Browsing by Author "Cross, Paul"
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- Conservation status of the endemic European Dark Honey Bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) in Belgium & NetherlandsPublication . Elen, Dylan; Malhotra, Anita; Henriques, Dora; Herremans, Mathijs; Pinto, M. Alice; Cross, PaulDue to past and present imports of Apis mellifera ligustica (Italian bees), Apis mellifera carnica (Carniolan bees) and the Buckfast bee (a hybrid strain) across its entire natural range, the European Dark Honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) is currently threatened with extinction by genetic pollution through hybridization. In the past, genomic research has shown the European Dark Honey bee was still present in the Belgian Chimay area and on the Dutch North Sea Isle of Texel. However, as the risk of beekeepers importing non-native honey bees into the area remains, which could rapidly threaten the genetic integrity of the endemic honey bee population, monitoring hybridization is a key element in conservation and breeding. Within the framework of the Flemish Beekeeping Programme, 246 honey bee colonies originating from the Belgian population of Chimay (108) and the Dutch North Sea island populations of Texel (6) and Terschelling (132) were sampled in autumn 2021 to identify pure European Dark Honey bee colonies with which to support the Flemish A. m. mellifera breeding activities. The population of Terschelling, which has not been studied before, was included because local beekeepers claimed their colonies looked and behaved like European Dark Honey bees. Of each sampled honey bee colony 10 worker bees were used for this study, including measuring wing morphometrics (based on cubital index, discoidal shift angle and hantal index) and estimating the extent of C-lineage introgression in the ncDNA by applying a custom-tailored SNP genotype assay. Q-values for most sampled honey bee colonies were above 90% for M-lineage: 85 out of 108 colonies for Chimay; 106 out of 132 colonies for Terschelling and all 6 colonies for Texel. Both the populations of Chimay and Texel seem to be spared from intense hybridization over the past decades, whilst a novel remnant population of the European Dark Honey bee was found on the Isle of Terschelling. The correlation between wing morphometrics and molecular data was significant but very weak (Spearman r = 0.20, p = 0.002), indicating the SNP genotype assay is a more valuable tool for assisting in breeding and conservation activities.
- The Welsh dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) is not extinctPublication . Elen, Dylan; Henriques, Dora; Pinto, M. Alice; Malhotra, Anita; Cross, PaulDue to past and present imports of Apis mellifera ligustica (Italian bees), Apis mellifera carnica (Carniolan bees) and the English Buckfast bee (a hybrid strain) across its entire natural range, Apis mellifera mellifera is now threatened with extinction by genetic pollution through hybridization. Whilst the status of remnant A. m. mellifera populations is well documented on the European mainland, few studies have been undertaken to identify surviving populations on the British Isles. A few A. m. mellifera stocks are thought to persist in Scotland and the southwest of England and recently, Ireland might appear to contain multiple non-hybridized A. m. mellifera populations. 163 young worker bees, representing 121 colonies from across Wales, were genetically screened in an attempt to identify remnant A. m. mellifera stocks, as part of a conservation breeding program. Recent studies have demonstrated that honey bees of local origin have significantly higher survival chances than honey bees of non-local origin due to their adaptation to their local environment, suggesting that conservation of locally adapted honey bees is a logistical and practical possibility to develop sustainable apiculture. Within this survey, we made use of a custom-tailored SNP genotype assay to estimate the extent of C lineage introgression in the ncDNA as well as sequencing of the tRNAleucox2 intergenic region of the mtDNA to check for the ancestry of the tested colonies