Rare bumblebee and critically endangered thistle September 2011: Rare plant and insect species have been spotted at Kent Wildife Trust's Darland Banks nature reserve close to the Medway towns.
The very unusual sight of a mound of red star-thistles playing host to brown-banded carder bumblebees was recorded by Plantlife project manager Richard Moyse, on a visit to the chalk grassland site last week .
Red-star thistle is a priority speciesThe red star-thistle has only a couple of sites in Kent, and nationally is regarded as critically endangered. It has been identified as a Priority Species by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Flowering from July to September, this biennial grows to a height of up to 70cms with reddish-purple flower heads surrounded by sharp spines.
The brown-banded carder bumblebee is one of 24 species of bumblebee found in the UK - a number of which have declined massively as a result of the loss of extensive areas of flower-rich grassland and the intensity of modern farming methods. Many of their favoured food plants have become scarce, and with farmers cultivating right to the edges of fields, places to construct nests have all but disappeared.
This is encouraging and rewarding newsHedgerows, too, as well as being in short supply, are cut back so regularly that they have ceased to be safe nesting sites.
However, the species hangs on in North Kent, where it is associated with coastal grassland and brownfield sites (eg the Trust's Holborough Marshes reserve near Snodland), and, to a lesser extent, it has appeared in chalk grassland such as at Queendown Warren near Hartlip.
Alison Ruyter, Medway & Mid-Kent Downs Area Warden for Kent Wildlife Trust, said: ‘It is so encouraging and rewarding to see that our conservation management programme is producing such tangible results and real wins for wildlife.'
Richard Moyse, project manager for Plantlife's nearby Ranscombe Farm Reserve, added: ‘This is a classic demonstration that protecting wildlife starts with protecting wild plants, and habitats rich in wild plants. Without the wild plants, we wouldn't have the insects, and without insects, we wouldn't have much other wildlife at all.'
Darland Banks nature reserve is managed by Kent Wildife Trust in partnership with the owners Medway Council.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/kent-bumblebee.html
Showing posts with label bumblebees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bumblebees. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Male bumblebees seek mates on the hills
Bumblebee males head for the hills to find mates, according to scientists in Scotland.
Researchers made the discovery while investigating how bees are distributed across their habitat.
The behaviour, called "hilltopping", has been observed in butterflies in the past, but not in bees.
Little is known about how bumblebees find their mates and mating itself is rarely observed.
Professor Dave Goulson from the University of Stirling became interested in the distribution of bumblebees when he encountered so many in his local area.
On a regular run with co-workers in the hills next to the campus, Prof Goulson noticed an abundance of the large, fuzzy pollinators.
This casual observation led to a scientific investigation into what he thought was an unusual distribution of bees in the windswept, flowerless habitat.
"Male bumblebees are essentially lazy," explained Prof Goulson.
"You can see gangs of them sitting around on flowers in July and August and, in between drinking, they go looking for mates."
With a reduced amount of plants suitable for foraging at the top of the hill, Prof Goulson proposed that the bees favoured location was solely a mating strategy.
The bumblebee expert compared his findings to those of previous studies on hilltopping behaviour in butterflies, flies, and wasps.
Scientists studying these insects found that males and females seeking mates flew to the tops of hills to improve their chances of reproducing.
"It's quite a neat, simple 'dating' mechanism for butterflies but nobody knew that bees did it," said Prof Goulson.
Secretive sex lives
For bumblebees it seems that only the males make the effort to be seen.
The striking insects are surprisingly mysterious and their behaviour, and particularly their reproductive strategies have been the subject of study for many years.
In the late 19th Century, Charles Darwin studied the flight paths of male bumblebees in his garden and found that they left pheromone markers along a regularly patrolled circuit.
But no observations have since been made of females reacting to these signals.
"There are some well-known things that male bumblebees do that have always been assumed to be something to do with how they find mates," Prof Goulson told BBC Nature.
"But none of them are terribly well understood because you almost never see [the bees] actually mating."
Researchers made the discovery while investigating how bees are distributed across their habitat.
The behaviour, called "hilltopping", has been observed in butterflies in the past, but not in bees.
