Tuesday, May 20, 2025

A head and a hundred tails: how a branching worm manages reproductive complexity

International research team led by Göttingen University produces genetic activity map for rare worm

University of Göttingen

Male stolen (right hand side): one of the worm's independent reproductive units — image:
Male stolen (right hand side): one of the independent reproductive units – growing at the tip of a branch of the worm’s body. It has sprouted eyes and will go swimming free to find a stolon of the opposite sex with which to reproduce. The research showed stolons showed localised upregulation of genes related to eye development. Length of the stolon: approx. 1.5 millimetres.
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Credit: Maria Teresa Aguado and Guillermo Ponz-Segrelles; BMC Genomics, DOI: 10.1186/s12864-025-11587-w; licensed under CC BY 4.0

Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean’s most bizzare animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and reproduces in a truly extraordinary way. Living hidden in tropical waters, this worm grows multiple body branches within a host sponge, each tail capable of producing separate living reproductive units called “stolons”. But how does a single animal coordinate sexual reproduction across so many branches? To find out, researchers led by the University of Göttingen analysed gene expression across different body regions and between male, female and juvenile specimens. This provides the first complete “genetic activity map” – or transcriptome – of any branching worm, revealing how this creature manages to control reproduction across its branching body. Their findings were published in BMC Genomics.

The researchers found clear patterns in their analyses: differences in gene activity were more pronounced between different body regions in the same worm than between the sexes. The stolons – short-lived reproductive units that break off from the branches and swim away to mate – had the most distinctive genetic signatures when comparing males and females, probably reflecting their specialised role in gamete production and metamorphosis. “We were surprised to find that the head of the worm, which was previously thought to house a sex-specific control system, didn’t show the dramatic differences we expected between males and females,” said Dr Guillermo Ponz-Segrelles, former researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid. “Instead, the stolons emerged as the true hotspots of gene activity during sexual development.”

An overlooked but key feature of the reproductive stolons is that they sprout eyes before detaching from the main worm body in search of a mate. This study revealed upregulation of genes related to eye development, providing the first clues about how the tip of a branch of the worm body metamorphoses into an independent stolon. Interestingly, the data also hint at the possibility of partial genome duplication in Ramisyllis, which may help explain the complexity of its biology and reproductive system. Despite some challenges in identifying conserved signalling pathways, the results point to a unique genetic toolkit in Ramisyllis and highlight how little we still know about reproduction in marine invertebrates. “This worm and its surreal, tree-like body made headlines around the world in 2021 and 2022, yet it continues to amaze us,” said Thilo Schulze, PhD researcher at Göttingen University.” It challenges our understanding of how animal bodies can be organized, and how such strange forms of reproduction are orchestrated at the molecular level.” With many aspects of branching worms’ reproductive biology still a mystery, the team hopes this new genetic resource will open the door to deeper investigations into how life evolves in unexpected directions – even in the hidden corners of our oceans.

Further details and short clips about this fascinating worm are available on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/MO1c23m6XkA, https://youtu.be/rwgil23MzyM, https://youtu.be/q2l_OgedY0I

Original publication: Ponz-Segrelles et al. (2025) Sex-specific differential gene expression during stolonization in the branching syllid Ramisyllis kingghidorahi (Annelida, Syllidae). BMC Genomics 2025. DOI: 10.1186/s12864-025-11587-w. Full text also available here: https://rdcu.be/ejnKq

Close-up of female stolen – one of the independent reproductive units – from the worm Ramisyllis kingghidorahi. It has aleady sprouted eyes and is swimming free to find a stolon of the opposite sex with which to reproduce. Total length of the stolon: approx. 1.5 millimetres.

Credit

Maria Teresa Aguado and Guillermo Ponz-Segrelles; Organisms Diversity & Evolution, DOI: 10.1007/s13127-021-00538-4; licensed under CC BY 4.0

The branching worm, Ramisyllis kingghidorahi, at home: this sponge is its underwater natural habitat

Credit

Toru Miura; BMC Genomics, DOI: 10.1186/s12864-025-11587-w; lizensiert nach CC BY 4.0

Journal

BMC Genomics

DOI

10.1186/s12864-025-11587-w

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Sex-specific differential gene expression during stolonization in the branching syllid Ramisyllis kingghidorahi (Annelida, Syllidae).

