Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:A total of four undergraduate students received research credits through the University of Texas (UT) for their assistance with the project, and another five UT students were mentored through the project. One of these students was Senior Honors Thesis student who did her project on queen bumble bee nutrition.Additionally, a high school student from an underrepresented community was mentored through the Crockett High School-UT Mentorship Program.The students were trained in basic research methods, experimental design, and science writing, among other skills, and in return made valuable contributions to the project. The PI has been in communication with Koppert Biological Systems and Biobest Industries, two leading producers of bumble bees for the commercial pollination industry, to establish ways to inform rearing practices based on results from the study. Results from the project have been communicated at three conferences(the two most recent annual meetings of the Entomological Society of America and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign). Additionally, a review article was published from this project in the journal Molecular Ecology and several more publications are in preparation. Changes/Problems:In summer 2014 a large field experiment was supposed to take place to study bumble bee nutrition, reproduction, and colony development. However, after receiving colonies from a supplier and testing them for colony health, they were found to contain several pathogens that are detrimental to wild bumble bees, which led to the decision to not place them in the field. As an alternative research plan, the PI worked in collaboration with researchers from the Pollinator Partnership to collect wild bees in Arizona, which are being used for a study of the relationships between food availability and reproductive capabilities (i.e., ovary development) in wild, native bees. To promote a long-term solution to the broader issue of pathogen spread in bumble bees, the PI joined the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign's Bombus Task Force, whose main goal is to regulate inter-state shipments of bumble bee colonies in order to reduce the spread of harmful pathogens. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A total of four undergraduate students received research credits through the University of Texas (UT) for their assistance with the project, and another five UT students were mentored through the project. The students were trained in basic research methods, experimental design, and science writing, among other skills, and in return made valuable contributions to the project. One UT student mentored on the projectwas a Senior Honors Thesis student who did her thesis project on queen bumble bee nutrition. This student has just started a position as a research technician at Baylor College and is applying to medical school, and the PI has written letters of support for both of these positions. A high school student from an underrepresented community was mentored through the Crockett High School-UT Mentorship Program on the project. This student presented her research on bumble bee nutrition to her peers and the Mentorship participants. One of the undergraduate students who was employed on the project has graduated and will begin graduate school in fall 2016. The PI wrote a letter of recommendation for his graduate school application and for his NSF Graduate Research Fellowship application. In regard to the PI's development, she accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Entomology Department at the University of California, Riverside in 2015, with the NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship playing a pivotal role in the competitiveness ofher application. The NIFA Project Director's meeting provided additional training for the PI and the opportunity to visit the NIFA headquarters and meet key personnel in the Institute. The PI attended three professional meetings and gave talks at each, and organized symposia at two of these meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The PIgave three invited talks at professional meetings. The PI gave an outreach talk on bumble bees to the Hays County, Texas Master Gardeners. A review article, entitled "Molecular tools and bumble bees:revealing hidden details of ecology and evolution in a model system" was co-authored by the PI, her advisor, and other major figures in bumble bee biology. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For Goal 1 (determining how floral resources surrounding bumble bee nests influence colony development and foraging): a polyfloral diet experiment was performed to explore how the qualitative aspects of pollen diet influence colony development. At present, the feeding experiment has been performed and samples have been collected and stored at -80 for further analyses. For Goal 2 (determining how nutritional status influences feeding behavior in bumble bee queens): a queen feeding experiment was performed, which manipulated queen diet quality (pollen, nectar) and measured the effects of the treatment on queen survival and reproduction. This experiment is completed and the corresponding manuscript is in preparation. For Goal 3(determining how nutritional status influences both the dispersal and mating ability of reproductive bumble bees): a mating experiment was performed, which manipulated queen diet and examined how nutritional treatments influence mating behavior, including age at mating and mating frequency. This experiment is completed and the corresponding manuscript is in preparation.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Woodard, S. H., Lozier, J. D., Goulson, D., Williams, P. H., Strange, J. P., & Jha, S. (2015). Molecular tools and bumble bees: revealing hidden details of ecology and evolution in a model system. Molecular Ecology 24: 29162936.
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Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Thus far, four undergraduate students have received research credits through the University of Texas for their assistance with the project. The students were trained in basic research methods, experimental design, and science writing, among other skills, and in return made valuable contributions to the project. Two of these students are co-authors on upcoming manuscripts (in preparation). The PI has been in communication with Koppert Biological Systems, a leading producer of bumble bees for the commercial pollination industry, to establish ways to inform rearing practices based on results from the study. Results from the project have been communicated at two conferences, the most recent annual meetings of the Entomological Society of America and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign. Changes/Problems: In summer 2014 a large field experiment was supposed to take place to study bumble bee nutrition, reproduction and colony development. However, after receiving colonies from a supplier and testing them for colony health, they were found to contain several pathogens that are detrimental to wild bumble bees, which led to the decision to not place them in the field. As an alternative research plan, the PI worked in collaboration with researchers from the Pollinator Partnership to collect wild bees in Arizona, which are being used for a study of the relationships between food availability and reproductive capabilities (i.e., ovary development) in wild, native bees. To promote a long-term solution to the broader issue of pathogen spread in bumble bees, the PI joined the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign's Bombus Task Force, whose main goal is to regulate inter-state shipments of bumble bee colonies in order to reduce the spread of harmful pathogens. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Four undergraduate students have received research mentorship from the project PI and also earned undergraduate research credits for their participation in the project. The students received training in organismal and molecular research, basic laboratory safety and methods, and science writing, among other skills. One student designed an independent project from the research and used this as the basis for her Senior Honors Thesis at the University of Texas. Two students are co-authors on upcoming manuscripts from the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? At present, results from the project have been presented at two academic conferences. Several manuscripts are in preparation. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? A large experiment is in preparation for the winter, which will study queen and male bumble bee activity under different nutritional regimes (as a proxy for dispersal behavior). Additionally, in the spring and summer, an experiment will be performed that will involve placing colonies in the field to study how food availability and resource use influence colony development through the season.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For goal 1 (determining how floral resources surrounding bumble bee nests influence colony development and foraging): a polyfloral diet was performed to explore how the qualitative aspects of pollen diet influence colony development. At present, the feeding experiment has been performed and samples have been collected and stored at -80 for further analyses. For goal 2 (determining how nutritional status influence feeding behavior in bumble bee queens): a queen feeding experiment was performed, which manipulated queen diet (pollen, nectar) and measured the effects of the treatment on queen survival and reproduction. This experiment is completed and the corresponding manuscript is in preparation. For goal 3 (determining how nutritional status influences both the dispersal and mating ability of reproductive bumble bees): a mating experiment was performed, which manipulated queen diet and examined how nutritional treatments influence mating behavior, including age at mating and mating frequency. This experiment is completed and the corresponding manuscript is in preparation.
Publications
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