Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/15
Outputs Target Audience:Local Farmers (especially apple farmers) NY State residents The scientific community Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Post-doctoral, Graduate and undergraduate training: Our project involved significant post-doctoral and student training. Mary Centrella, a graduate student in the department of Entomology, took a lead role in the field trap-nesting studies and in the analysis of the historical (museum) data. Mary worked closely with a temporary technician (Amanda Stephens) to conduct the field experiments. Postdoc Laura Russo contributed to the project during the field season. Undergraduate students (including Nolan Amon, and Graham Montgomery) helped with both field and laboratory studies. These students gained considerable expertise in bee biology, taxonomy, computational biology, and pollination biology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We presented our results to grower groups in a variety of ways, primarily via extension presentations at local, regional, andstate-wide meetings. Extension talks: Orchard Bee Association Conference, Kayesville, UT, Sept. 2013, "Distributions of Osmia cornifrons and Osmia lignaria",: 45 minute oral presentation Orchard Bee Association Public Exposition, Kayesville, UT, Sept. 2013, "Mason Bees as Ideal Pollinators", 2014: 15 minute oral presentation Fruit EXPO, Syracuse, NY, Jan. 22, 2014, "Honeybees, CCD, and the importance of wild pollinators for orchard pollination" NY State IPM advisory council meeting, Syracuse, NY, Feb. 25, 2014, "Honeybees, CCD, and the importance of wild pollinators for orchard pollination" Outreach talk at the Ecovillage at Ithaca (February 2014). "Honeybees, CCD, and the importance of wild bees for orchard pollination." Hudson Valley Commercial Tree Fruit School, Kingston, NY, Feb. 10-11, 2015, "The important role of wild bees in NY apple pollination" Science Cabaret, Ithaca, NY, April 21, 2015. "Colony collapse disorder and how the wild bees are doing to save us" What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
a) Major activities completed: 1. Pesticide detection - We placed mason bee "trap nests" in 17 apple orchards in the Finger Lakes region of New York in Spring 2013, 2014, and 2015. Mason bee populations were seeded with overwintering bees from populations in Ithaca, NY in late April. Mason bees were allowed to establish nests and initiate foraging. Recently completed nests were collected, brought back to the lab, and the pollen/nectar provision masses were removed and analyzed for pesticides. We detected a total of 29 agricultural pesticides, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, antimicrobial compounds, organophosphates, and neonicotinoid insecticides. We combined our data on pesticide levels with toxicity data from honey bees to calculate the "hazard quotient" (HQ), a measure of overall toxicity of each pesticide to bees. Some pesticides were detected at very high levels relative to the LD50 for honey bees, including Clothianidin Phosmet, Imidacloprid, Indoxacarb, and Spinosad. 2. Pathogen screening - We screened overwintering adult Osmia cornifrons for pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi that have been reported previously in honey bees. We used PCR to amplify pathogens from bees and Sanger sequencing to to identify the species of pathogens detected. Sequences were compared to existing databases to determine whether the infecting strain shared identity with known honey bee strains or is novel to mason bees. Ascosphaera spp., a fungal pathogen found in social and solitary bees and the causative agent of chalkbrood, was detected in nearly 40% of the bees we screened. Likewise, fungi in the genus Aspergillus (21%), the causative agent of stonebrood in honeybees, and bacteria in the genus Paenibacillus (7.6%) were also relatively common across sites. Based on phylogenetic analysis of sequenced pathogens, we determined that O. cornifrons are infected with a diverse assemblage of Ascosphaera species, one of which appears to have been introduced from Japan through transcontinental movement of bees for agricultural pollination. 3. Bee databasing - There are two species of Osmia that are most significantly utilized in agricultural settings in the US: O. lignaria, an endemic species, and O. cornifrons, intentionally introduced in 1969. Because these species nest in similar structures and have similar foraging ranges, we are interested in whether the introduced species has displaced the native species at a landscape scale. Over the course of the project, we have been working on mapping Osmia distributions for the past year for both Osmia cornifrons and Osmia lignaria. We have analyzed data from 3243 specimens of bees gathered from 19 insect collections spanning a timeframe from 1850 to 2014. We have graphed abundance trends and mapped distributions for both species. We plan to add at least 9 more collections to this dataset and