Investment risk for energy infrastructure construction is highest for nuclear power plants, lowest for solar

A new study from the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability finds that construction costs run over budget for more than 60% of energy infrastructure projects worldwide.

Boston University

Between now and 2050, the International Energy Agency projects that more than $100 trillion will be spent on building net-zero energy infrastructure globally. Yet every single one of these projects runs the risk of higher-than-expected construction costs or time delays. Newer technologies introduced in the past decade, such as hydrogen or geothermal energy, are even more difficult to evaluate as government agencies, energy developers, utilities, investors, and other stakeholders decide which sustainable energy systems are best for future projects.

In a new state-of-the-art study, published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, researchers at the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) found that runaway construction costs and delayed timelines stymie many energy projects. In fact, the average project costs 40% more than expected for construction and takes almost two years longer than planned, as the study showed.

Nuclear power plants are the worst offenders, with an average construction cost overrun typically twice as much as expected or more, and the most extreme time delays. To be exact, the average nuclear power plant has a construction cost overrun of 102.5% and ends up costing $1.56 billion more than expected.

Looking at newer net-zero options reveals higher risk as well. Hydrogen infrastructure and carbon capture and storage both exhibit significant average time and cost overruns for construction, along with thermal power plants relying on natural gas, calling into question whether these can be scaled up quickly to meet emission reduction goals for climate mitigation.

“Worryingly, these findings raise a legitimate red flag concerning efforts to substantially push forward a hydrogen economy,” says Benjamin Sovacool, lead and first author of the study, director of IGS, and professor of earth and environment.

By contrast, solar energy and electricity grid transmission projects have the best construction track record and are often completed ahead of schedule or below expected cost. Wind farms also performed favorably in the financial risk assessment.

For Sovacool, the evidence is clear: “Low-carbon sources of energy such as wind and solar not only have huge climatic and energy security benefits, but also financial advantages related to less construction risk and less chance of delays,” he says. “It’s further evidence that such technologies have an array of underrated and underappreciated social and economic value.”

Using an original dataset significantly larger and more comprehensive than existing sources, the study provides the most rigorous comparative analysis of construction cost overrun risks and time delays for energy infrastructure projects globally.

“Low-carbon sources of energy such as wind and solar not only have huge climatic and energy security benefits, but also financial advantages related to less construction risk and less chance of delays.”

The researchers compiled data on 662 energy infrastructure projects covering a diverse spectrum of technology classes and capacities, built between 1936 and 2024 across 83 countries, representing $1.358 trillion in investment. This includes emerging innovations such as geothermal and bioenergy, providing fresh insights into the cost dynamics of these recently commercialized technologies. In total, the study evaluated ten types of projects: thermoelectric power plants fueled by coal, oil, or natural gas combustion; nuclear reactors; hydroelectric dams; utility-scale wind farms; utility-scale solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power facilities; high-voltage transmission lines; bioenergy power plants; geothermal power plants; hydrogen production facilities; and carbon capture and storage facilities.

Understanding what causes energy projects to go over budget and fall behind schedule—and when that tipping point occurs—is another important contribution of this global analysis. The study examined diseconomies of scale, construction delays, and governance factors to identify critical thresholds when project costs surge, helping to inform better risk management strategies.

“I’m particularly struck by our findings on the diseconomies of scale, with projects exceeding 1,561 megawatts in capacity demonstrating significantly higher risk of cost escalation,” says Hanee Ryu, second and corresponding author and a visiting researcher at IGS. “This suggests that we may need to reconsider our approach to large-scale energy infrastructure planning, especially as we commit trillions to global decarbonization efforts.”

What this could mean, Ryu explains, is that smaller, modular renewable projects might not only bring environmental benefits, but also potentially reduce financial risk and offer better budget predictability.

Journal

Energy Research & Social Science

DOI

10.1016/j.erss.2025.104057

Article Title

Beyond economies of scale: Learning from construction cost overrun risks and time delays in global energy infrastructure projects

Article Publication Date

20-May-2025

Genomic data shows widespread mpox transmission in West Africa prior to 2022 global outbreak

Scripps Research scientists, in collaboration with researchers in Nigeria and Cameroon, show that mpox circulated among humans in Nigeria for eight years before the international outbreak, highlighting the need for improved surveillance.

