Adaptive processes in agricultural pollinators: The case study of the squash bee Eucera pruinosa

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

2:50 PM – 3:10 PM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 203

Presenting Author(s)

Margarita López-Uribe (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

Co-author(s)

AS

Avehi Singh (she/her/hers)

Graduate Student
Pennsylvania State University
State College, Pennsylvania

Co-Author(s)

NP

Nathaniel Pope

Postdoctoral Researcher
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

Co-author(s)

Laura Jones

Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

The expansion of agriculture has accelerated the conversion of natural habitats into productive areas dominated by crops. These land-use changes have precipitated the local extinction of many wild bee species, while other species have benefited and adapted to the expansion of agricultural niches. In this talk, I will present a summary of studies on genomes, thermal biology, and behavior of the squash bee Eucera pruinosa that indicate that these bees have experienced recent adaptive processes associated with the expansion of agriculture. Squash bees have the potential to become model systems to understand how bee pollinators are adapting to the new ecological conditions that agricultural environments are posing on them.