This research presents the findings of a pollinator diversity study that took place at three study sites. Although variation in pollinator diversity occurred between the three sites, fewer pollinators than expected were recorded from the La Joya Tract (revegetated site). Numerous genera and species were recorded from the Havana Tract (native site) as well as the Valley Nature Center (urban garden). In contrast, the La Joya Tract had a comparatively depauperate pollinator fauna. The numbers of pollinator genera and species recorded from the three study sites were decreased in comparison to the total number of genera and species recorded from Hidalgo County. Hidalgo County has 35 known genera and 75 species of bees documented to date. About 40% of the genera and 23% of the species recorded from Hidalgo County were recorded from the Havana Tract in this study, while a mere 8.5% of the genera and 4% of the species were reported from the La Joya Tract and 34% of the genera and 16% of the species were reported from the Valley Nature Center. Although the vascular plant species identified from these study sites were diverse, the floral rewards they provided yielded an insight as to what was going on in terms of pollinator diversity. Plants may yield nectar or pollen floral rewards or both in some cases to pollinators. The current study provides evidence that revegetation of land with plants that primarily provide nectar rewards will result in fewer observed bee taxa than from land revegetated with plants that provide a mix of nectar and pollen floral rewards.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses ( Dept. of Biological Sciences) / Simon Fraser University. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

<p>Propagation methods for honeybee viruses have not changed since these viruses were discovered. There are no suitable cell lines or cell culture techniques available for honeybee viruses. Honeybee viruses have to be manually injected with virus in order for the virus to multiply and be extracted. With the presence of inapparent viruses which could co-infect pupae, a method for pure virus propagations needs to be found. Recombinant baculovirus systems have been used extensively to produce foreign proteins from different viruses using vectors and recombinant technology. In this chapter we inserted the capsid gene from BQCV into a transfer vector under the control of the p10 promoter of Autographa californica. Fractions of the sucrose gradient containing the virus like particles (VLPs) were seen under the electron microscope. A Western blot showed the four capsid proteins at the expected sizes for BQCV capsid. This study therefore has shown that a heterologous system such as baculovirus can be used for virus like particle production. Infectious virus technology has helped gain insight into how viruses work. Using this technology altering honeybee viruses could be used to observe different functionalities of the viruses. An attempt was made to interchange the open reading frames of ABPV and BQCV to observe any changes in virus assembly and infectivity. A fusion PCR strategy was employed to interchange the 5&rsquo / and 3&rsquo / ORFs of APBV and BQCV. The strategy however was unsuccessful. Alternative strategies could improve the chances of obtaining a chimeric virus.</p>

Explaining the wide range of animal colouration in the natural world is a key issue in evolutionary biology. Bumble bees are often brightly coloured and show a range of colours and colour patterns in different species as well as considerable variation within species. The large garden bumble bee, Bombus ruderatus, is highly variable in its degree of black (melanic) colouration, with morphs ranging from the familiar yellow and black bands (banded) through intermediate forms to morphs that are totally melanic. The aim of this research was to determine what might be maintaining the colour polymorphism in populations of B. ruderatus in the South Island, New Zealand. Colouration of worker bees was measured using a digital photography method and found to be significantly different across sample sites. To look at potential adaptive functions of body colour in B. ruderatus, three hypotheses of thermoregulation, desiccation tolerance and Müllerian mimicry were tested by comparing patterns of variation in melanism to patterns of variation in climatic variables (temperature, rainfall, humidity) and abundance of conspecifics. In order to address the possibility that selectively neutral processes were more important than selection, the genetic structure of B. ruderatus populations was characterised and compared to the pattern of variation in melanism. The colouration of individuals from the same population collected at different times in the season was compared to evaluate whether body colour was plastic and any support for the genetic basis of melanism in B. ruderatus was also assessed by determining any relationship between relatedness and degree of melanism. The results suggest that differences in the degree of melanism between populations are greater than the differences expected through selectively neutral forces alone and, therefore, that the pattern of variation in melanism is likely a result of selection and/or phenotypic plasticity in addition to gene flow and genetic drift. Although a global model consisting of four climatic variables and the abundance of conspecifics explained a small proportion of the variation in melanism, no support was found for any specific hypothesis relating to the adaptive function for body colour. Instead the results suggest that some combination of factors, most likely including factors not measured in this study, is influencing the frequency of melanic morphs. In addition, there was evidence that body colour was influenced by phenotypic plasticity and that melanism has a low heritability in B. ruderatus. Taken together, these results imply that patterns of melanism across B. ruderatus populations are complex and it is likely that multiple factors are influencing melanism in concert.