Scripps Research Institute

Genomic data shows widespread mpox transmission in West Africa prior to 2022 global outbreak — image:
Participants from the Pan-African mpox consortium collaborated to produce and analyze mpox genomic data from West and Central Africa, resulting in a dataset that is around three times larger than any previous mpox dataset.
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Credit: Fikayo Oyewale

LA JOLLA, CA—Historically, most human mpox infections have resulted from zoonotic transmission—meaning from animals to humans—and these spillovers have rarely led to human-to-human transmission. But during the 2022 global outbreak, mpox began spreading readily between people. A new study now shows the virus was circulating long before then.

Published in Nature on May 19, 2025, the study notes that mpox transmitted among humans in Nigeria for eight years before sparking the international outbreak in 2022. Using genomic tracing, the researchers estimate that the virus’ ancestor first emerged in southern Nigeria in August 2014 and spread to 11 states before human infections were detected in 2017. The findings highlight the need for improved global surveillance and medicines, given the threat of impending pandemics.

“We could have very easily prevented the 2022 multi-country outbreak if countries in Africa were given better access to therapeutics, vaccines and surveillance technologies,” says Edyth Parker, a professional collaborator in the Kristian Andersen Lab at Scripps Research and one of the paper’s first authors. “In a vulnerably connected world, we cannot neglect epidemics until they get exported to the Global North.”

Because the virus involved in the 2022 outbreak had an unexpected number of genetic mutations, scientists thought that mpox might have been circulating in Nigeria for much longer than expected. However, due to a lack of genomic data, it was unclear when and where the virus had first emerged, and what had driven its emergence.

To solve this problem, the study’s senior author, Christian Happi, director of the Institute of Genomics and Global Health at Redeemer’s University in Nigeria, organized a Pan-African consortium to share and generate mpox genomic data. The consortium involved researchers and public health agencies in West and Central Africa, with support from international collaborators including Scripps Research. By pooling samples and laboratory methods, the group generated a genomic dataset that is around three times larger than any previous mpox dataset.

Altogether, the team analyzed 118 viral genomes from human mpox cases that occurred in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2018 and 2023. All of the sequences were identified as Clade IIb—the mpox strain endemic to West Africa. By comparing the genomes’ sequences, the researchers created something called a phylogenetic tree, which estimates how related the different viruses are, and how recently they evolved.

They found that most of the viral samples from Nigeria were the result of human-to-human transmission (105/109), while the remaining four were caused by zoonotic spillover. In contrast, all nine mpox samples from Cameroon were derived from isolated zoonotic spillover events.

“Mpox is no longer just a zoonotic virus in Nigeria; this is very much a human virus,” says Parker. “But the fact that there’s ongoing zoonotic transmission means there’s also a continual risk of re-emergence.”

Using the phylogenetic tree, the team estimated that the ancestor of the human-transmitting mpox virus emerged in animals in November 2013 and first entered the human population in southern Nigeria in August 2014. They also showed that southern Nigeria was the main source of subsequent cases of human mpox: though the virus spread throughout Nigeria, continual human-to-human transmission only occurred in the country’s south.

The team also showed that two of the zoonotically transmitted viral samples from southern Nigeria were related to the Cameroonian viruses, suggesting that viruses are traveling across the border.

“There's likely a lot more bi-directional viral movement happening between these countries, but we just don't have the wildlife sampling to detect it,” says Parker. “Our study highlights the need for better wildlife surveillance, as well as better surveillance in the human populations that interface with animals in that forested border region.”

Overall, the study shows the importance of better access to diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics in Africa, the researchers say.

“Global health inequities really impede our ability to control both zoonotic and sustained human transmission,” says Parker. “We cannot continue to neglect either the human epidemics in Africa or the risk of re-emergence—not only does it perpetuate suffering in these regions, it means that inevitably there will be another pandemic.”

The article, “Genomics reveals zoonotic and sustained human Mpox spread in West Africa,” was authored by several dozen researchers from multiple organizations. Authors from Scripps Research include Mark Zeller, Karthik Gangavarapu, and Kristian G. Andersen. (For a full author list, view the journal article.)

