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Strong genetic exchange among populations of a specialist bee, Andrena vaga (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae)

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Abstract

Habitat fragmentation is believed to be a key threat to biodiversity, with habitat specialists being stronger affected than generalists. However, pioneer species might be less affected by fragmentation, as their high colonization potential should increase gene flow. Here, we present an analysis of the genetic structure of populations of the solitary bee Andrena vaga, which naturally occurs in sandy habitats and is specialized on willow (Salix) pollen as larval food and sandy soils as nesting sites. While the species is widespread in the young sandy landscapes of our main study area (Emsland, northwestern Germany), it occurs less frequently in the Lower Rhine valley. Our analyses of six polymorphic microsatellites show that the populations are only slightly differentiated, suggesting a relatively strong gene flow. No genetic structure corresponding to the geographic origin was found as the variability within populations accounted for the major proportion of variation. FST values were higher and allelic richness was lower in the Lower Rhine valley, supporting the hypothesis that habitat availability affects the degree of genetic exchange between populations. Inbreeding coefficients were generally high and nearly all populations had a heterozygote deficiency, which could be explained by the breeding strategy of A. vaga, which nests in aggregations.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to I. Bischoff, M. Beil and O. Diestelhorst for collecting individuals of Andrena vaga in southern Germany. We thank L. Köster and R. Koller for assistance in the laboratory and especially U. Coja for genetic analysis. We also wish to thank R. Paxton for helpful comments. We are grateful to the Division of Ecology at the University of Osnabrück for providing research facilities. Financial support was provided by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt). We thank the regional administrations for the permission to collect specimens of Andrena vaga.

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  1. Department of Biology/Chemistry, Division of Ecology, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastr. 13, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany

    N. Exeler, A. Kratochwil & A. Hochkirch

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Exeler, N., Kratochwil, A. & Hochkirch, A. Strong genetic exchange among populations of a specialist bee, Andrena vaga (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Conserv Genet 9, 1233–1241 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-007-9450-8

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