will analyze data by breaking it into grids per decade to quantify both spatial and temporal changes. Once we have this baseline data, we will be able to compare it to the land-use, temperature, moisture, and crop type changes, using similar grids modified from GIS layer data. To account for sampling error inherent in museum data, we will: a) assess the relative abundance of each species by comparing the two species, with the null hypothesis being that they will have equal spatial and temporal distributions and b) eliminate biases by removing either collectors and/or collections from the data set to see if the results are altered. b) Significant results achieved (major findings, developments, conclusions): 1. Pesticide detection - We detected a surprising diversity of pesticides, many of which are not sprayed on a regular basis on apple orchards. Nearly one half of the pesticides we detected were not sprayed in apple orchards in which we established our nesting sites. These pesticides were colleted by the bees either from neighboring agricultural areas, or they are systemically expressed in plant tissues, such as pollen and nectar. We are following up on this idea and analyzing spray records from our collaborating apple growers to see if the neonicotinoid pesticides, which are known to be expressed systematically and to persist for long periods of time (i.e., years) in the environment. The table below provides a complete list of pesticides detected in surveys conducted over the three years of the grant. Pesticide Pesticide class Acetamiprid NEONIC PESTICIDE Atrazine HERBICIDE Azinphos-methyl ORGANOPHOSPHATE Carbaryl (Sevin) INSECTICIDE Carbendazim FUNGICIDE Chlorpyrifos ORGANOPHOSPHATE Clothianidin NEONIC PESTICIDE Cyprodinil FUNGICIDE Difenconazole FUNGICIDE Dodine ANTIMICROBIAL Fenbuconazole FUNGICIDE Fipronil INSECTICIDE Flumioxazin HERBICIDE Imidacloprid, 5-Hydroxy NEONIC PESTICIDE Indoxacarb INSECTICIDE Iprodione FUNGICIDE Metolachlor HERBICIDE Myclobutanil FUNGICIDE Oxadiazon HERBICIDE Pendimethalin HERBICIDE Phosmet ORGANOPHOSPHATE Pyriproxyfen INSECTICIDE Siduron HERBICIDE Simazine HERBICIDE Spinosad INSECTICIDE Thiacloprid NEONIC PESTICIDE Thiamethoxam NEONIC PESTICIDE Thiophanate-methyl FUNGICIDE Trifloxystrobin FUNGICIDE 2. Pathogen screening - We detected a diverse assemblage of Ascosophaera species in Osmia corninfrons. Some species have been reported in closely related Osmia in North America. However one species, Ascosphaera naganensis, is originally from Japan and has most-likely been introduced into North America with movement of Osmia species from Japan to the US in the early 1970s. The existence of this pathogen in North American Osmia populations raises the intriguing possibility that these pathogens are responsible for recent a precipitous declines in Osmia lignaria (the blue orchard mason bee) in the eastern US. We can follow-up on this with future pathogen surveys of O. cornifrons. 3. Bee databasing - Using museum data we have documented the abundance of O. lignaria over the past 140 years in North America and the abundance of O. cornifrons over the past 30 years (since its introduction into the US). Our data reveal that the range expansion of O. cornifrons was delayed relative to its arrival in the US. Most of the range expansion occurred well after they arrived in the 1990s. Furthermore, our historical data suggests that O. lignaria has not shown a significant decline over time. There is no evidence in our historical data that the arrival of O. cornifrons impacted the abundance of O. lignaria. These results provide the first clear test of whether O. lignaria is in decline in North America.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Hedtke S.M., E.J. Blitzer, G.A. Montgomery, B.N. Danforth (2015). Introduction of non-native pollinators can lead to trans-continental movement of bee-associated fungi. PLoS ONE 10(6): e0130560 [published online 23 June 2015, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130560]
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Kleijn, D., R. Winfree, I. Bartomeus, L. Cavalheiro, et al. (2015). Managing for pollinators or pollination: conflicts between biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service delivery. Nature Communications 6:7414 [published online 16 June, 2015, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8414]
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Park, M.G., E.J. Blitzer, J. Gibbs, J.E. Losey, B.N. Danforth (2015). Combined effect of pesticides and landscape simplification compromises wild pollinators. Proc. Royal Soc. Lond. (B) 282: 20150299 [published online 3 June 2015, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0299]
|
Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14