The Pan-African consortium was supported by the Africa CDC, the Nigerian CDC, the Institute of Genomics and Global Health at Redeemer’s University, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Institut Pasteur de Bangui, Institut National de la Recherche Biomédicale, the Republic of Congo public laboratory service, Scripps Research, The University of Edinburgh, and the Broad Institute.

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grants U01HG007480, U54HG007480, U01AI151812, U19AI135995, U19AI110818, R01AI153044, and R01AI162611; World Bank grants projects (ACE-019 and ACE-IMPACT); The Rockefeller Foundation (Grant #2021 HTH); The Africa CDC through the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (Grant #INV018978); the Science for Africa Foundation; and a cohort of generous donors through TED’s Audacious Project, including the ELMA Foundation, MacKenzie Scott, the Skoll Foundation, and Open Philanthropy.

About Scripps Research

Scripps Research is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute ranked one of the most influential in the world for its impact on innovation by Nature Index. We are advancing human health through profound discoveries that address pressing medical concerns around the globe. Our drug discovery and development division, Calibr-Skaggs, works hand-in-hand with scientists across disciplines to bring new medicines to patients as quickly and efficiently as possible, while teams at Scripps Research Translational Institute harness genomics, digital medicine and cutting-edge informatics to understand individual health and render more effective healthcare. Scripps Research also trains the next generation of leading scientists at our Skaggs Graduate School, consistently named among the top 10 US programs for chemistry and biological sciences. Learn more at www.scripps.edu.

Journal

Nature

Article Title

Genomics reveals zoonotic and sustained human Mpox spread in West Africa

Research spotlight: Gender differences in primary care physician earnings and outcomes

\Mass General Brigham

I shani Ganguli, MD, MPH, and Nicholas E. Daley, AB, of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are co-authors of a paper published in JAMA Health Forum, “Gender Differences in Primary Care Physician Earnings and Outcomes Under Medicare Advantage Value-Based Payment.”

Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience?

Despite often achieving better patient outcomes, women primary care physicians (PCPs) face a significant and ongoing wage gap compared to their male counterparts. This disparity is partly due to volume-based payment models, where doctors are compensated per visit or service. Women PCPs typically spend additional time caring for patients during and in-between doctor’s visits, leading to a greater share of their work going unpaid.

In theory, women physicians may benefit more from newer value-based payment models, where doctors receive flexible monthly payments per patient along with quality bonuses. However, this had not been examined until now.

Our study compared men and women PCPs working in value-based payment models and found that patients with women PCPs had better outcomes for diabetes care and overall, and had fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Through this model, women PCPCs earned more than men PCPs in the same practice groups.

Q: What question were you investigating?

Our team wanted to understand if there are gender differences in care quality and earnings among PCPs participating in full risk-sharing value-based payment arrangements via Medicare Advantage plans, which now enroll most Medicare-eligible adults.

Q: What methods or approach did you use?

We analyzed 2022 Medicare Advantage claims data, Medicare Star quality data, and NRC Health provider rating data from 13 payers. Our study included 872 primary care physicians (PCPs), 40% of whom were women, across 15 practice groups in seven states.

We were primarily interested in the per-patient earnings that PCPs would receive using the volume-based payment approach (calculated as the sum of payments for all primary care services provided) and separately, using the value-based payment approach (that is, earnings or losses calculated by subtracting their patients’ actual total medical spending from their expected total medical spending). We also looked at quality measures, health care utilization, and provider rating scores.

We built statistical models that controlled for physician and patient panel characteristics to compare men and women in the same practice groups on these outcomes.

Q: What did you find? When comparing male and female PCPs within the same practice groups, patients of women PCPs had better diabetes control, were more likely to receive eye exams, and achieved higher composite quality scores. They also had fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

However, women PCPs received lower provider rating scores—potentially reflecting higher expectations from patients placed on them.

Women PCPs had similar earnings to men via volume-based payment. Women PCPs earned more than their men colleagues via value-based payment, likely due to their patients having fewer ED visits and hospitalizations.

Q: What are the implications?

The reversal of the gender wage gap under value-based payment implies that this model may be better aligned with desirable practice patterns that are more common in women (e.g., more face-to-face time per visit).