Little is known about how bumblebees find their mates and mating itself is rarely observed.
Professor Dave Goulson from the University of Stirling became interested in the distribution of bumblebees when he encountered so many in his local area.
On a regular run with co-workers in the hills next to the campus, Prof Goulson noticed an abundance of the large, fuzzy pollinators.
This casual observation led to a scientific investigation into what he thought was an unusual distribution of bees in the windswept, flowerless habitat.
The study, published in the journal Ecological Entomology, revealed that it was male bumblebees from four species that were most frequently found on hilltops.
"Male bumblebees are essentially lazy," explained Prof Goulson.
"You can see gangs of them sitting around on flowers in July and August and, in between drinking, they go looking for mates."
With a reduced amount of plants suitable for foraging at the top of the hill, Prof Goulson proposed that the bees favoured location was solely a mating strategy.
The bumblebee expert compared his findings to those of previous studies on hilltopping behaviour in butterflies, flies, and wasps.
Scientists studying these insects found that males and females seeking mates flew to the tops of hills to improve their chances of reproducing.
"It's quite a neat, simple 'dating' mechanism for butterflies but nobody knew that bees did it," said Prof Goulson.
Secretive sex lives
For bumblebees it seems that only the males make the effort to be seen.
Although his results showed males congregating on hill tops, Prof Goulson did not record any females taking advantage of the gathering.
The striking insects are surprisingly mysterious and their behaviour, and particularly their reproductive strategies have been the subject of study for many years.
In the late 19th Century, Charles Darwin studied the flight paths of male bumblebees in his garden and found that they left pheromone markers along a regularly patrolled circuit.
But no observations have since been made of females reacting to these signals.
"There are some well-known things that male bumblebees do that have always been assumed to be something to do with how they find mates," Prof Goulson told BBC Nature.
"But none of them are terribly well understood because you almost never see [the bees] actually mating."
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
US sees massive drop in bumble bees: study
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Weakened by inbreeding and disease, bumble bees have died off at an astonishing rate over the past 20 years, with some US populations diving more than 90 percent, according to a new study.
The findings are of concern because bees play a crucial role in pollinating crops such as tomatoes, peppers and berries, said the findings of a three-year study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Similar declines have also been seen in Europe and Asia, said Sydney Cameron, of the Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois, the main author of the study.
"The decline of bumble bees in the US is associated with two things we were able to study: the pathogen Nosema bombi and a decline in genetic diversity. But we are not saying Nosema is the cause. We don't know," said Cameron.
"It's just an association. There may be other causes."
He added that the decline is "huge and recent," having taken place in the last two decades.
Nosema bombi is a bee pathogen that has also afflicted European bumble bees.
Researchers examined eight species of North American bumble bees and found that the "relative abundance of four species has dropped by more than 90 percent, suggesting die-offs further supported by shrinking geographic ranges," said the study.
"Compared with species of relatively stable population sizes, the dwindling bee species had low genetic diversity, potentially rendering them prone to pathogens and environmental pressures."
Their cousins, the honey bees, have also experienced catastrophic die-offs since 2006 in a phenomenon known as "colony collapse disorder," though the causes have yet to be fully determined.
Bumble bees also make honey, but it is used to feed the colony, not farmed for human consumption.
They are however raised in Europe for pollinating greenhouse vegetables in a multi-billion-dollar industry that has more recently taken off in Japan and Israel and is being developed in Mexico and China, Cameron said.
"We need to start to develop other bees for pollination beside honey bees, because they are suffering enormously," he added.
There are around 250 species of bumble bee, including 50 in the United States alone.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110104/ts_afp/usanimalagricultureresearch_20110104011323;_ylt=AjLRd8WnGrHkJH1uGeCbE6KFOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTMzNDMwZnFwBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDExMDEwNC91c2FuaW1hbGFncmljdWx0dXJlcmVzZWFyY2gEcG9zAzEwBHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc2Vlc21hc3Npdg--
The findings are of concern because bees play a crucial role in pollinating crops such as tomatoes, peppers and berries, said the findings of a three-year study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Similar declines have also been seen in Europe and Asia, said Sydney Cameron, of the Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois, the main author of the study.
