Extreme host range in an insular bee supports the super-generalist hypothesis with implications for both weed invasion and crop pollination

Draper, Jenna T.; Haigh, Tenn; Atakan, Orkun; Limgenco, Danielle T.; Kearney, Tia; Taylor, Lochlan; Wong, Jessica; Kalderovskis, Elise; Tuiwawa, Marika; Davies, Olivia K.; Stevens, Mark I.; Schwarz, Michael P.

doi:10.1007/s11829-020-09799-w

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Second, H . fijiensis is a super‐generalist pollinator, capable of using native, invasive and Aboriginally introduced resources from a broader floral range in Fiji than even the archetypal super‐generalist pollinator, the European honeybee ( Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758) (Crichton et al, 2018; Draper et al, 2021). Both of these life‐history traits are likely to enable H .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, H. fijiensis is a ground-nesting bee that requires open and sunny nesting areas (Dorey et al, 2019). Second, H. fijiensis is a super-generalist pollinator, capable of using native, invasive and Aboriginally introduced resources from a broader floral range in Fiji than even the archetypal super-generalist pollinator, the European honeybee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758) (Crichton et al, 2018;Draper et al, 2021). Both of these life-history traits are likely to enable H. fijiensis to benefit from the disturbed and weedy habitats that might be associated with land-use intensification or slash-and-burn agriculture.…”

Section: Human Occupation Of Fijimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the super‐generalist behaviour of H . fijiensis and its nesting preference for open, sunny areas might interact in a positive manner with anthropogenic clearing and floral introductions (Draper et al, 2021). Much more stringent analyses are therefore required to infer historical changes in population demography, especially if the relative impacts of humans and climate change are to be distinguished.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, that study was undertaken at a time when the species diversity of Homalictus in Fiji was very poorly understood and probably combined multiple Homalictus cryptic species, which confounds Bayesian skyline plot interpretations (Grant, 2015). Additionally, the super-generalist behaviour of H. fijiensis and its nesting preference for open, sunny areas might interact in a positive manner with anthropogenic clearing and floral introductions (Draper et al, 2021). Much more stringent analyses are therefore required to infer historical changes in population demography, especially if the relative impacts of humans and climate change are to be distinguished.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Holocene population expansion of a tropical bee coincides with early human colonization of Fiji rather than climate change

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is substantial debate about the relative roles of climate change and human activities on biodiversity and species demographies over the Holocene. In some cases, these two factors can be resolved using fossil data, but for many taxa such data are not available. Inferring historical demographies of taxa has become common, but the methodologies are mostly recent and their shortcomings often unexplored. The bee genus Homalictus is developing into a tractable model system for understanding how native bee populations in tropical islands have responded to past climate change. We greatly expand on previous studies using sequences of the mitochondrial gene COI from 474 specimens and between 171 and 3928 autosomal (DArTSeq) single nucleotide polymorphism loci from 19 specimens of the native Fijian bee, Homalictus fijiensis, to explore its historical demography using coalescent and mismatch analyses. We ask whether past changes in demography were human‐ or climate‐driven, while considering analytical assumptions. We show that inferred changes in population sizes are too recent to be explained by past climate change. Instead we find that a dramatic increase in population size for the main island of Viti Levu coincides with increasing occupation by humans and their modification of the environment. We found no corresponding change in bee population size for another major island, Kadavu, where human populations and agricultural activities have been historically very low. Our analyses indicate that molecular approaches can be used to disentangle the impacts of humans and climate change on a major tropical pollinator and that stringent analytical approaches are required for reliable interpretation of results.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Human Occupation Of Fijimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Holocene population expansion of a tropical bee coincides with early human colonization of Fiji rather than climate change

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Predators might prey on insurance pollinators that can frequently outnumber bees (Kearns and Inouye 1994), and consequently have less impact on the plant's reproduction and fitness. For both plants and flower visitors, being a generalist has evolutionary advantages (Draper et al 2021), and they are part of the intricate, multilevel, hypercomplex relationships that occur in nature. With this in mind, we aimed at replicating our study during the flowering season of S. edule in 2020 at a lower altitude (below 1000 m) in the warmer municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More than the usual suspect: diversity of pollinators of chayote (Sechium edule) at high elevations in Chiapas, Mexico

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Crops that offer multiple types of value, for example, in terms of economy, culture, and health, frequently lack information on the basic ecological interactions that play a significant role in their persistence. Chayote (Sechium edule, Cucurbitaceae), a widespread squash valued for its nutritious fruit, is one example. We aimed at describing the assemblage of flower visitors to this crop at 2400 m where stingless bees, reported as the main pollinators, are naturally absent. We implemented flower exclusions, performed field observations, and inspection of pollen loads of captured visitors to be able to draw distinctions between primary and secondary pollinators. We recorded a total of 60 species or morphospecies of insects visiting the flowers. Bees, wasps, and flies, present in all sites and consistently carrying abundant pollen, are the main pollinators of S. edule at high altitudes. Our study adds to the building evidence of the fundamental role that native bees and wasps play as crop pollinators in subsistence farming. Basic ecological knowledge is essential to inform agricultural management policies and to foresee preventable food scarcity problems, especially in view of climate change scenarios that predict drastic alterations in plant geographical distributions.

show abstract

Plant-pollinator meta-network of the Kashmir Himalaya: Structure, modularity, integration of alien species and extinction simulation

Rather

Ollerton

Parey

et al. 2023

Flora

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Extreme host range in an insular bee supports the super-generalist hypothesis with implications for both weed invasion and crop pollination

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Holocene population expansion of a tropical bee coincides with early human colonization of Fiji rather than climate change

Holocene population expansion of a tropical bee coincides with early human colonization of Fiji rather than climate change

More than the usual suspect: diversity of pollinators of chayote (Sechium edule) at high elevations in Chiapas, Mexico

Plant-pollinator meta-network of the Kashmir Himalaya: Structure, modularity, integration of alien species and extinction simulation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About