Phylogenetic and Morphological Characteristics Reveal Cryptic Speciation in Stingless Bee, Tetragonula laeviceps s.l. Smith 1857 (Hymenoptera; Meliponinae)

Tetragonula laeviceps sensu lato (s.l.) Smith 1857 has the most complicated nomenclatural history among the Tetragonula genera. The objective of this study was to investigate whether T. laeviceps s.l. individuals with worker bees are grouped in the same or nearly the same morphological characteristics and have similar COI haplotype cluster groups. A total of 147 worker bees of T. laeviceps s.l. were collected from six sampling sites in Sabah (RDC, Tuaran, Kota Marudu, Putatan, Kinarut and Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FSA)), but only 36 were selected for further studies. These specimens were first classified according to the most obvious morphological characteristics, i.e., hind tibia color, hind basitarsus color and body size. Group identification was based on morphological characteristics important for distinguishing the four groups within T. laeviceps s.l. The four groups of T. laeviceps s.l. had significantly different body trait measurements for the TL (total length), HW (head width), HL (head length), CEL (compound eye length), CEW (compound eye width), FWLT (forewing length, including tegula), FWW (forewing width), FWL (forewing length), ML (mesoscutum length), MW (mesoscutum width), SW (mesoscutellum width), SL (mesoscutellum length), HTL = (hind tibia length), HTW (hind tibia width), HBL (hind basitarsus length) and HBW (hind basitarsus width) (p < 0.001). Body color included HC (head color), CC (clypeus color), ASC (antennae scape color), CFPP (Clypeus and frons plumose pubescence), HTC (hind tibia color), BSC (basitarsus color), SP (leg setae pubescence), SP (Thorax mesoscutellum pubescence), SPL (thorax mesoscutellum pubescence length) and TC (thorax color) (p < 0.05). The most distinctive features of the morphological and morphometric characteristics measured by PCA and LDA biplot that distinguish Group 1 (TL6-1, TL6-2 and TL6-3) from the other groups were the yellowish-brown ASC and the dark brown TC. Group 2 (haplotypes TL2-1, TL2-2 and TL2-3 and TL4-1, TL4-2 and TL4-3) had a dark brown ASC and a black TC, while Group 3 (haplotypes TL11-1, TL11-2 and TL11-3) had a blackish-brown ASC, a black TC and the largest TL, FWW and FWL. As for phylogenetic relationships, 12 out of 36 haplotypes showed clear separation with good bootstrap values (97–100%). The rest of the haplotypes did not show clear differentiation between subclades that belonged together, regardless of their morphology and morphometric characteristics. This suggests that the combination of DNA barcoding for species identification and phylogenetic analysis, as well as traditional methods based on morphological grouping by body size and body color, can be reliably used to determine intraspecific variations within T. laeviceps s.l

Kajian tentang status kerintangan insektisid terhadap Plutella Xylostella, perosak utama sayur-sayuran Cruciferae di Kundasang, Sabah

Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk mengetahui status kerintangan insektisid terhadap larva Piute/la xylostella terhadap bahan aktif insektisid Cypermethrin, Spinosad, Avermectin, Chlorantraniliprole, Chlorfenapyr, Tolfenpyrad dan Lufenuron. Kajian ini telah dijalankan selama dua (2) tahun bermula pada tahun April 2013 - April 2015 menggunakan peruntukan Universiti Malaysia Sabah (SBK0136-STWN-2014). Tinjauan terhadap penggunaan insektisid oleh 40 responden yang mengusahakan ladang-ladang sayuran juga dilaksanakan bagi mengetahui hubungkait kerintangan insektisid dengan cara penggunaan insektisid di Kundasang. Kajian ini telah dilaksanakan di makmal dan ladang Fakulti Pertanian Lestari (FPL) UMS (Sandakan) yang merangkumi tiga peringkat iaitu i. penanaman kobis yang bebas dari serangan insektisid, ii. persampelan larva P. xylostella di Kundasang dan iii. ujian bioasai celup daun. Faktor Kerintangan Cypermethrin (FR > 160), Avamectin (FR > 10.1 - 40.0), Chlorantraniliprole (FR > 160) dan Chlofenapyr (FR > 160) adalah pada julat sederhana rintang hingga amat rintang. Cypermethrin dan Avamectin adalah bahan aktif insektisid yang telah direkodkan penggunaannya seawal tahun 1990an. Spinosad, Tolfenpyrad, Lufenuron, Chlorantraniliprol

Linking Measure of the Tropical Stingless Bee (Apidae,Meliponini, and Heterotrigona itama) Honey Quality with Hives Distance to the Source of Heavy Metal Pollution in Urban and Industrial Areas in Sabah, Borneo

