Pesticide problems for honey bees: a closer look in our towns

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are critically important to global food production by virtue of their pollination services. Worryingly, there is a well-recognised honey bee health crisis threatening bee populations and, thereby, global food security. One of the causes implicated in honey bee deaths is pesticide (fungicide, herbicide, insecticide) pollution that has led to calls for reduced pesticide use. These calls have recently resulted in the prohibited use of the neonicotinoid pesticide in agricultural production. But, what of the pesticide use in urban environments (residential gardens, parks, roadsides, etc) where most beekepers have their hives? Is there a significant problem of pesticide sub-lethal poisoning of honey bees in urban areas relative to agricultural areas?
Pollen will be collected from bees and hives in urban areas, agricultural land and non-agricultural countryside by the student and by beekeepers nationwide both spatially and temporally. The identity and quantity of the pesticide content of the pollen will be determined by mass spectrometry. The source of the pollen plant will be determined by next-generation sequencing and microscopic analysis. In addition, a reactive sampling approach focussed on the urban areas will determine any pesticide contamination and pollen identity in hives with apparent chronic and acute pesticide poisoning. Bees from such hives will be examined for gene biomarkers indicative of the pesticide exposure. Overall, the aim of the project is to assess the exposure of honey bees, and de facto other insect pollinators, to pesticides in urban environments relative to agricultural environments to allow any future policy change to be evidence-based.
The project will provide training in cutting edge chemical and genomic finger-printing sequencing and modern molecular biology. The student will be based within the University of Aberdeen with opportunities to work at the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (SASA), Edinburgh.