Performing Department
Entomology
Non Technical Summary
Pollinators are critical for both agriculture and natural ecosystems, but there have been dramatic declines in pollinator populations world-wide. Pollinator decline not only has alarmed the scientific community, but has gained prominence in the popular press, raising the public's awareness about threats to our ecosystem. The causes for pollinator decline are complex, and it is thought that a combination of many stressors is responsible, including pests, pathogens, environmental contaminants, habitat destruction and climate change. Furthermore, many of these stressors cause sublethal effects, and thus elucidating the impacts of these stressors requires a detailed understanding of the behavior, cognitive processes, and natural history of these diverse species. Addressing these issues will require multidisciplinary research approaches (including the use of newly developed genomic tools and resources), the development of novel management and conservation practices, a strong commitment to disseminate the results of these studies to the public, stakeholder groups, the scientific community, and policy makers, and above all, cooperative efforts that span the globe. The 17th Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI), which will be held in Cairns, Australia from July 13-18, 2014, provides an outstanding opportunity for the global community of pollinator researchers to share and synthesize information and develop new collaborations. With the myriad research topics being covered that relate directly to pollinator biology, the 2014 Congress will provide a broad perspective on the effects of different biotic and abiotic stressors on pollinators at multiple levels - from the genome to the ecosystem - and will foster the integrative, multidisciplinary approach needed to effectively address pollinator declines across the international scientific community. Providing support for young U.S. scientists (undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) to attend the conference to share their results, learn from leaders in the field, and develop collaborations with their international colleagues will greatly enhance and expand the ongoing research projects examining pollinator health and decline in the U.S. and globally. Support from the USDA, coupled with matching funds from IUSSI, will allow 10 outstanding applicants to be selected based on their diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and model systems and their potential to make a significant and lasting impact on global pollinator conservation.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Pollinators are critical for both agriculture and natural ecosystems, but there have been dramatic declines in pollinator populations world-wide. The causes for pollinator decline are complex, and it is thought that a combination of many stressors is responsible, including pests, pathogens, environmental contaminants, habitat destruction and climate change. Addressing these issues will require multidisciplinary research approaches (including the use of newly developed genomic tools and resources), the development of novel management and conservation practices, a strong commitment to disseminate the results of these studies to the public, stakeholder groups, the scientific community, and policy makers, and above all, cooperative efforts that span the globe. The 17th Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI), which will be held in Cairns, Australia from July 13-18, 2014, provides an outstanding opportunity for the global community of pollinator researchers to share and synthesize information and develop new collaborations. With the myriad research topics being covered that relate directly to pollinator biology, the 2014 Congress will provide a broad perspective on the effects of different biotic and abiotic stressors on pollinators at multiple levels - from the genome to the ecosystem - and will foster the integrative, multidisciplinary approach needed to effectively address pollinator declines across the international scientific community. This funding will provide support for young U.S. scientists (undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows) to attend the conference to share their results, learn from leaders in the field, and develop collaborations with their international colleagues will greatly enhance and expand the ongoing research projects examining pollinator health and decline in the U.S. and globally.
Project Methods
Information about the 2014 Congress of the IUSSI has been distributed through multiple listservs, including the listserv of the Society itself, listservs of the Sections of the IUSSI on each continent, and through listservs of scientific communities engaged in scientific research in behavior, ecology, evolution, and entomology (which includes much of the pollinator community). Applications from U.S.-based students and postdoctoral researchers, including those who are not members of the IUSSI, will be solicited by the Awards Committee of the NAS-IUSSI through the NAS-IUSSI listserv (~500 people), which reaches major universities throughout the US.Applicants will be asked to submit their CVs, abstracts of their presentations, describe additional sources of funding, and provide a 1 page explanation of the importance of attending the conference to their professional goals, including any plans to meet collaborators and/or conduct research in Australia or southeast Asia in conjunction with the conference. Application packets will be submitted to the PI (Grozinger) who will distribute the packets to the members of the awards committee of the NAS-IUSSI (see above for list of committee members). Committee members will individually rank the proposals and then determine an overall ranking score during a conference call. All awards will be given to current U.S. students or postdoctoral applicants who received their Ph.D. within the last 12 months. Applicants must be currently studying the biology or health of a critical pollinator species. Priority will be given to applicants making oral presentations, who can best use the conference most effectively for professional advancement and engagement. Applicants will be selected to ensure a diversity of gender, ethnicities, study systems and questions, and geographic locations, and will span primarily teaching colleges and research universities.Ten recipients will be chosen to receive a travel grant totaling U.S. $2000. Of these funds, $1000 will be provided by the current proposal, while the other $1000 will be provided by matching funds given from the IUSSI to the North American Section of the IUSSI to support travel by junior investigators to the Congress. This amount will help ensure that each travel award covers a significant portion of each recipient's travel. Funds will be distributed by electronic transfer to each recipient's bank account. Attendance of the recipients will be mandatory and verified at the meeting. Upon completion of the conference, applicants will be required to write a one page report of their experiences at the conference and the professional outcomes of attending the conference, which will be posted on the NAS-IUSSI website (http://iussi.bees.net/).