Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata.
Megachile rotundata exhibits a facultative prepupal diapause but the cues regulating diapause initiation are not well understood. Possible cues include daylength and temperature. Megachile rotundata females experience changing daylengths over the nesting season that may influence diapause incidence...
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doaj-7168b899d4c545a18dde5110b17ee4ed2021-08-08T04:30:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01168e025465110.1371/journal.pone.0254651Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata.Elisabeth S WilsonClaire E MurphyCovey WongJoseph P RinehartGeorge D YocumJulia H BowsherMegachile rotundata exhibits a facultative prepupal diapause but the cues regulating diapause initiation are not well understood. Possible cues include daylength and temperature. Megachile rotundata females experience changing daylengths over the nesting season that may influence diapause incidence in their offspring through a maternal effect. Juvenile M. rotundata spend their developmental period confined in a nesting cavity, potentially subjected to stressful temperatures that may affect diapause incidence and survival. To estimate the impact of daylength and nest cavity temperature on offspring diapause, we designed a 3D printed box with iButtons that measured nest cavity temperature. We observed nest building throughout the season, monitored nest cavity temperature, and followed offspring through development to measure diapause incidence and mortality. We found that daylength was a cue for diapause, and nest cavity temperature did not influence diapause incidence. Eggs laid during long days had a lower probability of diapause. Siblings tended to have the same diapause status, explaining a lot of the remaining variance in diapause incidence. Some females established nests that contained both diapausing and nondiapausing individuals, which were distributed throughout the nest. Nest cavities reached stressful temperatures, which decreased survival. Mortality was significantly higher in nondiapausing bees and the individuals that were laid first in the nest. In conclusion, we demonstrate a maternal effect for diapause that is mediated by daylength and is independent of nest box temperature.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254651 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Elisabeth S Wilson Claire E Murphy Covey Wong Joseph P Rinehart George D Yocum Julia H Bowsher |
spellingShingle |
Elisabeth S Wilson Claire E Murphy Covey Wong Joseph P Rinehart George D Yocum Julia H Bowsher Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Elisabeth S Wilson Claire E Murphy Covey Wong Joseph P Rinehart George D Yocum Julia H Bowsher |
author_sort |
Elisabeth S Wilson |
title |
Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. |
title_short |
Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. |
title_full |
Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. |
title_fullStr |
Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. |
title_sort |
environmental impacts on diapause and survival of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, megachile rotundata. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2021-01-01 |
description |
Megachile rotundata exhibits a facultative prepupal diapause but the cues regulating diapause initiation are not well understood. Possible cues include daylength and temperature. Megachile rotundata females experience changing daylengths over the nesting season that may influence diapause incidence in their offspring through a maternal effect. Juvenile M. rotundata spend their developmental period confined in a nesting cavity, potentially subjected to stressful temperatures that may affect diapause incidence and survival. To estimate the impact of daylength and nest cavity temperature on offspring diapause, we designed a 3D printed box with iButtons that measured nest cavity temperature. We observed nest building throughout the season, monitored nest cavity temperature, and followed offspring through development to measure diapause incidence and mortality. We found that daylength was a cue for diapause, and nest cavity temperature did not influence diapause incidence. Eggs laid during long days had a lower probability of diapause. Siblings tended to have the same diapause status, explaining a lot of the remaining variance in diapause incidence. Some females established nests that contained both diapausing and nondiapausing individuals, which were distributed throughout the nest. Nest cavities reached stressful temperatures, which decreased survival. Mortality was significantly higher in nondiapausing bees and the individuals that were laid first in the nest. In conclusion, we demonstrate a maternal effect for diapause that is mediated by daylength and is independent of nest box temperature. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254651 |
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