"The decline of bumble bees in the US is associated with two things we were able to study: the pathogen Nosema bombi and a decline in genetic diversity. But we are not saying Nosema is the cause. We don't know," said Cameron.
"It's just an association. There may be other causes."
He added that the decline is "huge and recent," having taken place in the last two decades.
Nosema bombi is a bee pathogen that has also afflicted European bumble bees.
Researchers examined eight species of North American bumble bees and found that the "relative abundance of four species has dropped by more than 90 percent, suggesting die-offs further supported by shrinking geographic ranges," said the study.
"Compared with species of relatively stable population sizes, the dwindling bee species had low genetic diversity, potentially rendering them prone to pathogens and environmental pressures."
Their cousins, the honey bees, have also experienced catastrophic die-offs since 2006 in a phenomenon known as "colony collapse disorder," though the causes have yet to be fully determined.
Bumble bees also make honey, but it is used to feed the colony, not farmed for human consumption.
They are however raised in Europe for pollinating greenhouse vegetables in a multi-billion-dollar industry that has more recently taken off in Japan and Israel and is being developed in Mexico and China, Cameron said.
"We need to start to develop other bees for pollination beside honey bees, because they are suffering enormously," he added.
There are around 250 species of bumble bee, including 50 in the United States alone.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110104/ts_afp/usanimalagricultureresearch_20110104011323;_ylt=AjLRd8WnGrHkJH1uGeCbE6KFOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTMzNDMwZnFwBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDExMDEwNC91c2FuaW1hbGFncmljdWx0dXJlcmVzZWFyY2gEcG9zAzEwBHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc2Vlc21hc3Npdg--
US sees massive drop in bumble bees: study
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Weakened by inbreeding and disease, bumble bees have died off at an astonishing rate over the past 20 years, with some US populations diving more than 90 percent, according to a new study.
The findings are of concern because bees play a crucial role in pollinating crops such as tomatoes, peppers and berries, said the findings of a three-year study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Similar declines have also been seen in Europe and Asia, said Sydney Cameron, of the Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois, the main author of the study.
"The decline of bumble bees in the US is associated with two things we were able to study: the pathogen Nosema bombi and a decline in genetic diversity. But we are not saying Nosema is the cause. We don't know," said Cameron.
"It's just an association. There may be other causes."
He added that the decline is "huge and recent," having taken place in the last two decades.
Nosema bombi is a bee pathogen that has also afflicted European bumble bees.
Researchers examined eight species of North American bumble bees and found that the "relative abundance of four species has dropped by more than 90 percent, suggesting die-offs further supported by shrinking geographic ranges," said the study.
"Compared with species of relatively stable population sizes, the dwindling bee species had low genetic diversity, potentially rendering them prone to pathogens and environmental pressures."
Their cousins, the honey bees, have also experienced catastrophic die-offs since 2006 in a phenomenon known as "colony collapse disorder," though the causes have yet to be fully determined.
Bumble bees also make honey, but it is used to feed the colony, not farmed for human consumption.
They are however raised in Europe for pollinating greenhouse vegetables in a multi-billion-dollar industry that has more recently taken off in Japan and Israel and is being developed in Mexico and China, Cameron said.
"We need to start to develop other bees for pollination beside honey bees, because they are suffering enormously," he added.
There are around 250 species of bumble bee, including 50 in the United States alone.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110104/ts_afp/usanimalagricultureresearch_20110104011323;_ylt=AjLRd8WnGrHkJH1uGeCbE6KFOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTMzNDMwZnFwBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDExMDEwNC91c2FuaW1hbGFncmljdWx0dXJlcmVzZWFyY2gEcG9zAzEwBHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc2Vlc21hc3Npdg--
The findings are of concern because bees play a crucial role in pollinating crops such as tomatoes, peppers and berries, said the findings of a three-year study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Similar declines have also been seen in Europe and Asia, said Sydney Cameron, of the Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois, the main author of the study.
"The decline of bumble bees in the US is associated with two things we were able to study: the pathogen Nosema bombi and a decline in genetic diversity. But we are not saying Nosema is the cause. We don't know," said Cameron.
