Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Distribution of infectious and parasitic agents among three sentinel bee species across European agricultural landscapes

Babin, Aurélie ; Schurr, Frank ; Delannoy, Sabine ; Fach, Patrick ; Huyen Ton Nu Nguyet, Minh ; Bougeard, Stéphanie ; de Miranda, Joachim R. ; Rundlöf, Maj LU orcid ; Wintermantel, Dimitry and Albrecht, Matthias , et al. (2024) In Scientific Reports 14(1).
Abstract

Infectious and parasitic agents (IPAs) and their associated diseases are major environmental stressors that jeopardize bee health, both alone and in interaction with other stressors. Their impact on pollinator communities can be assessed by studying multiple sentinel bee species. Here, we analysed the field exposure of three sentinel managed bee species (Apis mellifera, Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis) to 11 IPAs (six RNA viruses, two bacteria, three microsporidia). The sentinel bees were deployed at 128 sites in eight European countries adjacent to either oilseed rape fields or apple orchards during crop bloom. Adult bees of each species were sampled before their placement and after crop bloom. The IPAs were detected and... (More)

Infectious and parasitic agents (IPAs) and their associated diseases are major environmental stressors that jeopardize bee health, both alone and in interaction with other stressors. Their impact on pollinator communities can be assessed by studying multiple sentinel bee species. Here, we analysed the field exposure of three sentinel managed bee species (Apis mellifera, Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis) to 11 IPAs (six RNA viruses, two bacteria, three microsporidia). The sentinel bees were deployed at 128 sites in eight European countries adjacent to either oilseed rape fields or apple orchards during crop bloom. Adult bees of each species were sampled before their placement and after crop bloom. The IPAs were detected and quantified using a harmonised, high-throughput and semi-automatized qPCR workflow. We describe differences among bee species in IPA profiles (richness, diversity, detection frequencies, loads and their change upon field exposure, and exposure risk), with no clear patterns related to the country or focal crop. Our results suggest that the most frequent IPAs in adult bees are more appropriate for assessing the bees’ IPA exposure risk. We also report positive correlations of IPA loads supporting the potential IPA transmission among sentinels, suggesting careful consideration should be taken when introducing managed pollinators in ecologically sensitive environments.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Scientific Reports
volume
14
issue
1
article number
3524
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:38347035
  • scopus:85185111019
ISSN
2045-2322
DOI
10.1038/s41598-024-53357-w
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b5afac5f-b98a-4ad2-9c0a-8ad065ca8ff8
date added to LUP
2025-01-08 11:05:30
date last changed
2025-07-10 02:35:49
@article{b5afac5f-b98a-4ad2-9c0a-8ad065ca8ff8,
  abstract     = {{<p>Infectious and parasitic agents (IPAs) and their associated diseases are major environmental stressors that jeopardize bee health, both alone and in interaction with other stressors. Their impact on pollinator communities can be assessed by studying multiple sentinel bee species. Here, we analysed the field exposure of three sentinel managed bee species (Apis mellifera, Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis) to 11 IPAs (six RNA viruses, two bacteria, three microsporidia). The sentinel bees were deployed at 128 sites in eight European countries adjacent to either oilseed rape fields or apple orchards during crop bloom. Adult bees of each species were sampled before their placement and after crop bloom. The IPAs were detected and quantified using a harmonised, high-throughput and semi-automatized qPCR workflow. We describe differences among bee species in IPA profiles (richness, diversity, detection frequencies, loads and their change upon field exposure, and exposure risk), with no clear patterns related to the country or focal crop. Our results suggest that the most frequent IPAs in adult bees are more appropriate for assessing the bees’ IPA exposure risk. We also report positive correlations of IPA loads supporting the potential IPA transmission among sentinels, suggesting careful consideration should be taken when introducing managed pollinators in ecologically sensitive environments.</p>}},
  author       = {{Babin, Aurélie and Schurr, Frank and Delannoy, Sabine and Fach, Patrick and Huyen Ton Nu Nguyet, Minh and Bougeard, Stéphanie and de Miranda, Joachim R. and Rundlöf, Maj and Wintermantel, Dimitry and Albrecht, Matthias and Attridge, Eleanor and Bottero, Irene and Cini, Elena and Costa, Cecilia and De la Rúa, Pilar and Di Prisco, Gennaro and Dominik, Christophe and Dzul, Daniel and Hodge, Simon and Klein, Alexandra Maria and Knapp, Jessica and Knauer, Anina C. and Mänd, Marika and Martínez-López, Vicente and Medrzycki, Piotr and Pereira-Peixoto, Maria Helena and Potts, Simon G. and Raimets, Risto and Schweiger, Oliver and Senapathi, Deepa and Serrano, José and Stout, Jane C. and Tamburini, Giovanni and Brown, Mark J.F. and Laurent, Marion and Rivière, Marie Pierre and Chauzat, Marie Pierre and Dubois, Eric}},
  issn         = {{2045-2322}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Scientific Reports}},
  title        = {{Distribution of infectious and parasitic agents among three sentinel bee species across European agricultural landscapes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-53357-w}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41598-024-53357-w}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}