title: Disentangling multiple interactions in the hive ecosystem.
abstract: The widespread losses of honeybee colonies recorded over the past number of years in the northern hemisphere represent a major concern for the beekeeping industry and, more importantly, may have a severe impact on ecological services and biodiversity. There is now a general consensus about the multifactorial origin of colony losses, but the mechanistic basis of this complex phenomenon still remains largely elusive. In this review, we propose a functional framework for interpreting how different stress agents can interact to adversely affect bee immunity and health. This provides a new background rationale in which to develop an integrated approach to bee protection, as part of a more comprehensive strategy for the conservation of insect pollinators.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Udine, via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy. Electronic address: francesco.nazzi@uniud.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nazzi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Agraria - BiPAF, Laboratorio di Entomologia 'E. Tremblay', Università degli Studi di Napoli 'Federico II', via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Napoli, Italy. Electronic address: f.pennacchio@unina.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pennacchio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D010849:Picornaviridae / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology
keywords: colony collapse; honeybees; immunity; multiple interactions; parasites