Outputs Target Audience: Local Farmers (especially apple farmers) NY State residents The scientific community Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Post-doctoral, Graduate and undergraduate training: Our project involved significant post-doctoral and student training. Mary Centrella, a graduate student in the department of Entomology, took a lead role in the field trap-nesting studies and in the analysis of the historical (museum) data. Mary worked closely with a temporary technician (Cecily Kowitz) to conduct the field experiments. Postdocs Laura Russo, Shannon Hedtke, and Achik Dorchin contributed to the project during the field season. Undergraduate students (including Julia Brokaw, Nolan Amon, and Graham Montgomery) helped with both field and laboratory studies. These students gained considerable expertise in bee biology, taxonomy, computational biology, and pollination biology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Extension: We interacted significantly with growers over the course of the last year. Extension talks included: Fruit EXPO, Syracuse, NY, Jan. 22, 2014, "Honeybees, CCD, and the importance of wild pollinators for orchard pollination" NY State IPM advisory council meeting, Syracuse, NY, Feb. 25, 2014, "Honeybees, CCD, and the importance of wild pollinators for orchard pollination" Honeybees, CCD, and the importance of wild bees for orchard pollination. Outreach talk at the Ecovillage at Ithaca (February 2014) 2013 - "Distributions of Osmia cornifrons and Osmia lignaria", 2014 Orchard Bee Association Conference, Kayesville, UT (Sept): 45 minute oral presentation 2013 - "Mason Bees as Ideal Pollinators", 2014 Orchard Bee Association Public Exposition, Kayesville, UT (Sept): 15 minute oral presentation What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? 1. replicate our Osmia trap nesting experiments across 20 orchards 2. analyze grower spray records in order to identify which of the pesticides detected in pollen provision masses are actually being sprayed in the orchards 3. analyze historical data from museum collections across the US to investigate changes in the relative abundance of O. cornifrons and O. lignaria 4. write up research reports and extension publications
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
a) Major activities completed: 1. Pesticide detection - We placed mason bee "trap nests" in 12 apple orchards in Spring 2014. Mason bee populations were seeded with overwintering bees from populations in Ithaca, NY in late April. Mason bees were allowed to establish nests and initiate foraging. Recently completed nests were collected, brought back to the lab, and the pollen/nectar provision masses were removed and analyzed for pesticides. We detected a total of 24 agricultural pesticides, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, antimicrobial compounds, organophosphates, and neonicotinoid insecticides. We combined our data on pesticide levels with toxicity data from honey bees to calculate the "hazard quotient" (HQ), a measure of overall toxicity of each pesticide to bees. Some pesticides were detected at very high levels relative to the LD50 for honey bees, including Clothianidin Phosmet, Imidacloprid, Indoxacarb, and Spinosad. 2. Pathogen screening - We screened overwintering adult Osmia cornifrons for pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi that have been reported previously in honey bees. We used PCR to amplify pathogens from bees and Sanger sequencing to identify the species of pathogens detected. Sequences were compared to existing databases to determine whether the infecting strain shared identity with known honey bee strains or is novel to mason bees. Ascosphaera spp., a fungal pathogen found in social and solitary bees and the causative agent of chalkbrood, was detected in nearly 40% of the bees we screened. Likewise, fungi in the genus Aspergillus (21%), the causative agent of stonebrood in honeybees, and bacteria in the genus Paenibacillus (7.6%) were also relatively common across sites. Based on phylogenetic analysis of sequenced pathogens, we determined that O. cornifrons are infected with a diverse assemblage of Ascosphaera species, one of which appears to have been introduced from Japan through transcontinental movement of bees for agricultural pollination. 3. Bee databasing - There are two species of Osmia that are most significantly utilized in agricultural settings in the US: O. lignaria, an endemic species, and O. cornifrons, intentionally introduced in 1969. Because these species nest in similar structures and have similar foraging ranges, we are interested in whether the introduced species has displaced the native species at a landscape scale. We have been working on mapping Osmia distributions for the past year for both Osmia cornifrons and Osmia lignaria. We have analyzed data from 3243 specimens of bees gathered from 19 insect collections spanning a timeframe from 1850 to 2014. We have graphed abundance trends and mapped distributions for both species. We plan to add at least 9 more collections to this dataset and will analyze data by breaking it into grids per decade to quantify both spatial and temporal changes. Once we have this baseline data, we will be able to