scholarly journals Impact of Biotic and Abiotic Stressors on Managed and Feral Bees

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belsky ◽  
Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Current Control ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bee Colonies

Large-scale declines in bee abundance and species richness over the last decade have sounded an alarm, given the crucial pollination services that bees provide. Population dips have specifically been noted for both managed and feral bee species. The simultaneous increased cultivation of bee-dependent agricultural crops has given rise to additional concern. As a result, there has been a surge in scientific research investigating the potential stressors impacting bees. A group of environmental and anthropogenic stressors negatively impacting bees has been isolated. Habitat destruction has diminished the availability of bee floral resources and nest habitats, while massive monoculture plantings have limited bee access to a variety of pollens and nectars. The rapid spread and increased resistance buildup of various bee parasites, pathogens, and pests to current control methods are implicated in deteriorating bee health. Similarly, many pesticides that are widely applied on agricultural crops and within beehives are toxic to bees. The global distribution of honey bee colonies (including queens with attendant bees) and bumble bee colonies from crop to crop for pollination events has been linked with increased pathogen stress and increased competition with native bee species for limited resources. Climatic alterations have disrupted synchronous bee emergence with flower blooming and reduced the availability of diverse floral resources, leading to bee physiological adaptations. Interactions amongst multiple stressors have created colossal maladies hitting bees at one time, and in some cases delivering additive impacts. Initiatives including the development of wild flower plantings and assessment of pesticide toxicity to bees have been undertaken in efforts to ameliorate current bee declines. In this review, recent findings regarding the impact of these stressors on bees and strategies for mitigating them are discussed.

scholarly journals Impact of Chronic Exposure to Sublethal Doses of Glyphosate on Honey Bee Immunity, Gut Microbiota and Infection by Pathogens

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 845
Author(s):  
Loreley Castelli ◽  
Sofía Balbuena ◽  
Belén Branchiccela ◽  
Pablo Zunino ◽  
Joanito Liberti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Chronic Exposure ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Deformed Wing Virus ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Sublethal Doses ◽  
The Impact

Glyphosate is the most used pesticide around the world. Although different studies have evidenced its negative effect on honey bees, including detrimental impacts on behavior, cognitive, sensory and developmental abilities, its use continues to grow. Recent studies have shown that it also alters the composition of the honey bee gut microbiota. In this study we explored the impact of chronic exposure to sublethal doses of glyphosate on the honey bee gut microbiota and its effects on the immune response, infection by Nosema ceranae and Deformed wing virus (DWV) and honey bee survival. Glyphosate combined with N. ceranae infection altered the structure and composition of the honey bee gut microbiota, for example by decreasing the relative abundance of the core members Snodgrassella alvi and Lactobacillus apis. Glyphosate increased the expression of some immune genes, possibly representing a physiological response to mitigate its negative effects. However, this response was not sufficient to maintain honey bee health, as glyphosate promoted the replication of DWV and decreased the expression of vitellogenin, which were accompanied by a reduced life span. Infection by N. ceranae also alters honey bee immunity although no synergistic effect with glyphosate was observed. These results corroborate previous findings suggesting deleterious effects of widespread use of glyphosate on honey bee health, and they contribute to elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying a global decline of pollination services.

scholarly journals Water Resource Management: Moving from Single Risk-Based Management to Resilience to Multiple Stressors

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8609
Author(s):  
Sarah Bunney ◽  
Elizabeth Lawson ◽  
Sarah Cotterill ◽  
David Butler
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Average Rainfall ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Water resource management in the UK is multifaceted, with a complexity of issues arising from acute and chronic stressors. Below average rainfall in spring 2020 coincided with large-scale changes to domestic water consumption patterns, arising from the first UK-wide COVID-19 lockdown, resulting in increased pressure on nationwide resources. A sector wide survey, semi-structured interviews with sector executives, meteorological data, water resource management plans and market information were used to evaluate the impact of acute and chronic threats on water demand in the UK, and how resilience to both can be increased. The COVID-19 pandemic was a particularly acute threat: water demand increased across the country, it was unpredictable and hard to forecast, and compounding this, below average rainfall resulted in some areas having to tanker in water to ‘top up’ the network. This occurred in regions of the UK that are ‘water stressed’ as well as those that are not. We therefore propose a need to look beyond ‘design droughts’ and ‘dry weather average demand’ to characterise the management and resilience of future water resources. As a sector, we can learn from this acute threat and administer a more integrated approach, combining action on the social value of water, the implementation of water trading and the development of nationwide multi-sectoral resilience plans to better respond to short and long-term disruptors.

scholarly journals North American Prairie Is a Source of Pollen for Managed Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ge Zhang ◽  
Ashley L St. Clair ◽  
Adam G Dolezal ◽  
Amy L Toth ◽  
Matthew E O’Neal
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Bee Colonies ◽  
Prairie Plants

