Lausanne – Both wild bees and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) play a vital role in pollinating agricultural crops and wild flora, a process fundamental to ecosystem biodiversity and agricultural output. However, the global decline of bee populations due to pesticides, climate change, habitat loss, and pathogens poses an escalating threat to ecosystems, driving an urgent need for effective conservation strategies.
A particularly delicate issue is the dynamic between managed honeybees and wild species. Because honeybees are often far more abundant, they can outcompete wild bees for forage and potentially facilitate disease transmission. A new study - conducted by a research team from the University of Milan (led by Carlo Polidori from the Department of Environmental Science and Policy and Gianalberto Losapio from the Department of Biosciences), along with Andrea Ferrari from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Giovanni Cilia from CREA-AA in Bologna, and in collaboration with the University of Lausanne - investigated how landscape shifts driven by melting glaciers affect indirect interactions between honeybees and wild bees, specifically regarding pathogen transmission dynamics. Published in Oikos, the research was carried out in the proglacial area of Mont Miné, located in the Val d’Hérens (Valais Canton, Switzerland). (9colonne)