Honey is a natural product of bees, and its chemical composition depends on the nectar sources of the surrounding flora as well as environmental factors. However, keeping hives in areas polluted with heavy metals can affect the quality of bee products such as honey. To date, there have been very few studies on the health risks of consuming honey at various locations in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo, in relation to food standards and heavy metal contamination of honey from the stingless bee, Heterotrigona itama in association with pollutant sources. A total of 63 samples of raw and unprocessed honey were collected directly from beekeepers producing honey at five sites in the industrial areas. All selected heavy metals were measured using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES). Overall, the most frequently detected element was Zn (0.090 mg/kg), followed by Pb (0.012 mg/kg), As (0.004 mg/kg), and Cr (0.003 mg/kg), while Cd (0.001 mg/kg) was the lowest element in honey from all areas. With the exception of Cr and Zn, a significant correlation was found between PCA factor score 1 and heavy metal concentration in honey for Pb, Cd, and As, suggesting that the source of pollution for these metal elements was from hives closer to major roads, cities/town, petrochemical hub, and power plants. Although the heavy metal concentrations in the honey samples did not exceed the food standard limits and therefore do not pose a health risk, the observed increase in heavy metal concentrations in honey in industrial areas could pose a potential risk in the future due to the growing interest in rearing of stingless bees for honey production in these areas of Sabah

Physicochemical properties of honey from contract beekeepers, street vendors and branded honey in Sabah, Malaysia

The chemical properties of honey depend on the source of collection to packaging, but little is known about honey in Sabah. The aim of this study was to distinguish between the physicochemical properties and mineral content of 76 honey samples from local sources and supermarkets in Sabah, which were from contract beekeepers, unknown sources and branded honey. Raw honey was collected from contract beekeepers, while honey from unknown source was obtained from street vendors and wet markets, while branded honey was purchased from local supermarkets. The chemical parameters of the honey were assessed using established methods, while the mineral content of the honey was determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Significant differences were found in several parameters measured in honey from different sources, with principal component analysis (PCA) showing clear separation between the measured parameters, yielding five factors that accounted for up to 72.25 % of the total explained variance. Honey from contract beekeepers showed significant differences and higher mineral content (Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na and Zn) compared to honey from unknown source and branded honey. Potassium was the most important element in the study with an average of 2.65 g/kg and 629.4 mg/kg for sources from contract beekeepers and branded honey, respectively. The honey from the contract beekeepers was of better quality due to its high mineral content. The results suggest that honey from contract beekeepers could be a good choice when it comes to high mineral content

Isolation and characterization of multifunction beneficial bacteria from dairy farm effluent compost

Compost is a good biomass reservoir of a broad range of microbial communities, with bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes being the main microorganisms groups reported in the literature. Some bacteria assigned as plant growth-promoting agents are capable of enhancing plant growth and improving soil fertility. In this study, bacteria with multiple beneficial traits for potential use in agriculture were screened and characterized from the dairy farm effluent (DFE) compost. A total of 160 bacterial colonies originally picked from 11 selective media were purified and used in this study. The variations among the isolates in plant growth beneficial traits were studied by agar plate and spectrophotometric assays. Results revealed 38 isolates exhibited multiple plant growth beneficial traits and there were nitrogen fixation, solubilization of potassium, zinc silicate, and organic and inorganic phosphorus, as well as production of iron-chelating siderophore, chitinase, protease, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC)-deaminase, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). From the 160 isolates, 34.38% were label as high IAA production isolates, 33.75% were able to metabolize ACC, 8.13% were able to produce high HCN, and the remaining 23.82% isolates showed moderately low or absence of activities. These data suggested that DFE compost contains multifunction beneficial traits bacteria and its utilization on agricultural crops has the potentials to influence plant health and productivity in various ways. These include fixation of nitrogen, enhance mobilizing of insoluble soil minerals such as P and K, as well as provide basal protection against plant pathogens through HCN production and chitinase activity. As a summary, this study showed DFE compost is a potent plant growth booster with multiple effective microorganisms and has the potential application in novel bio-fertilizer formulations for the Malaysian agriculture sector

Morphometric analysis and genetic variation of selected bornean stingless bee, tetragonula spp. (hymenoptera: meliponini) and its potential as pollinators for vanilla planifolia and hylocereus polyrhizus

This study is mainly concerned with one of the most abundant stingless bees with many cryptic species in Malaysia, Tetragonula spp. (Hymenoptera; Meliponini). The aims of this study are i) to determine the habitat preferences, morphometric and morphological traits, and phylogenetic relationships of selected species of cryptic Bornean Tetragonula, ii) to investigate the morphological and molecular characters of cryptic speciation in Tetragonula laeviceps, iii) to investigate the potential of T. laeviceps as a pollinator of vanilla and pitaya flowers, and iv) to investigate the antioxidant activity, phenolic compound and chemical composition in products of the stingless bee. This study was conducted from October 2017 to February 2021. Samples of workers of the genus Tetragonula were collected from the Malaysian states of Sabah (Tuaran, Putatan, Kinarut, Kota Marudu, Kudat, Beaufort, Beluran and Sandakan, Sabah) and Sarawak (Tebedu) to study their morphological characteristics, molecular analysis and quality of bee products. DNA was extracted from the whole insect, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced to obtain suitable data for molecular analysis. The pollination efficiency of T. laeviceps on pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) and vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) was studied at the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture. Honey, pollen and propolis from T. laeviceps and Heterotrigona itama were used to analyse antioxidants and compare the quality of stingless bee products. Five species of Tetragonula were examined in this study, namely T. laeviceps, T. melanocephala, T. fuscobalteata, T. iridipennis and T. ruficornis. Pearson's correlation showed that there was a significant difference between the morphometric traits and factor 1 score analysis of Tetragonula spp. (p 0.05). Twenty-eight chemical compounds were identified in the honey samples of T. laeviceps and H. itama. Amino acids, gamma-butyrolactones and steroidal saponins were identified as major constituents as they were present in all honey samples