Abstract Prairie was a dominant habitat within large portions of North America before European settlement. Conversion of prairies to farmland resulted in the loss of a large proportion of native floral resources, contributing to the decline of native pollinator populations. Efforts to reconstruct prairie could provide honey bees (Apis mellifera) a source of much-needed forage, especially in regions dominated by crop production. To what extent honey bees, which were introduced to North America by European settlers, use plants native to prairies is unclear. We placed colonies with pollen traps within reconstructed prairies in central Iowa to determine which and how much pollen is collected from prairie plants. Honey bee colonies collected more pollen from nonnative than native plants during June and July. During August and September, honey bee colonies collected more pollen from plants native to prairies. Our results suggest that honey bees’ use of native prairie plants may depend upon the seasonality of both native and nonnative plants present in the landscape. This finding may be useful for addressing the nutritional health of honey bees, as colonies in this region frequently suffer from a dearth of forage contributing to colony declines during August and September when crops and weedy plants cease blooming. These results suggest that prairie can be a significant source of forage for honey bees in the later part of the growing season in the Midwestern United States; we discuss this insight in the context of honey bee health and biodiversity conservation.

scholarly journals Prolonged blooming season of flower plantings increases wild bee abundance and richness in agricultural landscapes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Neumüller ◽  
Hannah Burger ◽  
Hans Richard Schwenninger ◽  
Sebastian Hopfenmüller ◽  
Sabrina Krausch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Large Spatial Scale ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Conservation ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Study Sites

AbstractFlower plantings can increase the abundance of bees and improve pollination services in the surrounding landscape. However, uncertainty remains as to whether flower plantings play a role in wild bee conservation. The aim of this study has been to examine the contribution of the composition and management of flower plantings to the attraction of bees, particularly of endangered species. In a large-scale monitoring project, wild bee data were collected on 60 flower plantings and 120 semi-natural reference plots in 20 study sites over 2 years. In total, we recorded 60,335 bees belonging to 351 species. In flower plantings, bee species richness and abundance were intricately linked to high plant richness and constant blooming throughout the season. In the first year of this study, a complimentary blooming phenology of annual and perennial plants resulted in a more constant bloom on flower plantings. In the second year, partial mowing of flower plantings mid-season enhanced floral resources during the late season. As a result, bee richness and abundance in flower plantings increased from the first to the second year. Nevertheless, the compositional heterogeneity of bees over all 20 sites in Germany did not increase from the first to the second year. We conclude that diverse and constant blooming throughout the season is the most important factor for promoting bees in flower plantings. To ensure sufficient beta diversity over a large spatial scale, we recommend the adjustment of seed mixtures according to the geographical region.

Effects of Planted Pollinator Habitat On Bee Health And Interspecific Pathogen Detection

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah K. Levenson ◽  
David R. Tarpy
Keyword(s):  
Pathogen Detection ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Large Congregations ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Shared resources can instigate pathogen spread due to large congregations of individuals in both natural and human modified resources. Of concern is the addition of pollinator habitat in conservation efforts as it attracts bees of various species, potentially instigating interspecific sharing of pathogens. Common pathogens have been documented across a wide variety of pollinators with shared floral resources instigating their spread in some, but not all, cases. To evaluate the impact of augmented pollinator habitat on bee health, we screened samples from eight bee species across three families against a panel of 9 pathogens using RT-qPCR. While we found that some habitat characteristics influenced pathogen detection, we found no evidence that pathogen detection in one bee species was correlated with pathogen detection in another. These findings suggest factors other than the habitat itself may be more critical in the dissemination of diseases among bee species. However, we found high levels of gut parasites in some bee species which may be of concern, such as Bombus pensylvanicus. Future monitoring of bee health at augmented pollinator habitat is needed to ensure pathogens do not build up over time to then spread within their communities.

scholarly journals The influence of temperature and photoperiod on the timing of brood onset in hibernating honey bee colonies

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Nürnberger ◽  
Stephan Härtel ◽  
Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Internal Clock ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bee Colonies

In order to save resources, honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the temperate zones stop brood rearing during winter. Brood rearing is resumed in late winter to build up a sufficient worker force that allows to exploit floral resources in upcoming spring. The timing of brood onset in hibernating colonies is crucial and a premature brood onset could lead to an early depletion of energy reservoirs. However, the mechanisms underlying the timing of brood onset and potential risks of mistiming in the course of ongoing climate change are not well understood. To assess the relative importance of ambient temperature and photoperiod as potential regulating factors for brood rearing activity in hibernating colonies, we overwintered 24 honey bee colonies within environmental chambers. The colonies were assigned to two different temperature treatments and three different photoperiod treatments to disentangle the individual and interacting effects of temperature and photoperiod. Tracking in-hive temperature as indicator for brood rearing activity revealed that increasing ambient temperature triggered brood onset. Under cold conditions, photoperiod alone did not affect brood onset, but the light regime altered the impact of higher ambient temperature on brood rearing activity. Further the number of brood rearing colonies increased with elapsed time which suggests the involvement of an internal clock. We conclude that timing of brood onset in late winter is mainly driven by temperature but modulated by photoperiod. Climate warming might change the interplay of these factors and result in mismatches of brood phenology and environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Mist-Netting of Migrating Bee-Eaters Positively Influences Honey Bee Colony Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Łangowska ◽  
Reuven Yosef ◽  
Piotr Skórka ◽  
Piotr Tryjanowski
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Colony Performance ◽  
Migratory Routes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bee Colonies

