Acute sublethal exposure to toxic heavy metals alters honey bee (Apis mellifera) feeding behavior

Heavy metal toxicity is an ecological concern in regions affected by processes like mining, industry, and agriculture. At sufficiently high concentrations, heavy metals are lethal to honey bees, but little is known about how sublethal doses affect honey bees or whether they will consume contaminated...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 4253
Main Authors:	Burden, Christina M., Morgan, Mira O., Hladun, Kristen R., Amdam, Gro V., Trumble, John J., Smith, Brian H.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 12-03-2019 Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:	631/1647/2198 631/601/18 Animals Apis mellifera Arthropod Antennae - drug effects Arthropod Antennae - physiology Bees Bees - drug effects Bees - physiology Cadmium Copper Dose-Response Relationship, Drug Environmental Pollutants - toxicity Feeding behavior Feeding Behavior - drug effects Feeding Behavior - physiology Food contamination Food contamination & poisoning Heavy Metal Poisoning - physiopathology Heavy Metal Poisoning - veterinary Heavy metals Honey Humanities and Social Sciences Ingestion Lead Metal concentrations Metals Metals, Heavy - toxicity multidisciplinary Proboscis Science Science (multidisciplinary) Soil - chemistry Sucrose Taste - physiology Toxicity United States Water - chemistry United States
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Summary:	Heavy metal toxicity is an ecological concern in regions affected by processes like mining, industry, and agriculture. At sufficiently high concentrations, heavy metals are lethal to honey bees, but little is known about how sublethal doses affect honey bees or whether they will consume contaminated food. We investigated whether honey bees reject sucrose solutions contaminated with three heavy metals – cadmium, copper, and lead – as a measure of their ability to detect the metals, and whether ingesting these metals altered the bees’ sucrose sensitivity. The metals elicited three different response profiles in honey bees. Cadmium was not rejected in any of the assays, and ingesting cadmium did not alter sucrose sensitivity. Copper was rejected following antennal stimulation, but was readily consumed following proboscis stimulation. Ingestion of copper did not alter sucrose sensitivity. Lead appeared to be palatable at some concentrations and altered the bees’ sensitivity to and/or valuation of sucrose following antennal stimulation or ingestion of the metal. These differences likely represent unique mechanisms for detecting each metal and the pathology of toxicity. The bees’ ability to detect and consume these toxic metals highlights the risk of exposure to these elements for bees living in or near contaminated environments.
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-019-40396-x