Estimation of bumblebee queen dispersal distances using sibship reconstruction method

Dispersal ability is a key determinant of the propensity of an organism to cope with habitat fragmentation and climate change. Here we quantify queen dispersal in two common bumblebee species in an arable landscape. Dispersal was measured by taking DNA samples from workers in the spring and summer, and from queens in the following spring, at 14 sites across a landscape. The queens captured in the spring must be full sisters of workers that were foraging in the previous year. A range of sibship reconstruction methods were compared using simulated datasets including or no genotyping errors. The programme Colony gave the most accurate reconstruction and was used for our analysis of queen dispersal. Comparison of queen dispersion with worker foraging distances was used to take into account an expected low level of false identification of sister pairs which might otherwise lead to overestimates of dispersal. Our data show that Bombus pascuorum and B. lapidarius queens can disperse by at leas...