1st Place: D3165: Effects of landscape isolation on bumble bee population genetics

Bumble bees are critical pollinators in wild, agricultural, and urban ecosystems—providing the necessary ecological services for food and crop production. However, as climate change increases temperatures and restricts populations to higher elevational spaces, their ability to disperse and maintain genetic diversity decreases. This genetic isolation could lead to the extinction of local pollinator communities and overall loss of pollinators. Our project goal was to analyze the genetic diversity of four species of bumble bees across mountain regions of the western United States to assess the impact that habitat isolation has on population structure. We collected an average of 125 bees per species sampled from at least 6 sites across each species’ range. We genotyped bees at 10 loci and used F_st and Bayesian STRUCTURE analysis to quantify population differentiation. Here we present results showing population structure of the four species across their ranges. We expect that species restricted to higher elevational habitat space will demonstrate less genetic diversity per site and more population structure than those at lower elevations. Knowing how isolation affects genetics can assist conservation action in deciding focal species and areas on which to concentrate conservation efforts.