Assessment of pests and predators, and theperformance of honeybee (Apis Cerana F.) colonies in Langstroth Modified Beehives (LMB)

This study was carried out from June 2016 to December 2019 at the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FSA), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan, Malaysia. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess how the prevalence of pests and predators, alongside other factors, may be causing honeybees to abscond from the existing beehives commonly used by local beekeepers; and (ii) investigate the efficacy of newly improved beehives in preventing the intrusion of pests and predators, and the potential impact this has on honeybee health performance. To determine what other factors cause bee abscondment in relation to the prevalence of pests and predators, ten new colonies of Apis cerana bees-all with equal health performances were examined for ten weeks in Langstroth Beehives (LBs), which are commonly used by the local beekeepers of Malaysia. To compare honeybee health performance with regard to the efficacy of beehives, ten of the same bee colonies were examined for 20 weeks, also equal in terms of health performance, were introduced to, and studied in, new Langstroth Modified Beehives (LMBs) (5 replications) and LB Beehives (5 replications). The honeybee pests and predators identified during the inspection of the LBs were wax moths, hornets, ants, cockroaches and mites. Combinations of infestation by wax moths, hornets, ants and cockroaches were found in 60% and 90% of LBs, and were determined to be the cause of honeybee abscondment. This, therefore, indicates that one of the significant challenges of beekeeping faced by local beekeepers is the existence of pests and predators in the environment. LMBs had a greater number of frames filled with more than 80% of brood combs (N = 12), honey (N = 24) and pollen storages (N = 19) than LB beehives. Low infestation rates of pests and predators in LMBs could be explained by the improvements made on the beehives’ design, which prevented the intrusion of wax moths, cockroaches, and hornets into the hives. Thus, this suggests that improving the beehives’ capacity for protecting the bee colonies is crucial in reducing abscondment and increasing bee products

Assessment of pests and predators infestation, and the performance of honeybee (Apis cerana Fabr.) colonies in langstroth modified beehives (LMB)

This study was carried out from June 2016 to December 2019 at the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FSA), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan, Malaysia. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess how the prevalence of pests and predators, alongside other factors, may be causing honeybees to abscond from the existing beehives commonly used by local beekeepers; and (ii) investigate the efficacy of newly improved beehives in preventing the intrusion of pests and predators, and the potential impact this has on honeybee health performance. To determine what other factors cause bee abscondment in relation to the prevalence of pests and predators, ten new colonies of Apis cerana bees-all with equal health performances were examined for ten weeks in Langstroth Beehives (LBs), which are commonly used by the local beekeepers of Malaysia. To compare honeybee health performance with regard to the efficacy of beehives, ten of the same bee colonies were examined for 20 weeks, also equal in terms of health performance, were introduced to, and studied in, new Langstroth Modified Beehives (LMBs) (5 replications) and LB Beehives (5 replications). The honeybee pests and predators identified during the inspection of the LBs were wax moths, hornets, ants, cockroaches and mites. Combinations of infestation by wax moths, hornets, ants and cockroaches were found in 60% and 90% of LBs, and were determined to be the cause of honeybee abscondment. This, therefore, indicates that one of the significant challenges of beekeeping faced by local beekeepers is the existence of pests and predators in the environment. LMBs had a greater number of frames filled with more than 80% of brood combs (N = 12), honey (N = 24) and pollen storages (N = 19) than LB beehives. Low infestation rates of pests and predators in LMBs could be explained by the improvements made on the beehives’ design, which prevented the intrusion of wax moths, cockroaches, and hornets into the hives. Thus, this suggests that improving the beehives’ capacity for protecting the bee colonies is crucial in reducing abscondment and increasing bee products

The scholarship of teaching and learning in public administration: an agenda for future research

Two essential questions for those leading the field of public administration are: What do we teach our students, and how do we train them? As scholars, we pay significant attention to our research, often to the detriment of recognizing the potential for merging our research with teaching through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). However, given our students’ leadership positions, SoTL-related work is vital to their success. In this article, we have come together to reflect on the state of SoTL’s work in public administration. Through this reflection, we explore the windows of opportunity for research that we see emerging. Included among these opportunities is the need for research on how we can best serve students in and out of the classroom, as well as research the most effective way of managing our programs. We also see the need for research into faculty development, instructional design, and the return on investment for a public administration degree. Lastly, we argue for improved recognition of the value and contribution of SoTL-related work in tenure and promotion standards