Bryan N. Danforth
Professor
bnd1@cornell.edu

Areas of Expertise

Phylogeny, evolution, and diversity of bees and other Hymenoptera; social evolution

Research

Research in my laboratory focuses on the phylogeny, evolution, population genetics, and conservation of bees. Bees comprise a monophyletic group of over 20,000 species worldwide. The genus Apis, to which the common, domesticated honey bee belongs, comprises just 8 of the 20,000 species of bees in the world. The vast majority of bees are solitary, ground- or stem-nesting, and do not produce honey. However, they are extremely important pollinators of native and, in many cases, agricultural plants. We study the phylogeny of bees at all levels from the species level to the family level with a combination of morphological and molecular data. The recent publication of the honey bee genome has allowed us to develop data sets from a large number of nuclear genes. Studies that are ongoing in the lab include understanding the root node of bees, the pattern and timing of the early diversification of bees, the relationships among the bee families, and relationships at higher levels within bee families. Such studies are essential to developing a stable classification of the bees, inferring the historical biogeography of bees, understanding the history of bee/plant co-evolution, and reconstructing patterns of bee social evolution. We are currently focusing on the long-tongued bee families Megachilidae (in collaboration with Terry Griswold and Christophe Praz). Graduate student Jessica Litman is investigating the basal phylogeny of the Megachilidae, in particular the tribe Fideliini. Fideliines are distributed in arid regions of southern Africa, Morocco, and western South America. Graduate student Sophie Cardinal is investigating the phylogeny and evolution of the Apidae. Her results are providing new (and surprising) insights into the evolution of both cleptoparasitism and eusociality. Graduate student Margarita Lopez-Uribe is studying the population genetics of native bees in agricultural landscapes in the eastern US. Her studies are providing the first empirical data on gene flow and genetic diversity in native bee pollinators. Other projects include studies of the role of native bees in apple pollination (with graduate student Mia Park). It is becoming increasingly clear that declines in honey bee populations over the past 50 years means that increased work needs to be done on the role of native bees in agricultural settings. Apples are a crop in which native bees are most likely playing a very key role in pollination, but we need more information on how to manage and conserve these important native pollinators.

Publications (last 5 years)

• Bartomeus, I., J.S. Ascher, D. Wagner, B.N. Danforth, S.R. Colla, S.Kornbluth, & R. Winfree (2011). Climate-associated phenological advancesin bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA108(51): 20645-20649 [published ahead of print December 5, 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1115559108]
• Litman, J.R., B.N. Danforth, C.D. Eardley, & C.J. Praz (2011). Why doleafcutter bees cut leaves? New insights into the early evolution of bees.Proc. Royal Society of London (B) 278: 3593-3600
• Cardinal, S.C. & B.N. Danforth (2011). The antiquity and evolutionary historyof social behavior in bees. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21086. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021086.
• Brady, S.G., J.R. Litman, & B.N. Danforth (2011). Rooting phylogenies usinggene duplications: An empirical example from the bees (Apoidea). Mol.Phylogen. Evol. 60: 295–304.
• Danforth, B.N. & G.O. Poinar (2011) Melittosphex burmensis (Apoidea:Melittosphecidae): detailed description of the morphology, classification,antiquity, and implications for bee evolution. J. Paleontology 85(5):882–891.
• Martinson, V., B.N. Danforth, R. Minckley, O. Rueppell, S. Tingek, & N.Moran (2011). A simple and distinctive microbiota exclusively associatedwith honey bees and bumble bees. Molecular Ecology, 20: 619–628.
• Cardinal, S., J. Straka, & B.N. Danforth (2010). Comprehensive phylogeny of apid bees reveals the evolutionary origins and antiquity of cleptoparasitism. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 107(37): 16207B16211. Open access:  http://www.pnas.org/content/107/37/16207
• Michez, D., C.D. Eardley, K. Timmermann & B.N. Danforth (2010). Unexpected polylecty in the bee genus Meganomia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Melittidae). J. Kansas Entomological Society 83(3): 221B230.
• López-Uribe, M.M., A.N. Green, S. Ramírez, S.M. Bogdanowicz, and B.N. Danforth (2010). Isolation and cross‑species characterization of polymorphic microsatellites for the orchid bee Eulaema meriana (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Conservation Genet Resources DOI 10.1007/s12686‑010‑9271‑9
• Bradley, T.J., Briscoe, A.D., Brady, S,G., Contreras, H.L., Danforth, B.N.,Dudley, R., Grimaldi, D., Harrison, J.F., Kaiser, A., Merlin, C., Reppert,S.M., Vandenbrooks, J.M., and Yanoviak, S.P. (2009) Episodes in insectevolution. Integrative and Comparative Biology 49: 590-606
• Michez, D., S. Patiny & B.N. Danforth (2009). Phylogeny of the bee family Melittidae (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) based on combined molecular and morphological data. Syst. Entom. 34: 574-597
• Almeida, E.A.B. & B.N. Danforth (2009). Phylogeny of colletid bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Colletidae) inferred from four nuclear genes. Molecular Phylo. Evol. 50(2): 290-309.
• Praz, C.J., A. Muller, B.N. Danforth, T.L. Griswold, A. Widmer, & S. Dorn (2008). Phylogeny and biogeography of bees of the tribe Osmiini (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Molecular Phylo. Evol. 49(1): 185-197.
• Almeida, E.A.B, L. Packer & B.N. Danforth (2008). Phylogeny of the Xeromelissinae (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) based upon morphology and molecules. Apidologie 39:75-85
• Danforth, B.N., C. Eardley, L. Packer, K. Walker, A. Pauly, & F. Randrianambinintsoa (2008). Phylogeny of Halictidae with an emphasis on the endemic African Halictinae. Apidologie 39:86-101
• Patiny, S., D. Michez, & B.N. Danforth (2007). Phylogenetic relationships and host-plant associations within the basal clade of Halictidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Cladistics online: 8-Nov-2007 doi: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00182.x
• B.N. Danforth (2007). Bees - a primer. Current Biology 17(5): R156-R161.
• Magnacca, K.N. & B.N. Danforth (2007). Low nuclear DNA variation supports a recent origin of Hawaiian Hylaeus bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 43(3): 908-915.