Publications by authors named "S Benedick"
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to explore the morphological similarities and COI haplotype clustering among worker bees from various regions in Sabah, ultimately classifying them into four distinct groups based on specific physical traits.
- A total of 147 worker bees were collected, but only 36 were chosen for detailed analysis focusing on traits like body size and coloration, which proved significant in differentiating the bee groups.
- The findings highlighted notable differences in body measurements and color attributes among the groups, with each showing unique characteristics that were effectively analyzed through PCA and LDA methods.
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzed 76 honey samples from various sources in Sabah, including local contract beekeepers, street vendors, and supermarkets, to compare their physicochemical properties and mineral content.
- Significant differences were found in the chemical parameters of honey from different sources, with contract beekeeper honey showing notably higher mineral content.
- The findings suggest that honey from contract beekeepers is of higher quality due to its greater mineral content, making it a preferable choice for consumers seeking nutritional benefits.
Linking Measure of the Tropical Stingless Bee (Apidae, Meliponini, and ) Honey Quality with Hives Distance to the Source of Heavy Metal Pollution in Urban and Industrial Areas in Sabah, Borneo.
J Toxicol
September 2022
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, in association with pollutant sources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIsland biogeography is one of the most powerful subdisciplines of ecology: its mathematical predictions that island size and distance to mainland determine diversity have withstood the test of time. A key question is whether these predictions follow at a population-genomic level. Using rigorous ancient-DNA protocols, we retrieved approximately 1,000 genomic markers from approximately 100 historic specimens of two Southeast Asian songbird complexes from across the Sunda Shelf archipelago collected 1893-1957.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Tropical forest degradation influences host-parasite dynamics, affecting how likely animals are to get infected, with specific concern about the energy resources needed for immune responses.
- A study on 14 bird species in Borneo revealed that the prevalence of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon infections did not differ significantly between selectively logged and unlogged forests.
- Birds infected with Plasmodium exhibited higher plasma protein levels and antioxidant capacity but lower triglycerides and glutathione, indicating greater metabolic costs for managing this infection compared to Haemoproteus, which showed no notable changes in health markers.