"It's just an association. There may be other causes."
He added that the decline is "huge and recent," having taken place in the last two decades.
Nosema bombi is a bee pathogen that has also afflicted European bumble bees.
Researchers examined eight species of North American bumble bees and found that the "relative abundance of four species has dropped by more than 90 percent, suggesting die-offs further supported by shrinking geographic ranges," said the study.
"Compared with species of relatively stable population sizes, the dwindling bee species had low genetic diversity, potentially rendering them prone to pathogens and environmental pressures."
Their cousins, the honey bees, have also experienced catastrophic die-offs since 2006 in a phenomenon known as "colony collapse disorder," though the causes have yet to be fully determined.
Bumble bees also make honey, but it is used to feed the colony, not farmed for human consumption.
They are however raised in Europe for pollinating greenhouse vegetables in a multi-billion-dollar industry that has more recently taken off in Japan and Israel and is being developed in Mexico and China, Cameron said.
"We need to start to develop other bees for pollination beside honey bees, because they are suffering enormously," he added.
There are around 250 species of bumble bee, including 50 in the United States alone.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110104/ts_afp/usanimalagricultureresearch_20110104011323;_ylt=AjLRd8WnGrHkJH1uGeCbE6KFOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTMzNDMwZnFwBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDExMDEwNC91c2FuaW1hbGFncmljdWx0dXJlcmVzZWFyY2gEcG9zAzEwBHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc2Vlc21hc3Npdg--
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Inbred bumblebees 'face extinction threat' (via Dawn Holloway)
Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests.
The lack of genetic diversity is making the bees more vulnerable to a number of threats, including parasitic infection, say scientists in Scotland.
They warn that some populations of bees are becoming increasingly isolated as a result of habitat loss.
The findings are being presented at the British Ecological Society's annual meeting at the University of Leeds.
Lead researcher Penelope Whitehorn, a PhD student from Stirling University, said the study of moss carder bumblebees (Bombus muscorum) on nine Hebridean islands, off the west coast of Scotland, offered an important insight into the possible consequences of inbreeding.
"The genetic work had already been carried out on these bumblebees, so we knew that the smaller and more isolated populations were more inbred than the larger populations on the mainland," she told BBC News.
"And as it was an island system, it could work as a proxy for what could occur on the mainland if populations do become isolated from each other as a result of habitat fragmentation."
The study is believed to be the first of its kind to investigate inbreeding and immunity in wild bees.
Uncertain future
Ms Whitehorn found that, although the inbreeding did not seem to affect the bees' immune system directly, it did make the insects more susceptible to parasitic infection.
The study offered a good insight into the potential consequences for species found on the UK mainland Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests.
The ideal habitat on the Hebridean islands offers the resident bee populations a fighting chance "We found that isolated island populations of the moss carder bumblebee with lower genetic diversity have an increased prevalence of the gut parasite Crithidia bombi," she explained.
"Our study suggests that as bumblebee populations lose genetic diversity the impact of parasitism will increase, which may increase the extinction risk of threatened populations."
She added that the populations of the bees on the islands were "quite healthy because the habitat was so good", but inbreeding did have a range of other consequences, such as the production of infertile males.
"If inbreeding occurs on mainland Britain, where the habitat is not so good, then species may well be threatened," Ms Whitehorn suggested.
Other studies of invertebrates have found other costs as a result of inbreeding, such as a loss of general fitness in the species in question.
Habitat loss is resulting in populations of bees becoming more and more isolated from their neighbours, effectively leaving them as island populations.
Ms Whitehorn cited the example of the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), which finally became nationally extinct in the late 1980s when a parasitic infection placed increased pressure on the remaining populations, which were already vulnerable as a result of fragmented habitats.
To date, recent attempts to re-introduce the population back into the UK from New Zealand - where it had been introduced from Britain in the late 19th Century, have not been successful.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust said efforts to conserve bumblebees were vital as the creatures played a key role as pollinators, especially when it came to wild flowers and commercial crops.
The UK currently has 24 species of bumblebee, after seeing two species become nationally extinct in recent decades.