Thèse - Paris. / Extrait de Bulletin scientifique de la France et de la Belgique, t. XXXIV. Bibliography: p. 107-111.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-72).

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The South African isolate of the Black Queen-Cell Virus (BQCV), a honeybee virus, was previously found to have an 8550 nucleotide genome excluding the poly(A) tail. Its genome contained two ORFs, a 5'-proximal ORF encoding a putative replicase protein and a 3'-proximal ORF encoding a capsid polyprotein.A reverse transcriptase PCR (RT -PCR) assay was developed for the detection of BQCV and acute bee-paralysis virus (ABPV). Complete genomes sequences w ere used to design unique PCR primers within a l-kb region from the 3' end of both genomes to amplify a fragment of 70.0 bp from BQCV and 900 bp from ABPV. The combined guanidinium thiocyanate and silica membrane method was used to extract total RNA from samples of healthy and laboratory-infected bee pupae. In a blind test, RT-PCR successfully identified the samples containing BQCV and ABPV. Sensitivities were of the order of 130 genome equivalents of purified BQCV and 1600 genome equivalents of ABPV. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Propagation methods for honeybee viruses have not changed since these viruses were discovered. There are no suitable cell lines or cell culture techniques available for honeybee viruses. Honeybee viruses have to be manually injected with virus in order for the virus to multiply and be extracted. With the presence of inapparent viruses which could co-infect pupae, a method for pure virus propagations needs to be found. Recombinant baculovirus systems have been used extensively to produce foreign proteins from different viruses using vectors and recombinant technology. In this chapter we inserted the capsid gene from BQCV into a transfer vector under the control of the p10 promoter of Autographa californica. Fractions of the sucrose gradient containing the virus like particles (VLPs) were seen under the electron microscope. A Western blot showed the four capsid proteins at the expected sizes for BQCV capsid. This study therefore has shown that a heterologous system such as baculovirus can be used for virus like particle production. Infectious virus technology has helped gain insight into how viruses work. Using this technology altering honeybee viruses could be used to observe different functionalities of the viruses. An attempt was made to interchange the open reading frames of ABPV and BQCV to observe any changes in virus assembly and infectivity. A fusion PCR strategy was employed to interchange the 5’ and 3’ ORFs of APBV and BQCV. The strategy however was unsuccessful. Alternative strategies could improve the chances of obtaining a chimeric virus. / South Africa

Bees are a diverse group of insects responsible for pollinating plants in agricultural and ecological landscapes. Wild bees are impacted by anthropogenic activity and associated habitat loss. Although 75% of bee species nest underground, this nesting strategy has been overlooked. In my thesis, I explored the nesting habitat requirements of ground-nesting bees by studying the relation between bees and edaphic factors. First, I reviewed existing literature about ground-nesting bee nesting characteristics (Chapter 2). I found that certain abiotic factors (e.g., soil texture, temperature, moisture, compaction, slope, and soil surface features), as well as biotic factors (e.g., floral resources, conspecifics, predators), could be key in nest-site selection. I also discuss possible explanations for the choice of these nesting characteristics, particularly edaphic factors. Secondly, in Chapter 3, I assessed relationships between specific soil factors (soil texture, compaction, slope and ground cover) and the wild local ground-nesting bee communities on 35 farms around Ottawa throughout 2018 and 2019. I found that higher percentages of sand and bare ground were linked to increased total ground-nesting bee abundance and species richness, whilst slope and diversity (Simpson’s index) were negatively correlated. Furthermore, associations with soil factors were found to be species-specific, especially for associations with sand content, which were either positive, negative, or non-significant. Ground-nesting bee community’s composition was influenced by sand content, slope, soil compaction and bare ground in sampled agroecosystems. Finally, in Chapter 4, I experimentally tested nesting preferences of ground-nesting bee species for soil texture. Based on one season of sampling, there was no association between bee abundance or species richness and soil texture. Together, my research sheds light on the influence of soil characteristics on species-specific nesting-habitat associations for ground-nesting bees. Along with floral resources which have received far more study, nesting habitat is vital for the well-being and persistence of bee populations, and therefore for their conservation.

No / Using an Osteobiographical approach, this contribution considers the identity of the woman found alongside the St Bees Man, one of the best-preserved archaeological bodies ever discovered. Osteological, isotopic and radiocarbon analyses, combined with the archaeological context of the burial and documented social history, provide the basis for the identification of a late 14th-century heiress whose activities were at the heart of medieval northern English geopolitics.