Persistent effects of management history on honeybee colony virus abundances

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Lewis J. Bartlett, University of Exeter; Michael Boots, University of Exeter; Berry Brosi, Emory University; Jacobus De Roode, Emory University; Keith S. Delaplane, University of Georgia; Catherine A. Hernandez, University of California Berkeley; Lena Wilfert, University of Exeter
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-02
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2020.107520
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
• Volume: 179
• Start Page: 107520
• Grant/Funding Information: LJB acknowledges funding from a Natural Environment Research Council training grant ( NE/L002434/1 ). MB acknowledges funding from a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant ( BB/L010879/1 ). BJB, JCdR and KSD acknowledge funding from National Institutes of Health ( R01-109501 ); the content of this study is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
• Keywords: honeybee; management; virus; pathogen; industrial agriculuture; apis mellifera
• Research Categories: Biology, Entomology; Health Sciences, Pathology

Abstract

Infectious diseases are a major threat to both managed and wild pollinators. One key question is how the movement or transplantation of honeybee colonies under different management regimes affects honeybee disease epidemiology. We opportunistically examined any persistent effect of colony management history following relocation by characterising the virus abundances of honeybee colonies from three management histories, representing different management histories: feral, low-intensity management, and high-intensity “industrial” management. The colonies had been maintained for one year under the same approximate ‘common garden’ condition. Colonies in this observational study differed in their virus abundances according to management history, with the feral population history showing qualitatively different viral abundance patterns compared to colonies from the two managed population management histories; for example, higher abundance of sacbrood virus but lower abundances of various paralysis viruses. Colonies from the high-intensity management history exhibited higher viral abundances for all viruses than colonies from the low-intensity management history. Our results provide evidence that management history has persistent impacts on honeybee disease epidemiology, suggesting that apicultural intensification could be majorly impacting on pollinator health, justifying much more substantial investigation.