Ryans Mres explored the population genetics of bumblebees in the UK and here he presents his findings at the 55th Population Genetics Group (popgroup) conference. Despite the nerves, Ryan did a great job presenting at his first conference and a recording is available to view here;
Monthly Archives: January 2022
The viral prevalence in wild bees is associated with the climate and the health of local honey bees
In a continent wide study led by Niels Piot, we used sites from 11 countries, collecting over 600 bees and had their viral titres measured. We found wild bees species to have many viruses commonly thought of as ‘honey bee viruses’ including the AKI-complex (Acute bee paralysis virus, Kashmir bee virus and Israeli acute paralysis virus), Deformed wing virus, and Slow bee paralysis virus. The presence of these viruses was positively correlated with the viral prevalence in local honey bees and also with climatic factors. Not only does this suggest the health on honeybees may be indicative of wider bee health but suggests that as climates change, our understanding and forecast of pollinator disease dynamics may also need to change.
Read the article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05603-2