• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, August 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Bee dispersal ability may influence conservation measures

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
February 7, 2019
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: Barbara Driscoll


The abilities of various bee species to disperse influences the pattern of their population’s genetic structure, which, in turn, can constrain how they respond to environmental change, as reported by an international team of researchers.

“Bees are declining around the world, which is a problem because these pollinators are critically important, both ecologically and economically,” said Margarita López-Uribe, assistant professor of entomology, Penn State. “Our study has major implications for bee species conservation. For example, the ability of a species to disperse farther can enable that species to move to suitable areas under scenarios of climate change.”

The team reviewed all pre-existing studies that had measured bee population genetic structure. The researchers related this population genetic structure to the bees’ body size with a goal of determining whether this relationship would provide an indication of how susceptible bees are to barriers to their movement, such as the destruction of habitat due to deforestation or urbanization.

The team’s results appeare online in February in Molecular Ecology.

According to López-Uribe, population genetic structure describes patterns of genetic diversity — the basis of a population’s ability to evolve and adapt to new conditions — among populations within a species. Lower population genetic structure suggests that the genetic diversity of a species is equally distributed across its geographic range, and higher population genetic structure suggests that the genetic diversity is clustered or subdivided into groups.

In addition to body size, López-Uribe and her colleagues also examined the breadth of the bees’ diets and their social behavior — whether they are solitary species or work and live together as part of a group. The team focused on studies that used microsatellite molecular markers — unique bits of DNA that are prone to mutations and allow scientists to quantify genetic diversity in a species and examine the pattern of that species’ population genetic structure.

The scientists found that bee species with larger body sizes and social behaviors exhibit patterns of lower population genetic structure than bees with smaller bodies and solitary behaviors. The team did not find diet specialization to influence the population genetic structure of bees.

“Dispersal is hard to study in small insects,” said López-Uribe. “Our study is the first to link bee body size and sociality with population genetic structure, which means we can predict which species may be at risk of local extinction based on these traits.”

Antonella Soro, research assistant, Martin-Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, noted that the study also has important implications for future research.

“It confirms body size as a master trait whose variation and genetic basis should be the focus of further inquiry if we want to understand how bees adapt to a rapidly changing environment,” said Soro.

###

Other authors on the paper include Shalene Jha, associate professor, University of Texas at Austin.

The Army Research Office and the National Science Foundation supported this research.

Media Contact
Sara LaJeunesse
[email protected]
814-865-9481

Tags: BiologyEcology/EnvironmentEntomology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

CK2–PRC2 Signal Drives Plant Cold Memory Epigenetics

August 2, 2025
blank

AI-Driven Protein Design Advances T-Cell Immunotherapy Breakthroughs

August 1, 2025

Melanthiaceae Genomes Reveal Giant Genome Evolution Secrets

August 1, 2025

“Shore Wars: New Study Tackles Oyster-Mangrove Conflicts to Boost Coastal Restoration”

August 1, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10
  • Study Reveals Beta-HPV Directly Causes Skin Cancer in Immunocompromised Individuals

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Unraveling EMT’s Role in Colorectal Cancer Spread

Gut γδ T17 Cells Drive Brain Inflammation via STING

Agent-Based Framework for Assessing Environmental Exposures

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.