The potential for parasite spill-back from commercial bumblebee colonies: a neglected threat to wild bees?
| Autor: | Callum D. Martin, Michelle T. Fountain, Mark J. F. Brown |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Pollination media_common.quotation_subject ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species Zoology Insect 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Crop 03 medical and health sciences Parasite hosting Strawberry crop Wild bee conservation Bumblebee 030304 developmental biology Nature and Landscape Conservation media_common 0303 health sciences Original Paper Parasite spill-over Ecology biology ved/biology biology.organism_classification Animal ecology Insect Science Bombus terrestris Apicystis bombi Animal Science and Zoology Commercial bumblebee management |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Insect Conservation |
| ISSN: | 1572-9753 1366-638X |
| Popis: | Commercially-reared bumblebee colonies provide pollination services to numerous crop species globally. These colonies may harbour parasites which can spill-over to wild bee species. However, the potential for parasites to spread from wild to commercial bumblebees, which could then lead to parasite spill-back, is poorly understood. To investigate this, parasite-free commercial Bombus terrestris audax colonies, which are used commercially for strawberry pollination, were placed into seasonal strawberry crops for either 6- or 8-week blocks across two key time periods, early spring and early summer. Bumblebees were removed from colonies weekly and screened for the presence of parasites. In the early spring placement, only one parasite, the highly virulent neogregarine Apicystis bombi, was detected at a low prevalence (0.46% across all bees screened). In contrast, all colonies placed in the crop in the early summer became infected. A trypanosome, Crithidia bombi, and A. bombi were the most prevalent parasites across all samples, reaching peak prevalence in screened bees of 39.39% and 18.18% respectively at the end of the experimental period. The prevalence of A. bombi was greater than most UK records from wild bumblebees, suggesting that commercial colonies could enhance levels of A. bombi infection in wild bees through spill-back. Studies on larger geographical scales with different commercial colony densities are required to fully assess spill-back risk. However, seasonal management, to minimise spill-back opportunities, and treatment of commercial colonies to prevent infection, could be implemented to manage the potential risks of parasite spill-back to wild bees.Implications for insect conservation Our results show that commercial bumblebee populations do pick up infections, most likely from wild bees, and that these infections can reach prevalences where they may pose a threat to wild bees via parasite spill-back. More research is required to clarify the extent of this potential threat. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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