Of the remaining species, one quarter have been identified as being in need of conservation to prevent them from disappearing from the British landscape.
By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11199779
The lack of genetic diversity is making the bees more vulnerable to a number of threats, including parasitic infection, say scientists in Scotland.
They warn that some populations of bees are becoming increasingly isolated as a result of habitat loss.
The findings are being presented at the British Ecological Society's annual meeting at the University of Leeds.
Lead researcher Penelope Whitehorn, a PhD student from Stirling University, said the study of moss carder bumblebees (Bombus muscorum) on nine Hebridean islands, off the west coast of Scotland, offered an important insight into the possible consequences of inbreeding.
"The genetic work had already been carried out on these bumblebees, so we knew that the smaller and more isolated populations were more inbred than the larger populations on the mainland," she told BBC News.
"And as it was an island system, it could work as a proxy for what could occur on the mainland if populations do become isolated from each other as a result of habitat fragmentation."
The study is believed to be the first of its kind to investigate inbreeding and immunity in wild bees.
Uncertain future
Ms Whitehorn found that, although the inbreeding did not seem to affect the bees' immune system directly, it did make the insects more susceptible to parasitic infection.
The study offered a good insight into the potential consequences for species found on the UK mainland Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests.
The ideal habitat on the Hebridean islands offers the resident bee populations a fighting chance "We found that isolated island populations of the moss carder bumblebee with lower genetic diversity have an increased prevalence of the gut parasite Crithidia bombi," she explained.
"Our study suggests that as bumblebee populations lose genetic diversity the impact of parasitism will increase, which may increase the extinction risk of threatened populations."
She added that the populations of the bees on the islands were "quite healthy because the habitat was so good", but inbreeding did have a range of other consequences, such as the production of infertile males.
"If inbreeding occurs on mainland Britain, where the habitat is not so good, then species may well be threatened," Ms Whitehorn suggested.
Other studies of invertebrates have found other costs as a result of inbreeding, such as a loss of general fitness in the species in question.
Habitat loss is resulting in populations of bees becoming more and more isolated from their neighbours, effectively leaving them as island populations.
Ms Whitehorn cited the example of the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), which finally became nationally extinct in the late 1980s when a parasitic infection placed increased pressure on the remaining populations, which were already vulnerable as a result of fragmented habitats.
To date, recent attempts to re-introduce the population back into the UK from New Zealand - where it had been introduced from Britain in the late 19th Century, have not been successful.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust said efforts to conserve bumblebees were vital as the creatures played a key role as pollinators, especially when it came to wild flowers and commercial crops.
The UK currently has 24 species of bumblebee, after seeing two species become nationally extinct in recent decades.
Of the remaining species, one quarter have been identified as being in need of conservation to prevent them from disappearing from the British landscape.
By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11199779
Inbred bumblebees 'face extinction threat' (via Dawn Holloway)
Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests.
The lack of genetic diversity is making the bees more vulnerable to a number of threats, including parasitic infection, say scientists in Scotland.
They warn that some populations of bees are becoming increasingly isolated as a result of habitat loss.
The findings are being presented at the British Ecological Society's annual meeting at the University of Leeds.
Lead researcher Penelope Whitehorn, a PhD student from Stirling University, said the study of moss carder bumblebees (Bombus muscorum) on nine Hebridean islands, off the west coast of Scotland, offered an important insight into the possible consequences of inbreeding.
"The genetic work had already been carried out on these bumblebees, so we knew that the smaller and more isolated populations were more inbred than the larger populations on the mainland," she told BBC News.
"And as it was an island system, it could work as a proxy for what could occur on the mainland if populations do become isolated from each other as a result of habitat fragmentation."
The study is believed to be the first of its kind to investigate inbreeding and immunity in wild bees.
Uncertain future
Ms Whitehorn found that, although the inbreeding did not seem to affect the bees' immune system directly, it did make the insects more susceptible to parasitic infection.
The study offered a good insight into the potential consequences for species found on the UK mainland Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests.
The ideal habitat on the Hebridean islands offers the resident bee populations a fighting chance "We found that isolated island populations of the moss carder bumblebee with lower genetic diversity have an increased prevalence of the gut parasite Crithidia bombi," she explained.
