Use of diploid male frequency data as an indicator of pollinator decline

by A Zayed, DW Roubik and L Packer

(Published in Supplement 3, Biology Letters S9)

Photo: A Zayed

Pollination deficits result from declines in pollinator populations and have negative impacts upon agricultural productivity and natural ecosystems. But demonstrating pollinator population decline is difficult. Bees and other Hymenoptera have a sex determining mechanism in which homozygotes at a normally hypervariable sex locus are sterile diploid males. Analysis of an abundant neotropical bee revealed that populations have high frequencies of diploid males induced by low genetic diversity, contrary to the levels expected in large populations as indicated by census data. We suggest that diploid male frequencies provide a useful metric for assessing bee population sustainability.

Photo: D Roubik and M Guerra