Achieving pay equity could offer benefits beyond fair compensation. It may help reduce burnout—particularly prevalent among women physicians—and improve retention within the increasingly female primary care workforce, ultimately benefiting the aging U.S. population.

Q: What are the next steps?

Future studies could look at how earnings and quality outcomes change as PCPs’ panels include larger shares of patients in Medicare Advantage and other value-based payment models.

Paper cited: Ganguli, I., et. Al, “Gender Differences in Primary Care Physician Earnings and Outcomes Under Medicare Advantage Value-Based Payment” JAMA Health Forum DOI: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.2001

Funding: This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (K23AG068240).

Disclosures: Ganguli reported consulting fees from F-Prime outside the submitted work. Victoria DiGennaro reported grants from Herself Health Medical Advisory Board, stock in agilon health, and personal fees as Pioneer Physicians Network owner/chief executive officer outside the submitted work. Benjamin Kornitzer and Lauren Polt were employed by agilon health during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

Journal

JAMA Health Forum

DOI

10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.2001

Article Title

Gender Differences in Primary Care Physician Earnings and Outcomes Under Medicare Advantage Value-Based Payment

Article Publication Date

20-May-2025

Bees facing new threats, putting our survival and theirs at risk

University of Reading

Warzones, microplastics and light pollution pose serious new risks to bees and other pollinators over the next decade, according to a landmark report on today’s World Bee Day.

The report from Bee:wild, a new science-led global campaign to save pollinators, identifies the top 12 emerging threats that could accelerate pollinator losses within the next 5-15 years, according to ten of the world’s leading experts. It also outlines steps we can take to protect them and reverse the decline.

Pollinators like bees, butterflies, some birds and bats are vital to nature and our food supply with almost 90% of flowering plants and over three-quarters of the world’s staple crops depending on them. But habitat loss, pesticides, climate change and invasive species have caused their severe decline, including the extinction of some bee species.

A wave of new threats is adding further pressure, according to the report: ‘Emerging Threats and Opportunities for Conservation of Global Pollinators.’

These include:

War and conflict, such as the war in Ukraine, forcing countries to grow fewer crop types and leaving pollinators without diverse food throughout the season.
Microplastic particles contaminating beehives across Europe, with testing from 315 honey bee colonies revealing synthetic materials like PET plastic in most hives.
Artificial light at night reducing flower visits by nocturnal pollinators by 62% and inhibiting the crucial role moths and night insects play in pollination.
Antibiotic pollution potentially contaminating beehives and honey, and affecting the behaviour of pollinators, such as reducing their foraging and visits to flowers.
Air pollution affecting their survival, reproduction and growth.
Pesticide cocktails weakening pollinators who increasingly face a dangerous mix of different pesticides, particularly in developing countries.
More frequent and larger wildfires, destroying habitats and making recovery harder.

The University of Reading’s Professor Simon Potts, lead author and chair of Bee:wild’s Scientific Advisory Board, says: “Identifying new threats and finding ways to protect pollinators early is key to preventing further major declines."

He continues: “By acting early, we can reduce harm and help pollinators continue their important work in nature and food production. Various conservation opportunities already exist and more are emerging. This is not just a conservation issue. Pollinators are central to our food systems, climate resilience, and economic security. Protecting pollinators means protecting ourselves.”

The report also outlines some threats that unintentionally stem from climate actions, which could be improved to protect biodiversity at the same time. Planting a mix of flowering trees as well as non-flowering fast-growing trees for carbon capture would restore pollination opportunities. Avoiding pollinator-rich areas and restoring habitats after mining for car battery materials would also help reduce the impact of mining in the long-term.

These steps are among the 12 that the report outlines for pollinator protection. Ranked in order of novelty and impact, the top five are:

Stronger laws limiting antibiotic pollution that harms bee health
Transitioning to electric vehicles to reduce air pollution affecting pollinators
Breeding crops with enhanced pollen and nectar for better pollinator nutrition
Creating flower-rich habitats within solar parks
Developing RNAi-based (Ribonucleic acid) treatments that target pests without harming beneficial insects.

Protecting stingless bees - which are important for pollination in the tropics - by creating urban gardens, rewilding and protecting natural habitats is another solution. Using AI to help track pollinators is another opportunity.