"Our study suggests that as bumblebee populations lose genetic diversity the impact of parasitism will increase, which may increase the extinction risk of threatened populations."
She added that the populations of the bees on the islands were "quite healthy because the habitat was so good", but inbreeding did have a range of other consequences, such as the production of infertile males.
"If inbreeding occurs on mainland Britain, where the habitat is not so good, then species may well be threatened," Ms Whitehorn suggested.
Other studies of invertebrates have found other costs as a result of inbreeding, such as a loss of general fitness in the species in question.
Habitat loss is resulting in populations of bees becoming more and more isolated from their neighbours, effectively leaving them as island populations.
Ms Whitehorn cited the example of the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), which finally became nationally extinct in the late 1980s when a parasitic infection placed increased pressure on the remaining populations, which were already vulnerable as a result of fragmented habitats.
To date, recent attempts to re-introduce the population back into the UK from New Zealand - where it had been introduced from Britain in the late 19th Century, have not been successful.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust said efforts to conserve bumblebees were vital as the creatures played a key role as pollinators, especially when it came to wild flowers and commercial crops.
The UK currently has 24 species of bumblebee, after seeing two species become nationally extinct in recent decades.
Of the remaining species, one quarter have been identified as being in need of conservation to prevent them from disappearing from the British landscape.
By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11199779
The lack of genetic diversity is making the bees more vulnerable to a number of threats, including parasitic infection, say scientists in Scotland.
They warn that some populations of bees are becoming increasingly isolated as a result of habitat loss.
The findings are being presented at the British Ecological Society's annual meeting at the University of Leeds.
Lead researcher Penelope Whitehorn, a PhD student from Stirling University, said the study of moss carder bumblebees (Bombus muscorum) on nine Hebridean islands, off the west coast of Scotland, offered an important insight into the possible consequences of inbreeding.
"The genetic work had already been carried out on these bumblebees, so we knew that the smaller and more isolated populations were more inbred than the larger populations on the mainland," she told BBC News.
"And as it was an island system, it could work as a proxy for what could occur on the mainland if populations do become isolated from each other as a result of habitat fragmentation."
The study is believed to be the first of its kind to investigate inbreeding and immunity in wild bees.
Uncertain future
Ms Whitehorn found that, although the inbreeding did not seem to affect the bees' immune system directly, it did make the insects more susceptible to parasitic infection.
The study offered a good insight into the potential consequences for species found on the UK mainland Some of the UK's rarest bumblebees are at risk of becoming extinct as a result of inbreeding, research suggests.
The ideal habitat on the Hebridean islands offers the resident bee populations a fighting chance "We found that isolated island populations of the moss carder bumblebee with lower genetic diversity have an increased prevalence of the gut parasite Crithidia bombi," she explained.
"Our study suggests that as bumblebee populations lose genetic diversity the impact of parasitism will increase, which may increase the extinction risk of threatened populations."
She added that the populations of the bees on the islands were "quite healthy because the habitat was so good", but inbreeding did have a range of other consequences, such as the production of infertile males.
"If inbreeding occurs on mainland Britain, where the habitat is not so good, then species may well be threatened," Ms Whitehorn suggested.
Other studies of invertebrates have found other costs as a result of inbreeding, such as a loss of general fitness in the species in question.
Habitat loss is resulting in populations of bees becoming more and more isolated from their neighbours, effectively leaving them as island populations.
Ms Whitehorn cited the example of the short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), which finally became nationally extinct in the late 1980s when a parasitic infection placed increased pressure on the remaining populations, which were already vulnerable as a result of fragmented habitats.
To date, recent attempts to re-introduce the population back into the UK from New Zealand - where it had been introduced from Britain in the late 19th Century, have not been successful.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust said efforts to conserve bumblebees were vital as the creatures played a key role as pollinators, especially when it came to wild flowers and commercial crops.
The UK currently has 24 species of bumblebee, after seeing two species become nationally extinct in recent decades.
Of the remaining species, one quarter have been identified as being in need of conservation to prevent them from disappearing from the British landscape.
By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11199779
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