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Morphometric and genetic differentiation in isolated populations of the endangered Mesoamerican stingless bee Melipona yucatanica (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) suggest the existence of a two species complex

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Abstract

The stingless bee Melipona yucatanica is a rare species only found in preserved forests across Mesoamerica. Morphometric and molecular analyses (DNA barcoding of the cytochrome oxidase (cox1) and microsatellites) were combined to characterize and compare populations from Mexico and Guatemala. We aim to test the hypothesis predicting that populations from these two geographic regions could be considered as distinct taxonomic units. Morphometric analyses revealed geographic differences, Guatemalan bees being larger than Mexican specimens. Bayesian analyses of the mitochondrial cox1 region and the microsatellite loci demonstrated that M. yucatanica form two clades corresponding to the Mexican and Guatemalan populations. These results suggest that M. yucatanica from Mexico and Guatemala could represent two distinct species. However, more studies are needed on their ecology and behavior to determine the possibility of gene flow between them.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge to Irene Muñoz Gabaldón and Carlos Ruiz Carreira for their help during molecular analysis. This study has been financed by the Foundation BBVA, Conacyt-IFS and MUTUAL (Foncycit). W. de J. May-Itzá was supported by the Foundation SENECA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Apicultura, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Apdo Postal 4-116, 97100, Mérida, Yucatán, México

    William de Jesús May-Itzá, J. Javier G. Quezada-Euán & Luis A. Medina Medina

  2. Área de Biología Animal, Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, 30100, Murcia, España

    William de Jesús May-Itzá & Pilar De la Rúa

  3. Laboratorio de Entomología Aplicada y Parasitología, Fac. Farmacia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, 2do Nivel, Edif. T-10 Campus USAC, zona 12, San Carlos, Guatemala

    Eunice Enríquez

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  1. William de Jesús May-Itzá
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  2. J. Javier G. Quezada-Euán
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  3. Luis A. Medina Medina
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  4. Eunice Enríquez
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  5. Pilar De la Rúa
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Correspondence to William de Jesús May-Itzá.

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May-Itzá, W.d.J., Quezada-Euán, J.J.G., Medina Medina, L.A. et al. Morphometric and genetic differentiation in isolated populations of the endangered Mesoamerican stingless bee Melipona yucatanica (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) suggest the existence of a two species complex. Conserv Genet 11, 2079–2084 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-010-0087-7

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