Landscape genetics to safeguard bee pollination services

Abstract

Like other ecosystem services, pollination services are increasingly threatened by the loss and modification of natural habitats, risking the maintenance of wild plant biodiversity, ecosystem stability, agricultural production and food security. Research oriented towards a better understanding of the relationship between the degradation of natural habitats and the population dynamics of pollinators, is therefore essential to safeguard pollination services. The main goal of this project is to fill this knowledge gap, using landscape genetics tools to assess the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on the population dynamics of a key native pollinator in coffee landscape mosaics associated with Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragments. Specifically, I intend to: 1) Use next generation sequencing technology to identify a large number of informative microsatellite markers in a key pollinator; 2) Generate resistance land use maps to assess bee dispersal costs across a landscape of coffee plantations associated with Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragments; and 3) Assess the relative impact of habitat loss and fragmentation as well as matrix resistance on the genetic diversity and patterns of gene flow of a key pollinator. The results generated here will reveal the threshold of natural habitat degradation that allow for the persistence of pollinator populations, and thus help identify sustainable land use practices that could maximize agricultural production while maintaining pollination services. The project is a collaborative initiative between the Bee Lab and the Landscape Ecology and Conservation Lab (LEPaC) at University of São Paulo, and the Jha Lab at The University of Texas. Study landscapes have already been established and bee samples collected, so I intend to profit from state of the art equipment and expertise from the Jha Lab to perform the landscape genetic analyses needed to successfully complete the project. (AU)