Lower temperatures decrease worker size variation but do not affect fine-grained thermoregulation in bumble bees

Kelemen, Evan P.

doi:10.1007/s00265-018-2577-4

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…We suggest that the answer lies in the bee abdomen-the microenvironment inhabited by the symbionts, and a structure whose temperature is affected by host thermoregulatory behaviour. Specifically, both worker and queen bumblebees incubate larvae and pupae by lying on top of brood structures and elevating abdominal temperatures to approximately 35°C or above, exceeding ambient temperatures in the nest [64,65]. Given that bumblebees-especially foundress queens, the sole source of microbes for the colony-spend much of their time performing this behaviour [36,64], symbiont growth may be adapted to the locally heated conditions within the abdomen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal niches of specialized gut symbionts: the case of social bees

Hammer

Moran

2021

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Responses to climate change are particularly complicated in species that engage in symbioses, as the niche of one partner may be modified by that of the other. We explored thermal traits in gut symbionts of honeybees and bumblebees, which are vulnerable to rising temperatures. In vitro assays of symbiont strains isolated from 16 host species revealed variation in thermal niches. Strains from bumblebees tended to be less heat-tolerant than those from honeybees, possibly due to bumblebees maintaining cooler nests or inhabiting cooler climates. Overall, however, bee symbionts grew at temperatures up to 44°C and withstood temperatures up to 52°C, at or above the upper thermal limits of their hosts. While heat-tolerant, most strains of the symbiont Snodgrassella grew relatively slowly below 35°C, perhaps because of adaptation to the elevated body temperatures that bees maintain through thermoregulation. In a gnotobiotic bumblebee experiment, Snodgrassella was unable to consistently colonize bees reared at 29°C under conditions that limit thermoregulation. Thus, host thermoregulatory behaviour appears important in creating a warm microenvironment for symbiont establishment. Bee–microbiome–temperature interactions could affect host health and pollination services, and inform research on the thermal biology of other specialized gut symbionts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal niches of specialized gut symbionts: the case of social bees

Hammer

Moran

2021

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Within a population, morphological variation of bumblebee workers is, primarily, the result of indirect selection pressures on colony success (Linksvayer & Wade, ). In this way, bumblebee workers' body size can be positively associated with the nutritional level of the colony (Cartar, ) and/or negatively correlated with colony population size (Couvillon, Jandt, Duong, & Dornhaus, ; Cueva del Castillo, Sanabria‐Urbán, & Serrano‐Meneses, ), and can also be affected by environmental conditions such as temperature (Kelemen & Dornhaus, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this way, bumblebee workers' body size can be positively associated with the nutritional level of the colony (Cartar, 1991) and/or negatively correlated with colony population size (Couvillon, Jandt, Duong, & Dornhaus, 2010;Cueva del Castillo, Sanabria-Urbán, & Serrano-Meneses, 2015), and can also be affected by environmental conditions such as temperature (Kelemen & Dornhaus, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific variation in body size of bumblebee workers influences anti‐predator behaviour

Gavini

Quintero

Tadey

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Flower‐dwelling predators make flowers dangerous foraging sites for pollinators, potentially affecting their anti‐predator behaviour. Moreover, predation vulnerability often varies among pollinators' body sizes with interspecific comparisons showing that smaller species are more vulnerable than larger ones. However, how intraspecific body size variation influences pollinator behaviour under predation risk is still unknown, especially under natural conditions. We hypothesized that bumblebee workers of different sizes will exhibit different foraging strategies under predation risk. We predict that (a) small workers should more often exhibit anti‐predator behaviours than larger workers. We also hypothesized that the anti‐predator behaviour should be influenced by predator size and reward availability; therefore, we expect (b) higher avoidance behaviour towards larger predator sizes and (c) more and longer visits to inflorescences with high nectar availability. Finally, we expect that (d) nectar availability should overcome the anti‐predator behaviour in less vulnerable, large, workers. We recorded flower visitation, time spent and rejection behaviours of different sizes of Bombus terrestris (Apidae) workers (large, medium and small) to inflorescences of Alstroemeria aurea (Alstroemeriaceae) with different treatments of artificial spiders (small and large) and nectar availability (with, without). Anti‐predator and foraging behaviour of bumblebees was affected by the size of the worker, the presence of artificial spiders and nectar availability. Large and medium size bumblebees strongly reduced flower visitation and time spent in the presence of artificial spiders, consistently avoiding flowers with spiders, regardless of spider size or nectar availability. Instead, small bumblebees seldom modified their behaviour when facing artificial spiders, only increasing their avoidance or decreasing their foraging time in nectarless flowers hosting large artificial spiders. This pattern of larger workers being more sensitive to predation risk than smaller ones at the intraspecific level in B. terrestris is contrary to the expected and acknowledged trend based on previous interspecific comparisons, but partially consistent with predictions of models of optimal foraging theory. Intraspecific behavioural variability was uncovered only when nectar was available, whereas artificial predator size rarely modified bumblebee anti‐predator and foraging behaviour. Therefore, our findings suggest that the trade‐off between maximizing resource intake and minimizing predation risk strongly varies across bumblebee worker body sizes.

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“…This differentiation is plausible due to the higher temperature in the lowlands compared to the highland. The temperature indirectly affects morphological size variations in worker bumblebees species Bombus impatiens (Kelemen and Dornhaus 2018). Furthermore, honey bee A. cerana has a relatively long survival rate at 35°C with 50% humidity (Li et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra- and Interspecies Wing Venation Variations of Apis cerana and Apis nigrocincta Species in Indonesia

Nisa

Juliandi

Raffiudin³

et al. 2022

HAYATI J Biosci

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Apis cerana has a wide distribution in Asia, including Sundaland, and is currently found in Wallacea, while the sister species, A. nigrocincta, is native in Sulawesi. The wide geographic distribution and the island isolation led to form morphological differences in the bees. The morph and wing venations are known to have a high genetic inheritance. Therefore, this research aimed to (1) analyze the landmark variation of wing venations of A. cerana from Sundaland and Wallacea, and A. nigrocincta from Sulawesi, (2) determine the relationship between these two bee species. The research was conducted by digitizing 550 wing venations based on nineteen landmarks. Our study on intraspecies showed that A. cerana Sumatra revealed a high variation in bending energy. Overall, the deformation grid of A. cerana from Sundaland has higher displacement than those from Wallacea, meaning higher variations of the Sundaland A. cerana. We found geometric morphometric markers of landmarks 16 and 17 in intraspecies and interspecies bees. Thus, these landmarks known as a cubital index can be used for species identification. The differentiation of interspecies has been shown in the PCA. Apis nigrocincta was separated from the single group of the centroid A. cerana and was supported by the Neighbor-Joining tree.

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Lower temperatures decrease worker size variation but do not affect fine-grained thermoregulation in bumble bees

Cited by 19 publications

References 44 publications

Thermal niches of specialized gut symbionts: the case of social bees

Thermal niches of specialized gut symbionts: the case of social bees

Intraspecific variation in body size of bumblebee workers influences anti‐predator behaviour

Intra- and Interspecies Wing Venation Variations of Apis cerana and Apis nigrocincta Species in Indonesia

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