Test of the Invasive Pathogen Hypothesis of Bumble Bee Decline in North America
Test of the invasive pathogen hypothesis of bumble bee decline in North America Sydney A. Camerona,1, Haw Chuan Lima,2, Jeffrey D. Lozierb, Michelle A. Duennesa,3, and Robbin Thorpc aDepartment of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801; bDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487; and cDepartment of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 Edited by Gene E. Robinson, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL, and approved February 26, 2016 (received for review January 3, 2016) Emergent fungal diseases are critical factors in global biodiversity Subsequently, these colonies were imported back into the United declines. The fungal pathogen Nosema bombi was recently found States for use in open-field and greenhouse pollination (11). to be widespread in declining species of North American bumble Around this time, commercial colony production by other compa- bees (Bombus), with circumstantial evidence suggesting an exotic nies began in eastern Canada (1990), using wild queens of introduction from Europe. This interpretation has been hampered B. impatiens, and in California (1992) using B. occidentalis. by a lack of knowledge of global genetic variation, geographic However, B. occidentalis was abandoned by both major producers origin, and changing prevalence patterns of N. bombi in declining in North America shortly after 1997 because of infestation of North American populations. Thus, the temporal and spatial emergence the rearing stock with N. bombi (11), and soon afterward, wild of N. bombi and its potential role in bumble bee decline remain spec- B. occidentalis populations began to decline precipitously (2) along ulative. We analyze Nosema prevalence and genetic variation in the with this species’ close western US relative Bombus franklini (2).
[Show full text]