Long-term studies of bee social behaviour, ecology, and evolution

蜜蜂是一种迷人的动物，它们的生活方式对人类有着重要的影响。在我们的实验室里，我们研究蜜蜂行为和生态学的几个方面。自2003年以来，我们的研究集中在安大略省南部尼亚加拉地区发现的150多种蜜蜂。这些蜜蜂中有一些是安大略省南部居民所熟知的，但它们中的大多数是尼亚加拉“隐藏的蜜蜂动物群”的一部分，生活在人们的鼻子底下，不被注意。我们研究的第一部分集中在不同种类蜜蜂的社会行为上，特别是木蜂和汗蜂。我们研究这些类型的蜜蜂，因为雌性可以单独繁殖，也可以群居繁殖。独居的雌蜂自己抚养后代，大多数蜜蜂都是这种类型。群居蜜蜂有时或总是群居，一些雌蜂帮助其他蜜蜂抚养后代。我们正在研究影响雌性是成为像女王一样的支配性个体，剥削她们的帮助者，还是像工人一样的下属，帮助他人而不是抚养自己的后代的过程。我们的研究是基于对单独标记的雌性和雄性的行为观察，以及通过遗传分析来了解哪些个体可以繁殖，哪些不可以。我们也在用遗传方法来了解当雌蜂成为蜂王或工蜂时，它们大脑中发生的基因变化。我们研究的第二部分集中于监测自2003年以来尼亚加拉三个前垃圾填埋场的蜜蜂群落。垃圾填埋场的关闭及其随后作为公园的恢复是一个公开的邀请，让植物和野生动物回到它们被根除的栖息地。我们的研究表明，蜜蜂很快就会在修复后的垃圾填埋场重新定居，这是个好消息。然而，我们的研究也表明，在最初的恢复之后，我们的地点的蜜蜂数量正在下降。我们认为这是由于周期性干旱和我们遗址附近草地日益城市化的共同作用。干旱限制了蜜蜂的繁殖，因为受干旱影响的植物不会产生很多花粉或花蜜。城市化限制了蜜蜂的繁殖，因为满是野花的“空地”被推土机铲平，取而代之的是住房开发。然而，在我们的研究地点蜜蜂数量的下降可能是暂时的影响。例如，如果在新的郊区种植花园，这将有助于补充草地被取代时失去的食物资源。我们的研究对所有加拿大人都很重要，因为我们对蜜蜂了解得越多，我们就能更好地保护它们，以及它们在自然、农业和城市环境中的关键作用。在实践方面，学生在我们实验室学习的研究技能适用于大学内外的许多类型的工作。我们尽可能地与更广泛的社区分享我们的知识和技能，他们分享我们对蜜蜂的热情和兴趣。

Bees are fascinating animals whose life styles have important consequences for humans. In our lab, we study several aspects of bee behaviour and ecology. Since 2003, our research has focussed on the more than 150 bee species found in the Niagara region of southern Ontario. A few of these bees are well known to residents of southern Ontario, but most of them are part of Niagara's “hidden bee fauna”, living unnoticed right under people's noses. The first part of our research focusses on the social behaviour of bees of different kinds, in particular the carpenter bees and sweat bees. We study these types of bees, because females can breed solitarily or socially. Solitary females raise their offspring by themselves, and most bees are of this type. Social bees sometimes or always live in groups, with some females helping others to raise their offspring. We are studying the processes that influence whether females become queen-like, dominant individuals that exploit their helpers, or worker-like, subordinates that help others instead of raising their own offspring. Our studies are based on behavioural observations of individually marked females and males and on genetic analyses for understanding which individuals breed and which do not. We are also using genetic methods to understand the genetic changes that take place within the brains of female bees, as they become queens or workers. The second part of our research focusses on monitoring bee communities in three former landfill sites across Niagara since 2003. The closure of landfill sites and their subsequent restoration as parks is an open invitation to plants and wildlife to move back into habitat from which they had been eradicated. Our studies demonstrate that bees quickly recolonize restored landfills, and this is good news. However, our studies also suggest that after the initial recovery, bee populations in our sites are declining. We think this is due to a combination of periodic droughts and increasing urbanization of meadows near our sites. Drought limits bee reproduction because drought-stricken plants do not produce much pollen or nectar. Urbanization limits bee reproduction when "empty” fields full of wildflowers are bulldozed and replaced with housing developments. However, the declines in bee abundance at our research sites could be temporary effects. For instance, if gardens are planted in new suburbs, these will help to replace the food resources lost when meadows were replaced. Our research is important to all Canadians, because the more we understand about bees, the better we will be able to conserve them and their critical roles in natural, agricultural, and urban settings. On the practical side, the research skills that students learn in our lab are applicable to many types of work in and out of universities. And as much as we can, we share our knowledge and skills with the wider community who share our enthusiasm and interest in bees.