Dr Deepa Senapathi, Head of Department of Sustainable Land Management at the University of Reading, is co-author of the report and Vice-Chair of Bee:wild Scientific Advisory Board.

She explains: “Meaningful action to protect bees is not a “nice-to-have” future aspiration - practical solutions that we can implement now already exist and more are emerging. The most promising opportunities are ones that tackle multiple problems at once. Focused and determined action could significantly slow and even reverse pollinator decline while creating environments that benefit both nature and people."

She adds: “It will take effort from everyone to address these threats. We need to maintain, manage and improve our natural habitats to create safe spaces for pollinators. Individual actions like providing food and nesting areas in our own back gardens can help in a big way. But policy changes and individual actions must work together so everything from gardens and farms to public spaces and wider landscapes can all become pollinator-friendly habitats.”

Eva Kruse, Executive Director of Bee:wild, which commissioned the report says: “We were already sounding the alarm on the decline of our pollinators, but this new report underlines that the range of threats are expanding. Rather than being filled with hopelessness, the purpose of the Bee:wild campaign is to fuel awareness, urgency and give everyone agency. There’s a lot we can all do to help save our pollinators, in our homes and everyday lives. Planting flowering plants to feed them, providing outdoor shelter and considering healthier diets like plant-based as well as pesticide-free, all matter a lot."

She adds: “It’s getting harder for our pollinators but we can all play a part in protecting them and building a sustainable future for all living things.”

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Board Member of nature conservation organisation Re:wild - which is behind the Bee:wild campaign - provided the report’s foreword.

She says: "The choices we make today will shape the future - not only for pollinators, but for all life on Earth. Together, we can ensure that these remarkable species continue their vital work, sustaining the natural world that sustains us all.”

Article Title

Emerging Threats and Opportunities for Conservation of Global Pollinators

Article Publication Date

20-May-2025

‘Every single species is a unique product of evolution, like a work of art’: how Dr Kit Prendergast champions bees and biodiversity

Frontiers

image:
A bee (Megachile aurifrons) rests on a flower. Photo by Dr Kit Prendergast.
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Credit: Dr Kit Prendergast

What inspired you to become a researcher?

I’ve always had a passion for nature and biodiversity, ever since I was a child (David Attenborough was, and still is, an inspiration). After completing my Honors project on horse behavior and publishing a review on the role of digging mammals in Australian ecosystems, when it came to conducting my PhD, I knew I wanted to do something that would make a real difference to conserving biodiversity.

I love research – unlike many people, I loved to study at university. I always knew I wanted to become a scientist, to advance our knowledge about biodiversity and further our understanding of how nature, ecology, and evolution works, and how we can better protect and restore it.

Can you tell us about the research you’re currently working on?

Always working on many research projects! I’m working on developing a science-based framework for a pollinator strategy for Australia, exploring the ways by which citizens are introduced to and come to care about native bee biodiversity, describing new species of native bees, reviewing the design of seed production areas to support pollinators, and publishing the bee hotels to boost native bees after bushfires project. My current postdoctoral research is on estimating the role of canola variety, biogeographic region, farm management, surrounding landscape, and insect assemblages — including introduced Apis mellifera — in contributing to canola yield.

What role do native bees play in Australian ecosystems? Why is it so important to conserve them?

Native bees are so diverse, and they play different roles depending on the species. Some native species can perform pollination services that the introduced Apis mellifera cannot (eg buzz-pollination), while others have special relationships with native flora, having co-evolved with them in biogeographic isolation for thousands of years. Others host parasitoids and parasites, and some native bees are even kleptoparasites. Other native bees have important roles for Aboriginal Australians. A few species contribute to crop pollination. Finally, some have no ‘role’ per se (ie they are not great pollinators), but this doesn’t make them any less important for conservation – every single species is a unique product of evolution, and like a unique work of art, once lost, can never be replaced.

How can people help protect and support bee populations?

Raise awareness about native bees. Don’t keep honey bees in your backyard. Plant high proportions of native flowers, especially in the families Fabaceae and Myrtaceae. Protect and restore native habitat, be it from urbanisation, mining, or agriculture. Tackle climate change, for example by reducing or eliminating meat in your diets. Reduce pesticide use.

In your opinion, why is your research important?