compare it to the land-use, temperature, moisture, and crop type changes, using similar grids modified from GIS layer data. To account for sampling error inherent in museum data, we will: a) assess the relative abundance of each species by comparing the two species, with the null hypothesis being that they will have equal spatial and temporal distributions and b) eliminate biases by removing either collectors and/or collections from the data set to see if the results are altered. b) Significant results achieved (major findings, developments, conclusions): 1. Pesticide detection - We detected a surprising diversity of pesticides, many of which are not sprayed on a regular basis on apple orchards. Nearly one half of the pesticides we detected were not sprayed in apple orchards in which we established our nesting sites. These pesticides were colleted by the bees either from neighboring agricultural areas, or they are systemically expressed in plant tissues, such as pollen and nectar. We are following up on this idea and analyzing spray records from our collaborating apple growers to see if the neonicotinoid pesticides, which are known to be expressed systematically and to persist for long periods of time (i.e., years) in the environment. 2. Pathogen screening - We detected a diverse assemblage of Ascosophaera species in Osmia corninfrons. Some species have been reported in closely related Osmia in North America. However one species, Ascosphaera naganensis, is originally from Japan and has most-likely been introduced into North America with movement of Osmia species from Japan to the US in the early 1970s. The existence of this pathogen in North American Osmia populations raises the intriguing possibility that these pathogens are responsible for recent a precipitous declines in Osmia lignaria (the blue orchard mason bee) in the eastern US. We can follow-up on this with future pathogen surveys of O. cornifrons. 3. Bee databasing - Using museum data we have documented the abundance of O. lignaria over the past 140 years in North America and the abundance of O. cornifrons over the past 30 years (since its introduction into the US). Our data reveal that the range expansion of O. cornifrons was delayed relative to its arrival in the US, which most of the range expansion occurring in the 1990s. Furthermore, our historical data suggests that O. lignaria has not shown a significant decline over time. There is no evidence in our historical data that the arrival of O. cornifrons impacted the abundance of O. lignaria. These results provide the first clear test of whether O. lignaria is in decline in North America.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Bartomeus, I., M.G. Park, J. Gibbs, B.N. Danforth, A.N. Lakso, & R. Winfree (2013). Biodiversity as insurance against plant-pollinator phenological asynchrony. Ecology Letters 16:1331-1338 [published online 23 August, 2013, doi: 10.1111/ele.12170]
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Kennedy, C.M., E. Lonsdorf, M.C. Neel, et al. (2013). A global quantitative synthesis of local and landscape effects on native bee pollinators in agroecosystems. Ecology Letters 16(5): 584-599.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Bartomeus, I., J.S. Ascher, J. Gibbs, B.N. Danforth, D.L. Wagner, S.M. Hedtke, and R. Winfree (2013). Historical changes in northeastern United States bee pollinators related to shared ecological traits. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 110(12): 4656-4660.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Park, M.G., R. Raguso, J.E. Losey, & B.N. Danforth. Effectiveness and importance of wild bees for apple pollination. ESA meeting, Austin, TX (November 10-14, 2013)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Park, M.G., E.J. Blitzer, J. Gibbs, J. Losey, and B.N. Danforth. Natural areas buffer the impact of pesticides on wild pollinators of a perennial crop, International Student Conference on Conservation Science, New York, NY (October 9-11, 2013).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Park, M.G., R.A. Raguso, E.J. Blitzer, J. Gibbs, J. Losey, & B.N. Danforth (2014). Filling the pollination gap: Assessing the potential for wild bees to maintain adequate apple pollination as honey bee colonies decline. Ecological Society of America meeting, Sacramento CA (Aug. 10-15, 2014)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Russo, L., M.G., Park, B.N. Danforth (2014). Host specialization in a wild bee community: Variation in the composition of pollen collected by apple pollinators. Ecological Society of America meeting, Sacramento CA (Aug. 10-15, 2014)
|
Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13
