Integrating a crop model with a greenhouse gas calculator to identify low carbon agricultural intensification options for smallholder farmers in rural South Africa

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Insects

Publication Date

11-1-2019

Abstract

The spread of the dwarf honeybee, Apis florea, in Sudan along the river Nile in a linear fashion provides a good model for studying the population dynamics and genetic effects of an invasion by a honeybee species. We use microsatellite DNA analyses to assess the population structure of both invasive A. florea and native Apis mellifera along the river Nile. The invasive A. florea had significantly higher population densities than the wild, native A. mellifera. Nevertheless, we found no indication of competitive displacement, suggesting that although A. florea had a high invasive potential, it coexisted with the native A. mellifera along the river Nile. The genetic data indicated that the invasion of A. florea was established by a single colony.

Keywords

Apis mellifera, Competition intensity, Mating frequency, Microsatellitedna, Population density

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