Native bees are an incredible, diverse component of biodiversity, and through their ecological interactions, they influence the health and functioning of diverse ecosystems. Yet they are under-appreciated, underfunded, and under-researched. My research reveals what flowers they need, how to create nesting habitat for them, and the impact that high densities of an introduced bee species can have on their fitness. 

Are there any common misconceptions about this area of research? How would you address them?

So many! The disconnect between the science of bees and public opinion always amazes me. Many people think that honey bees are threatened with extinction, whereas they are the most abundant, widespread bee on the planet. In many places, including Australia, they are either livestock or feral animals and can compete with indigenous fauna. There is an assumption that saving honey bees will help bees as a whole, but honey bees have very different ecologies and can outcompete native bees.

What are some of the areas of research you’d like to see tackled in the years ahead?

One of the biggest issues facing native bee research is a taxonomic impediment. There are at least 500 undescribed species of native bees, and then many genera don’t have keys, the descriptions written 100 years ago or more are very poor, and species have been described twice. Taxonomy and natural history (the ecology of species – what they forage on, their associations with other organisms, when they are active, where they nest) are terribly neglected and underfunded, but they are the backbone of good science.

Journal

Frontiers in Bee Science

DOI

10.3389/frbee.2025.1508958

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Introduced honey bees (Apis mellifera) potentially reduce fitness of cavity-nesting native bees through a male-bias sex ratio, brood mortality and reduced reproduction

Article Publication Date

19-May-2025

Fitness fight: Native bees struggle against invasive honey bee

Curtin University

Native Australian bee in bee hotel. Picture - Dr Kit Prendergast — image:
A native Australian bee in a bee hotel. Picture - Dr Kit Prendergast
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Credit: Dr Kit Prendergast

New Curtin University research has revealed that high densities of European honey bees could be harming Australian native bees’ ‘fitness’ by reducing their reproductive success and altering key traits linked to survival.

The study, led by Adjunct Research Fellow Dr Kit Prendergast from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, found that honey bees not only dominate pollen resources but may also affect the fitness of native cavity-nesting bees – with concerning consequences for biodiversity.

Dr Prendergast said the study used specially designed wooden ‘bee hotels’ located in 14 urban bushland and garden sites in Perth, Western Australia, to assess how honey bee density influenced key indicators of native bee health and reproduction over two Spring-to-Summer bee seasons.

“Bee hotels are more than just a way to give bees a place to nest – they’re powerful research tools that let us measure how well native bees are surviving and reproducing in different environments,” Dr Prendergast said.

“We also studied 1000 native bee nests which provided valuable insights into the fitness of at least 25 species,” she said.

“In areas with higher honey bee densities, native bees produced fewer female offspring, had higher offspring mortality and the males that did emerge were smaller – all of which are signs of reduced fitness.”

Dr Prendergast said the research also looked at what types of pollen were being used by bees and found honey bees foraged from a wider range of sources, including exotic plants.

“In some conditions, greater overlap in pollen use was associated with lower offspring numbers in native bees,” Dr Prendergast said.

“This shows that honey bees are not as benign as some might think – they can negatively impact local ecosystems and potentially contribute to declines in native bee populations,” she said.

“These findings add to growing evidence that we need to manage honey bee densities carefully, especially in areas of high conservation value or where native pollinators are already under pressure from factors such as growing urbanisation.”

Dr Prendergast said future research should explore whether adjusting honey bee numbers or increasing the diversity of flowering plants could help reduce their impact on native bees.

The study was done as part of Dr Prendergast’s PhD research at Curtin and was supported by funding from the City of Stirling, the Australian Wildlife Society, Hesperia and the Forrest Research Foundation.

The full study ‘Introduced honey bees have the potential to reduce fitness of cavity-nesting native bees in terms of a male bias sex ratio, brood mortality and reduced reproduction’ is published in ‘Frontiers in Bee Science’ and can be accessed here: doi: 10.3389/frbee.2025.1508958

Journal

Frontiers in Bee Science

DOI

10.3389/frbee.2025.1508958

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Introduced honey bees have the potential to reduce fitness of cavity-nesting native bees in terms of a male bias sex ratio, brood mortality and reduced reproduction

Article Publication Date

19-May-2025