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Ecological and evolutionary drivers of stingless bee honey variation at the global scale
  • +10
  • Pierre Noiset,
  • Madeleine Héger,
  • Chloé Salmon,
  • Peter Kwapong,
  • Rofela Combey,
  • Kumara Thevan,
  • Natapot Warrit,
  • Nathalie Cabirol,
  • Marcelo Rojas-Oropeza,
  • Carlos Zaragoza-Trello,
  • Claus Rasmussen,
  • Kiatoko Nkoba,
  • Nicolas Vereecken
Pierre Noiset
Université Libre de Bruxelles

Corresponding Author:pierre.noiset@ulb.be

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Madeleine Héger
Université Libre de Bruxelles
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Chloé Salmon
Université Libre de Bruxelles
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Peter Kwapong
University of Cape Coast
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Rofela Combey
University of Cape Coast
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Kumara Thevan
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
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Natapot Warrit
Chulalongkorn University
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Nathalie Cabirol
National Autonomous University of Mexico
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Marcelo Rojas-Oropeza
National Autonomous University of Mexico
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Carlos Zaragoza-Trello
Universidad de La Laguna
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Claus Rasmussen
Aarhus Universitet
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Kiatoko Nkoba
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
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Nicolas Vereecken
Université Libre de Bruxelles
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Abstract

Stingless bee honey (SBH) is a prime natural product consumed and used for diverse medicinal and traditional purposes by local communities across the (sub-)tropics. The drivers of its compositional variation within and among species remain poorly understood, although this could inform broader and less explored eco-evolutionary theories. In this study, we aimed to disentangle the roles of evolutionary and environmental drivers of SBH compositional variation using a sampling design that combines honey profiling by H1-NMR spectroscopy with the collection of honeys from honey bees and stingless bees. Our results show a clear differentiation between the chemical composition and functional diversity of honey bee and stingless bee honeys, without identifying a clear continental, phylogenetic or ecological pattern. We provide the first global and comprehensive characterization of SBH composition, a prerequisite for the establishment of standards for while highlighting the need for more interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral research.