Rocky Mountain Bombus pathogen survey: Are invasive plants affecting pathogen prevalence and intensity?
Abstract
Parasites have the potential to alter population dynamics by decreasing fitness and increasing mortality of their hosts. Changes in ecosystems may also create scenarios that are more conducive to higher infection or parasitism. This survey examined parasitism of Bombus by Crithidia bombi, Nosema bombi, Apicystis bombi, Phorid parasitoids, Conopid parasitoids, and tracheal mites in the region surrounding the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gunnison County, CO, USA. This study was run over an elevational gradient, and Bombus workers were collected over a 5 week period. Moreover, I examined if the presence or absence of the invasive flowering plant Linaria vulgaris was associated with pathogen intensity. This manuscript presents the results of my preliminary data. The presence of Linaria vulgaris had no relationship with pathogen intensity. Moreover, pathogen intensity could not be predicted by the proportion of morphologically “closed” flowers (flowers whose corollas at not directly open to the sun), elevation, or Bombus species. However, trends were observed regarding time of year on pathogen load, showing a peak in A. bombi early in the season and a peak in N. bombi late in the season. In summation, Bombus in this region were parasitized by N. bombi (6% across all Bombus species), A. bombi (3.6% across all Bombus species), and Conopidae (3.6% across all Bombus species). Parasitism by C. bombi, and tracheal mites were less than 1% across all Bombus species and no Phoridae were observed.
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