Abstract
The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is integral to the human
agricultural enterprise and is currently facing a variety of
threats to its health, including disease. Efforts to protect the
honey bee against the Varroa mite and other diseases are
hindered by the inability to effectively distinguish feral from
managed honey bees. Feral honey bees have experienced intense
natural selection for resistance to colony pests and parasites and
may provide a strong source of resistance genes. Genetic testing is
typically unreliable given often-extensive interbreeding between
feral and managed colonies. I evaluated a diagnostic test based on
stable carbon isotopic ratios that holds promise for identifying
feral versus managed honey bees. Carbon isotopes have long been
used to determine honey adulteration with added sugars, and this
method works on the same principle, based on the fact that managed
colonies are nearly always fed some supplemental sugar. I set up
four types of experimental colony types: feral, managed with
no supplemental feed, managed with supplemental feed, and managed
with 13C labeled glucose added to supplemental
feed. I analyzed carbon isotopic ratios in the tissues of
individual bees using Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry. There was a
significant difference between the isotopic signatures of colonies
receiving supplemental feed and unfed feral colonies, demonstrating
that there is a detectable fractionation of carbon isotopes in
honey bee development. However, this difference only persisted for
a few weeks after supplemental feeding was removed, suggesting that
stable carbon isotopic ratios cannot be used to differentiate feral
and managed bees on all timescales in all situations. This study
highlights the potential for future ecological studies with a
greater understanding of temporal turnover of carbon isotopic
signals.
Table of Contents
Introduction...1
Methods...4
Study Site...4
Supplemental Feeding...5
Sampling...6
Sample Analysis...9
Results...10
Discussion...12
Overview...12
Mechanisms for Rapid Turnover of Heavy Signatures...13
Applications of Isotope Analysis in Honey Bees...17
Future Directions...18
References...21
About this Honors Thesis
Rights statement
- Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.
| School |
|
|---|
| Department |
|
|---|
| Degree |
|
|---|
| Submission |
|
|---|
| Language |
|
|---|
| Research Field |
|
|---|
| 关键词 |
|
|---|
| Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor |
|
|---|
| Committee Members |
|
|---|