Outputs Target Audience: Local Farmers (especially apple farmers) NY State residents The scientific community Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Mia Park a graduate student in the department of Entomology, participated in the study by developing sampling protocols, contacting and communicating with growers, developing grower survey questions, collecting bees, databasing bees, performing bee identifications, and analyzing the relationships between bee species richness/abundance and (1) pesticide use and (2) landscape composition. Post-docs EJ Blitzer and Shannon Hedtke contributed to data collection and analysis. Undergraduate students (including Julia Brokaw and Graham Montgomery) helped with bee survey work, bee databasing, bee identifications, and data analysis. These students gained considerable expertise in bee biology, taxonomy, computational biology, and pollination biology. Four temporary technicians (Edward Hurme, Justin Cappadonna, Sally Hartwick, and Susan Villarreal) were hired to assist with bee surveys and field pollination experiments during the period April-June 2013. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We interacted significantly with growers over the course of the last year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We plan to: 1. replicate our Osmia trap nesting experiments across 20 orchards 2. analyze grower spray records in order to identify which of the pesticides detected in pollen provision masses are actually being sprayed in the orchards 3. analyze historical data from museum collections across the US to investigate changes in the relative abundance of O. cornifrons and O. lignaria 4. write up research reports and extension publications
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
a) Major activities completed: 1. Pesticide detection – We placed mason bee “trap nests” in 12 apple orchards in Spring 2012 and 2013. Mason bee populations were seeded with overwintering bees from populations in Ithaca, NY in late April. Mason bees were allowed to establish nests and initiate foraging. Recently completed nests were collected, brought back to the lab, and the pollen/nectar provision masses were removed and analyzed for pesticides. We detected a total of 24 agricultural pesticides, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, antimicrobial compounds, organophosphates, and neonicotinoid insecticides. We combined our data on pesticide levels with toxicity data from honey bees to calculate the “hazard quotient” (HQ), a measure of overall toxicity of each pesticide to bees. Some pesticides were detected at very high levels relative to the LD50 for honey bees, including Clothianidin Phosmet, Imidacloprid, Indoxacarb, and Spinosad. 2. Pathogen screening – We screened overwintering adult Osmia cornifrons for pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi that have been reported previously in honey bees. We used PCR to amplify pathogens from bees and Sanger sequencing to to identify the species of pathogens detected. Sequences were compared to existing databases to determine whether the infecting strain shared identity with known honey bee strains or is novel to mason bees. Ascosphaera spp., a fungal pathogen found in social and solitary bees and the causative agent of chalkbrood, was detected in nearly 40% of the bees we screened. Likewise, fungi in the genus Aspergillus (21%), the causative agent of stonebrood in honeybees, and bacteria in the genus Paenibacillus (7.6%) were also relatively common across sites. Based on phylogenetic analysis of sequenced pathogens, we determined that O. cornifrons are infected with a diverse assemblage of Ascosphaera species, one of which appears to have been introduced from Japan through transcontinental movement of bees for agricultural pollination. b) Significant results achieved (major findings, developments, conclusions): 1. Pesticide detection – We detected a surprising diversity of pesticides, many of which are not sprayed on a regular basis on apple orchards. Nearly one half of the pesticides we detected were not sprayed in apple orchards in which we established our nesting sites. These pesticides were collected by the bees either from neighboring agricultural areas, or they are systemically expressed in plant tissues, such as pollen and nectar. We are following up on this idea and analyzing spray records from our collaborating apple growers to see if the neonicotinoid pesticides, which are known to be expressed systematically and to persist for long periods of time (i.e., years) in the environment. 2. Pathogen screening – We detected a diverse assemblage of Ascosophaera species in Osmia corninfrons. Some species have been reported in closely related Osmia in North America. However one species, Ascosphaera naganensis, is originally from Japan and has most-likely been introduced into North America with movement of Osmia species from Japan to the US in the early 1970s. The existence of this pathogen in North American Osmia populations raises the intriguing possibility that these pathogens are responsible for recent a precipitous declines in Osmia lignaria (the blue orchard mason bee) in the eastern US. We can follow-up on this with future pathogen surveys of O. cornifrons.
Publications
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