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