Declining bumblebee populations are at greater risk of inbreeding, which can trigger a downward spiral of further decline. Researchers have provided the first proof that inbreeding reduces colony fitness under natural conditions by increasing the production of reproductively inefficient ‘diploid’ males. The sex of bumblebees is normally determined by the number of chromosome sets an individual receives. Males, born from unfertilized eggs, are haploid (just one chromosome set). (source: sciencedaily.com)
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