PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

UNH researcher: Bees underwent massive extinction when dinosaurs did

2013-10-24
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Beth Potier
beth.potier@unh.edu
603-862-1566
University of New Hampshire
UNH researcher: Bees underwent massive extinction when dinosaurs did DURHAM, N.H. -- For the first time ever, scientists have documented a widespread extinction of bees that occurred 65 million years ago, concurrent with the massive event that wiped out land dinosaurs and many flowering plants. Their findings, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, could shed light on the current decline in bee species.

Lead author Sandra Rehan, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UNH, worked with colleagues Michael Schwarz at Australia's Flinders University and Remko Leys at the South Australia Museum to model a mass extinction in bee group Xylocopinae, or carpenter bees, at the end of the Cretaceous and beginning of the Paleogene eras, known as the K-T boundary.

Previous studies have suggested a widespread extinction among flowering plants at the K-T boundary, and it's long been assumed that the bees who depended upon those plants would have met the same fate. Yet unlike the dinosaurs, "there is a relatively poor fossil record of bees," says Rehan, making the confirmation of such an extinction difficult.

Rehan and colleagues overcame the lack of fossil evidence for bees with a technique called molecular phylogenetics. Analyzing DNA sequences of four "tribes" of 230 species of carpenter bees from every continent except Antarctica for insight into evolutionary relationships, the researchers began to see patterns consistent with a mass extinction. Combining fossil records with the DNA analysis, the researchers could introduce time into the equation, learning not only how the bees are related but also how old they are.

"The data told us something major was happening in four different groups of bees at the same time," says Rehan, of UNH's College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. "And it happened to be the same time as the dinosaurs went extinct."

While much of Rehan's work involves behavioral observation of bees native to the northeast of North America, this research taps the computer-heavy bioinformatics side of her research, assembling genomic data to elucidate similarities and differences among the various species over time. Marrying observations from the field with genomic data, she says, paints a fuller picture of these bees' behaviors over time.

"If you could tell their whole story, maybe people would care more about protecting them," she says. Indeed, the findings of this study have important implications for today's concern about the loss in diversity of bees, a pivotal species for agriculture and biodiversity.

"Understanding extinctions and the effects of declines in the past can help us understand the pollinator decline and the global crisis in pollinators today," Rehan says.

###

The article, "First evidence for a massive extinction event affecting bees close to the K-T boundary," is published in the Oct. 23, 2013 edition of PLOS ONE (link will become active once the embargo lifts). Funding for the research was provided by Endeavour Research Fellowships (Rehan) and Australian Research Council Discovery Grants (Schwarz).

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

Photographs available to download:

http://www.unh.edu/news/releases/2013/10/images/ceratina-6236.jpg

Caption: A small carpenter bee.
Credit: Sandra Rehan

http://www.unh.edu/news/releases/2013/10/images/rehan_beehunt-3942.jpg

Caption: UNH assistant professor of biological sciences Sandra Rehan searching for bees.
Credit: Sandra Rehan


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Oral bacteria create a 'fingerprint' in your mouth

2013-10-24
Oral bacteria create a 'fingerprint' in your mouth Study shows a microbial 'signature' can discriminate between ethnicities COLUMBUS, Ohio – The bacteria in the human mouth – particularly those nestled under the gums – are as powerful as a fingerprint at identifying ...

Seeing the song

2013-10-24
Seeing the song Study aims to understand how, when the auditory system registers complex auditory-visual synchrony EVANSTON, Ill. --- Imagine the brain's delight when experiencing the sounds of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" while simultaneously taking ...

Men tend to walk slower when walking with romantic partners

2013-10-24
Men tend to walk slower when walking with romantic partners Walking speed depends on the relationship of the person with whom they are walking When walking with female romantic partners, males tend to slow down by about 7%, according to new research published Oct ...

Emotionally intelligent people may influence the emotions of others based on their own goals

2013-10-24
Emotionally intelligent people may influence the emotions of others based on their own goals Emotional intelligence may not always be associated with prosociality Emotionally intelligent people have the ability to manipulate others to satisfy their own interest, according ...

Environmental factors help limit gene flow between different giraffe species

2013-10-24
Environmental factors help limit gene flow between different giraffe species Rainfall and vegetation help explain genetic differences in giraffes Giraffe species may only breed with each other based on the timing of rainfall in their local environments, according ...

South African 'living stone' plant adapts to extreme conditions in new ways

2013-10-24
South African 'living stone' plant adapts to extreme conditions in new ways 'Living stone' employs new way to improve underground photosynthesis, minimize water loss in dry conditions A unique plant that lives underground uses multiple mechanisms to boost photosynthesis ...

Child born with HIV still in remission after 18 months off treatment, experts report

2013-10-24
Child born with HIV still in remission after 18 months off treatment, experts report A 3-year-old Mississippi child born with HIV and treated with a combination of antiviral drugs unusually early continues to do well and remains free of active infection 18 months ...

UC Riverside astronomers help discover the most distant known galaxy

2013-10-24
UC Riverside astronomers help discover the most distant known galaxy Galaxy is seen as it was just 700 million years after the Big Bang RIVERSIDE, Calif. — University of California, Riverside astronomers Bahram Mobasher and Naveen Reddy are members of ...

Long-term study links box jellyfish abundance, environmental variability at Waikiki Beach

2013-10-24
Long-term study links box jellyfish abundance, environmental variability at Waikiki Beach UH Manoa researchers analyze climate and oceanographic connections You can almost set your watch to it. A familiar sight to local beachgoers, the box jellyfish ...

Food additive may prevent spread of deadly new avian flu

2013-10-24
Food additive may prevent spread of deadly new avian flu A common food additive can block a deadly new strain of avian influenza virus from infecting healthy cells, report researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine in the online ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

Mission accomplished for the “T2T” Hong Kong Bauhinia Genome Project

[Press-News.org] UNH researcher: Bees underwent massive extinction when dinosaurs did