Population structure and genetic diversity of the orchid bee Eufriesea violacea (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossini) from Atlantic Forest remnants in southern and southeastern Brazil

Abstract

In this study, both the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of Eufriesea violacea from six Atlantic Forest fragments, located in four Brazilian states, were assessed using microsatellite markers. The results showed that genetic diversity was high in all populations and the genetic differentiation (Φ ST), based on allelic frequency differences, for all population pairwise comparisons was found to be significantly different from zero, indicating from low to moderate genetic differentiation among populations. Considerably higher genetic differentiation values were revealed by the D est estimator, indicating very high levels of differentiation for some pairs of populations. The present results on the population structure of E. violacea suggest a restriction in gene flow among populations from different Atlantic Forest remnants. Thus, considering the intense threats over the current Atlantic Forest remnants, more attention should be paid to populations of this euglossine species. genetic variation / euglossine bees / forest fragments / microsatellites Apidologie (2012) 43:392-402

Orchid bees: a new assessment on the rarity of diploid males in populations of this group of Neotropical pollinators

“…The period of sampling varied among these five species and from site to site: a) Males of Eufriesea violacea were collected in It is important to mention that the 353 males of Ef. violacea examined herein were those also studied by Freiria et al (2012), but for the confirmation of diploid males, new analyses were performed on an automated sequencer, which confirmed only part of 2N males previously identified by these authors.…”

“…annectans (n=203) and Eg. pleosticta (n=269) was performed as in Freiria et al (2012), while DNA from males of Eulaema cingulata (n=319), Euglossa iopoecila (n=271) and Euglossa truncata (n=42) was obtained according to Almeida et al (2001), with minor modifications, described as follows: parts of the body (legs or thorax) were placed in micro-centrifuge tubes containing 300 μL extraction buffer (500 mm Tris-HCl, 20 mm EDTA, 10 mm NaCl, pH 8.0 and 1 % SDS) and 5 μL K proteinase (20 μg/μL). Using small scissors, the body parts of bees were cut, held in a water bath at 63°C for two hours and then subjected to phenolchloroform washes.…”

“…pleosticta and Eg. annectans were based on protocols of Souza et al (2007), Paxton et al (2009) andFreiria et al (2012), with some modifications. PCR reactions were produced in a final volume of 5 μL, including: 1x GoTaq® Colorless Master Mix 2x (Promega), 0.5 μM of tag-F primer+0.5 μM of R-primer mixture, 5 μM M13-primer labelled with fluorochrome, 1 % of glycerol, 5 ng of DNA and 1.15 μL nuclease-free water (Promega).…”

Spatio‐temporal Genetic Structure of a Tropical Bee Species Suggests High Dispersal Over a Fragmented Landscape

“…Results from Freira et al . () also suggest that populations of some orchid bees are healthy; these authors found high levels of genetic diversity within Atlantic forest fragments in Brazil. Levels of gene flow seem to differ among species and genera (Cerântola et al .…”

Genetic Variability of Stingless Bees Melipona mondury Smith and Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from a Meliponary

“…tion of gene flow and decrease in genetic diversity (Freiria et al, 2012). One way to prevent local extinction of these bees is maintaining hives in free-foraging wooden boxes in meliponaries (apiaries for stingless bees).…”