Common herbicide impairs fertility but not survival in bumblebees, Bombus impatiens

Published Oct 02, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx8s

Data files

Oct 02, 2025 version files 37.51 KB

Brown_et_al_2025-Bombus_impatiens-Sperm.csv

4.08 KB
Brown_et_al_2025-Bombus_impatiens.csv

9.42 KB
Final_Brown_E_E_Glyophosate_Analysis.R

21.01 KB
README.md

3 KB

Abstract

Insect declines have raised concerns over widespread agrochemical usage. Current environmental risk assessments (ERAs) focus on lethal effects, often neglecting fitness-relevant parameters. Our results demonstrate that chronic exposure of male bumblebees to a field-realistic level of a glyphosate-based herbicide significantly enhanced their survival yet reduced living spermatozoa ( 34%). This highlights a physiological shift, where resources appear prioritized toward survival mechanisms over reproductive investment. Such findings underscore critical false negative results in current ERAs and advocate for incorporating reproductive fitness endpoints to better understand and mitigate ongoing insect declines.

Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx8s

Description of the data and file structure

The following files are for the Scientific reports: Common herbicide impairs fertility but not survival in bumblebees, Bombus impatiens

The R file is the statistical code used in the manuscript, and is commented throughout the entire file.

The two csv files are:

1. Brown_et_al_2025-Bombus_impatiens.csv

2. Brown_et_al_2025-Bombus_impatiens-Sperm.csv

The first file "Brown_et_al_2025-Bombus_impatiens.csv" contains 9 columns of data:

1. TreatmentName: categorical data for the treatment names of the dataset

2. Treatment: categorical data for the treatments of the dataset (in binary format, where 1 = control, 2 = herbicide

3. Cagetype: the types of cages used in the experiment, either type 6 = hoarding, or type 1 = individual

4. Age(Full) : Mortality data for bees which were followed throughout their entire lifecycle (time expressed in days)

5. Age(ten) : Mortality data for bees subject to only 10 days of experiments (time expressed in days)

6. Dailyconsumption: Amount of sucrose (in g) consumed / day / bee

7. Status(full) : binary column for Kaplan Meier Analysis (1 = dead, 0 = censored)

8. Status(Day10) : binary column for Kaplan Meier Analysis (1 = dead, 0 = censored), for the 10 day experiment

9. Treatment+CageType : column which describes both the cage type (type 6 = hoarding, type 1 = individual), and their corresponding treatment "control" or "herbicide".

The second dataset "Brown_et_al_2025-Bombus_impatiens-Sperm.csv" contains 7 columns of data:

1. TreatmentName: categorical data for the treatment names of the dataset

2. Exposure : binary column of 0 = no, 1 = yes , for exposure to the treatment

3. GlyphosateExposure : calculated exposure rate / bee / treatment to glyphosate (ng/bee)

4. Day : refers to two sample time points: day 3, day 10

5. Body Mass Start : the starting body mass of each individual bee (in grams)

6. Viability: sperm viability (%) / sample

7. Quantity: number of sperm quantified from a hemocytometer / sample

The r-code, entitled "Final_Brown_E_E_Glyophosate_Analysis.R" uses both datasets and indicates which one is needed for each analysis

Files and variables

Please see "Description of the data and file structure" for full description of each dataset, each column, and the R file used for data analysis.

Code/software

The code was done in R, and is found in "Final Brown E&E Glyophosate Analysis", and is commented directly in the code file.

Access information

Other publicly accessible locations of the data:

Data was derived from the following sources:

Taken in our laboratory at the Institute of Bee Health, Liebefeld Switzerland