OOS 66
Conservation Genetics of Bee Pollinators

Thursday, August 13, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
336, Baltimore Convention Center
Organizer:
Shalene Jha
Co-organizers:
Margarita Lopez-Uribe and Antonella Soro
Moderator:
Shalene Jha
This session will showcase the latest advances that molecular biologists have made in the ecology, evolution, and conservation genetics of native bees. While new technologies like NGS and fine-scale GIS, coupled with advances in computer hardware and software, have dramatically improved our understanding of pollinator population genetics, current methods and models of understanding gene-flow and dispersal vary widely and could benefit dramatically from a synthesis and a forum for discussing future challenges and priorities. The proposed symposium would include research that spans the growing field of pollinator conservation genetics, drawing inspiration from a wide range of disciplines, including pollination ecology, landscape ecology, population genetics, and genomics. The overarching goal of the symposium will be to highlight research at the interface between population genetics and pollinator ecology in order to improve understanding of bee population dynamics and evolution, and to inform conservation and management practices. Specifically, we have chosen to focus on the conservation of native bees because they are the most important and effective pollinators and have gained massive public interest in the past decade. The study of native bees is important not only in natural areas, but also in urbanizing and agricultural regions, where multiple stakeholders are invested in enhancing native bee-mediated pollination services. By incorporating molecular research into pollination and landscape ecology, the research highlighted in this symposium takes a critical step in advancing pollinator and pollination-service conservation. As global population and food demands continue to increase, causing even more habitat loss and fragmentation, it will be essential to conserve and restore pollinator populations in natural, agricultural, and urban areas, not only for the purpose of conserving biodiversity, but also for ensuring food security and food diversity. This symposium will reveal insights into the role of evolutionary histories and ecological traits in the challenges confronting native bee pollinators and their critical role in our ecosystem.
8:00 AM
Predicting patterns of population structure in native bee pollinators
Margarita Lopez-Uribe, North Carolina State University; Antonella Soro, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg; Shalene Jha, University of Texas at Austin
8:40 AM
Testing concepts on the population genetics of wild bees: Low genetic diversity and high frequencies of diploid males
Robert Paxton, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, iDiv (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig); Tomás E. Murray, National Biodiversity Data Centre
9:00 AM
Population genetics of commercial and wild bumble bees reveals surprising patterns of visitation to agricultural crops
Sevan Suni, Harvard University; Zach Scott, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Anne Averill, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Andrew Whiteley, University of Massachusetts Amherst
9:20 AM
Human management increases genetic differentiation and weakens isolation by distance across stingless bees
Rodolfo Jaffé, University of São Paulo, Vale Institute of Technology; Nathaniel Pope, University of Texas at Austin; Tereza Cristina Giannini, Vale Institute of Technology; Denise Alves, University of São Paulo; Shalene Jha, University of Texas at Austin; Luisa Carvalheiro, Universidade de Brasília, Universidade de Lisboa
9:40 AM
10:10 AM
Unbiased estimation of foraging range and disease incidence from social bee genotypes
Nathaniel Pope, University of Texas at Austin; Shalene Jha, University of Texas at Austin
10:30 AM
Comparative phylogeography of European bees with different level of diet specialization and range size
Denis Michez, University of Mons; Patrick Mardulyn, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Thomas Lecocq, University of Mons; Simon Dellicour, University of Oxford