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Geometric morphometrics of the wing as a tool for assigning genetic lineages and geographic origin to Melipona beecheii (Hymenoptera: Meliponini)

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Abstract

The stingless bee Melipona beecheii presents great variability and is considered a complex of species. In order to better understand this species complex, we need to evaluate its diversity and develop methods that allow geographic traceability of the populations. Here we present a fast, efficient, and inexpensive means to accomplish this using geometric morphometrics of wings. We collected samples from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica and we were able to correctly assign 87.1% of the colonies to their sampling sites and 92.4% to their haplotype. We propose that geometric morphometrics of the wing could be used as a first step analysis leaving the more expensive molecular analysis only to doubtful cases.

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Acknowledgments

We thank FAPESP (04/15801-0 to V.L.I.F.), CNPq (151947/2007-4 to T.M.F.) and Project 103341 Sep-Conacyt “Conservación de abejas sin aguijón de México” for providing scholarships and financial support. We also thank Dr. Marina Meixer and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and Dr. David De Jong for revising the manuscript.

Morphométrie géométrique de l’aile : un outil pour attribuer des lignées génétiques et une origine géographique à Melipona beecheii (Hymenoptera: Meliponini).

Morphométrie / aile / conservation / méthode d’identification / lignée génétique / population

Zusammenfassung – Geometrische Morphometrie des Flügels als Werkzeug für die Zuordnung zu genetischen Linien und geographischem Ursprung bei Melipona beecheii (Hymenoptera:Meliponini) Die stachellose Biene Melipona beecheii spielt in ökologischer, ökonomischer und historischer Hinsicht in ganz Mittelamerika eine bedeutsame Rolle. Die ausgedehnte geographische Verbreitung dieser Biene hat eine bemerkenswerte genetische Variabilität zur Folge, die mit molekularen Methoden gut untersucht werden kann. Heute wird davon ausgegangen, dass es sich bei M. beecheii in Wirklichkeit um einen Artenkomplex handelt, und es werden einige Anstrengungen unternommen, um diese bedrohte Gruppe zu erhalten. Zu diesem Zweck ist eine schnelle und preiswerte Methode zur Bestimmung von Proben aus verschiedenen Regionen des Verbreitungsgebiets wichtig. Wir stellen hier mit der geometrischen Morphometrie der Flügel eine effektive, schnelle und billige Alternative vor, mit der Völker von M. beecheii einer genetischen Linie zugeordnet werden können und darüber hinaus ihr geographischer Ursprungsort ermittelt werden kann. Wir haben dazu Proben im gesamten geographischen Verbreitungsgebiet der Art gesammelt und waren auf der Basis von Flügelmerkmalen in der Lage, 87.1% der Proben den Sammelorten sowie 92.4% dem korrekten genetischen Haplotyp zuzuordnen. Wir konnten auch bestätigen, dass ein Zusammenhang zwischen den morphologischen Distanzen der verschiedenen Gruppen und den geographischen Distanzen zwischen den Sammelorten besteht, was darauf hindeutet, dass zwischen den Populationen Isolation durch Distanz besteht. Auf der Grundlage dieser Ergebnisse schlagen wir vor, dass als ein erster Schritt in der Identifizierung unbekannter Proben die geometrische Morphometrie der Flügel durchgeführt werden sollte und damit wesentlich kostspieligeren molekularen Analysen auf zweifelhafte Fälle beschränkt bleiben können.

Melipona beecheii / geometrische Morphometrie/ Flügelmorphometrie / Erhaltung / genetische Linien

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 03828-000, Brazil

    Tiago Mauricio Francoy

  2. Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 14040-901, Brazil

    Marina Lopes Grassi

  3. Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil

    Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca

  4. Departamento de Apicultura, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, 97000, Mérida, Mexico

    William de Jesús May-Itzá & José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

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  1. Tiago Mauricio Francoy
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  2. Marina Lopes Grassi
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  3. Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca
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  4. William de Jesús May-Itzá
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  5. José Javier G. Quezada-Euán
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Correspondence to Tiago Mauricio Francoy.

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Manuscript editor: Marina Meixner

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Francoy, T.M., Grassi, M.L., Imperatriz-Fonseca, V.L. et al. Geometric morphometrics of the wing as a tool for assigning genetic lineages and geographic origin to Melipona beecheii (Hymenoptera: Meliponini). Apidologie 42, 499–507 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-011-0013-0

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