Disease where you dine: plant species and floral traits associated with pathogen transmission in bumble bees

Adler, Lynn S.; Michaud, Kristen M.; Ellner, Stephen P.; McArt, Scott H.; Stevenson, Philip C.; Irwin, Rebecca E.

doi:10.1002/ecy.2503

Cited by 75 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…This is in line with previous research showing that variation among plant species, through their influence on pathogen transmission, may shape bee disease dynamics (Adler et al. ). In addition, among floral traits, the chemical composition of floral resources and especially secondary compounds has been shown to impact interactions between pollinators and their parasites by reducing parasite transmission (Richardson et al.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Bumble bee parasite prevalence but not genetic diversity impacted by the invasive plantImpatiens glandulifera

et al. 2019

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While many bee species are experiencing population declines, some host plant generalist bees remain common in Europe, partly because they seem able to shift to new resources. However, foraging on a new alternative plant, such as an invasive species, can modify diet quality and have a potentially detrimental effect on bee health. Herein, we investigated whether the spread of the invasive plant Impatiens glandulifera affects Bombus pascuorum population regarding parasite prevalence, genetic structure, and nest density in Belgium. While no difference in bumble bee genetic structure was detected between invaded and uninvaded sites, we show that I. glandulifera occurrence was significantly correlated with a decrease in the prevalence of Apicystis bombi but not the prevalence of three other parasite species (i.e., Crithidia bombi, Nosema bombi, Nosema ceranae, and Nosema sp.). Regarding our investigations, this effect was likely not due to variation in local bumble bee population fitness before I. glandulifera flowering, nor to the relative abundance of other pollinators such as Apis mellifera, but the unique chemical composition (i.e., polyphenol rich) of the pollen of I. glandulifera remained as an interesting hypothesis. Whereas B. pascuorum queens probably colonize all the potential nesting sites in an area, invaded by I. glandulifera or not, the abundance of polyphenol ampelopsin in pollen from I. glandulifera pollen might reduce local parasite prevalence. Our field study confirms that bumble bee parasite prevalence is potentially related to the particular chemical composition of collected pollen. Plant traits such as secondary metabolite occurrence could play a key role in the health and conservation of bumble bees.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Bumble bee parasite prevalence but not genetic diversity impacted by the invasive plantImpatiens glandulifera

et al. 2019

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“…Differences in microbial dispersal were not due to differences in time spent foraging (see also Adler et al. ). However, bees foraged much more vigorously within flowers for pollen than for nectar (A. Russell, personal observation ), likely explaining differences in dispersal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…, Adler et al. , McFrederick and Rehan ). How quickly animal‐pollinated flowers in nature acquire a floral microbial community is unknown, but our study suggests these rates may be considerable and could contribute to the evolution of floral traits such as flower longevity (Ashman and Schoen , , Shykoff et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Adler et al. , McFrederick and Rehan , Russell and Ashman ), consequences of pollinator behavior extend beyond plant fertilization to patterns of microbial transmission.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Adler et al. ). Surprisingly, however, the rate that pollinators acquire microbes from flowers and subsequently disperse those microbes to other flowers has been barely explored (Graystock et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Movers and shakers: Bumble bee foraging behavior shapes the dispersal of microbes among and within flowers

et al. 2019

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Dispersal is central to the ecology and evolution of spatially structured communities. While flower microbial communities are spatially structured among floral organs, how dispersal vectors distribute microbes among floral organs is unknown. Pollinators are recognized as key microbial vectors, but effects of their different foraging behaviors on transfer dynamics among flowers or different floral organs are not known. We asked how foraging behaviors of a model pollinator (Bombus impatiens) affect acquisition and dispersal of microbes among flower organs. We used monkeyflowers (Mimulus guttatus) to examine dispersal within a natural context and artificial flowers to test how common bee foraging behaviors (nectaring, buzzing, or scrabbling) shaped dispersal of a green fluorescent protein‐labeled bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens. Bees acquired 1% of a flower's microbes and dispersed 31% of acquired microbes to the next flower. All bees acquired microbes, and 85% and 76% of bees dispersed microbes to live and artificial flowers, respectively. Microbes acquired from the corolla were mainly deposited on the corolla, followed by the stamens, and least on the nectary/pistil. Bee foraging behavior affected acquisition, with scrabbling for pollen resulting in 23% more microbes acquired than nectaring, and with buzzing for pollen resulting in a 79% slower rate of microbial acquisition relative to scrabbling. Bee foraging behavior also affected deposition but depended on the floral organ: Scrabbling and buzzing for pollen led to greater deposition than nectaring for corolla and stamen but not nectary. Our results have implications for transmission of beneficial and pathogenic microbes among plants and pollinators, and thus the ecology and evolution of floral microbial communities.

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Transmission of a bumblebee parasite is robust despite parasite exposure to extreme temperatures

Wolmuth‐Gordon,

Brown

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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All organisms are exposed to fluctuating environmental conditions, such as temperature. How individuals respond to temperature affects their interactions with one another. Changes to the interaction between parasites and their hosts can have a large effect on disease dynamics. The gut parasite, Crithidia bombi, can be highly prevalent in the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, and is an established epidemiological model. The parasite is transmitted between bumblebees via flowers, exposing it to a range of environmental temperatures prior to infection. We investigated whether incubation duration and temperature exposure, prior to infection, affects parasite infectivity.Prior to inoculation in B. terrestris, C. bombi was incubated at 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50°C for either 10 or 60 min. These times were chosen to reflect the length of time that the parasite remains infective when outside the host and the rate of floral visitation in bumblebees. Prevalence and infection intensity were measured in bees 1 week later. Incubation duration and the interaction between incubation temperature and duration affected the prevalence of C. bombi at 50°C, resulting in no infections after 60 min. Below 50°C, C. bombi prevalence was not affected by incubation temperature or duration. Extreme temperatures induced morphological changes in C. bombi cells; however, infection intensity was not affected by incubation duration or temperature.These results highlight that this parasite is robust to a wide range of temperatures. The parasite was not infective after being exposed to 50°C for 60 min, such temperatures likely exceed the flight abilities of bumblebees, and thus the potential for transmission. This study shows the importance of understanding the effects of environmental conditions on both hosts and parasites, which is needed to predict transmission under different environmental conditions.

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Disease where you dine: plant species and floral traits associated with pathogen transmission in bumble bees

Cited by 75 publications

References 35 publications

Bumble bee parasite prevalence but not genetic diversity impacted by the invasive plantImpatiens glandulifera

Bumble bee parasite prevalence but not genetic diversity impacted by the invasive plantImpatiens glandulifera

Movers and shakers: Bumble bee foraging behavior shapes the dispersal of microbes among and within flowers

Transmission of a bumblebee parasite is robust despite parasite exposure to extreme temperatures

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