Genomic variation in mountain bumblebees in Scandinavia: High levels of
intraspecific diversity despite population vulnerability
Abstract
Populations of many bumblebee species are in decline, with distributions
shifting northwards to track suitable climates. Climate change is
considered a major contributing factor. Arctic species are particularly
vulnerable as they cannot shift further north, making assessment of
their population viability important. Analysis of levels of whole-genome
variation is a powerful way to analyse population declines and
fragmentation. Here we use genome sequencing to analyse genetic
variation in seven species of bumblebee from the Scandinavian mountains,
including two classified as vulnerable. We sequenced 333 samples from
across the ranges of these species in Sweden. Estimates of effective
population size (NE) vary from ~55,000 for species with
restricted high alpine distributions to 220,000 for more widespread
species. Population fragmentation is generally very low or undetectable
over large distances in the mountains, suggesting an absence of barriers
to gene flow. The relatively high NE and low population structure
indicate that none of the species are at immediate risk of negative
genetic effects caused by high levels of genetic drift. However,
reconstruction of historical fluctuations in NE indicates that the
arctic specialist species Bombus hyperboreus has experienced population
declines since the last ice age and we detected one highly inbred
diploid male of this species close to the southern limit of its range,
indicating elevated genetic load. Although levels of genetic variation
in mountain bumblebee populations are currently relatively high, their
ranges are predicted to shrink drastically due to the effects of climate
change and monitoring is essential to detect future population declines.