Abstract Bee-eaters (Meropidae) are considered agricultural pests and their presence provokes conflicts with beekeepers and farmers who rely on the pollination services of honey bees. This problem is often deal with through the mass killing of the birds, even though the quantitative evidence on the impact of bee-eaters on honey bee colonies is scarce. The current paper reports the performance of honey bee colonies protected with mist nets from migrating flocks of European bee-eaters Merops apiaster in Israel. In the study the weight gains of bee hives surrounded by mist nets were 6.44 times higher than that of unprotected hives (26.4 kg vs. 4.1 kg). The results confirmed that bee-eaters locally pose a problem to apiaries and potentially to the crops that require pollination. Mist- netting appeared to be an effective mitigation method for alleviating conflicts between beekeepers and bee-eaters. However, the study also showed that bees were able to differentiate between their main predator and other avian species trapped in mist nets and stung only bee-eaters. Moreover, the bees were targeting the most vulnerable body parts of birds which resulted in some bird fatalities. Therefore, due to accidental mortal- ity of birds, mist-netting is recommended only on the migratory routes in cases when bee hives cannot be moved to other areas.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nuclear Medicine in Germany, Austria and Switzerland: An International Survey in April 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (04) ◽  
pp. 294-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz S. Freudenberg ◽  
Ulf Dittmer ◽  
Ken Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Medicine ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diagnostic Procedures ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Public Versus Private ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction Preparations of health systems to accommodate large number of severely ill COVID-19 patients in March/April 2020 has a significant impact on nuclear medicine departments. Materials and Methods A web-based questionnaire was designed to differentiate the impact of the pandemic on inpatient and outpatient nuclear medicine operations and on public versus private health systems, respectively. Questions were addressing the following issues: impact on nuclear medicine diagnostics and therapy, use of recommendations, personal protective equipment, and organizational adaptations. The survey was available for 6 days and closed on April 20, 2020. Results 113 complete responses were recorded. Nearly all participants (97 %) report a decline of nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures. The mean reduction in the last three weeks for PET/CT, scintigraphies of bone, myocardium, lung thyroid, sentinel lymph-node are –14.4 %, –47.2 %, –47.5 %, –40.7 %, –58.4 %, and –25.2 % respectively. Furthermore, 76 % of the participants report a reduction in therapies especially for benign thyroid disease (-41.8 %) and radiosynoviorthesis (–53.8 %) while tumor therapies remained mainly stable. 48 % of the participants report a shortage of personal protective equipment. Conclusions Nuclear medicine services are notably reduced 3 weeks after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reached Germany, Austria and Switzerland on a large scale. We must be aware that the current crisis will also have a significant economic impact on the healthcare system. As the survey cannot adapt to daily dynamic changes in priorities, it serves as a first snapshot requiring follow-up studies and comparisons with other countries and regions.

HOME VISITS DURING THE FIRST MONTH OF DELIVERY FOR RECENTLY DELIVERED WOMEN IN UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1183-1189
Author(s):  
Dr. Tridibesh Tripathy ◽  
Dr. Umakant Prusty ◽  
Dr. Chintamani Nayak ◽  
Dr. Rakesh Dwivedi ◽  
Dr. Mohini Gautam
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
National Level ◽  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
The Other ◽  
Registration System ◽  
Action Group ◽  
Current Article ◽  
The Impact

The current article of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is about the ASHAs who are the daughters-in-law of a family that resides in the same community that they serve as the grassroots health worker since 2005 when the NRHM was introduced in the Empowered Action Group (EAG) states. UP is one such Empowered Action Group (EAG) state. The current study explores the actual responses of Recently Delivered Women (RDW) on their visits during the first month of their recent delivery. From the catchment area of each of the 250 ASHAs, two RDWs were selected who had a child in the age group of 3 to 6 months during the survey. The response profiles of the RDWs on the post- delivery first month visits are dwelled upon to evolve a picture representing the entire state of UP. The relevance of the study assumes significance as detailed data on the modalities of postnatal visits are available but not exclusively for the first month period of their recent delivery. The details of the post-delivery first month period related visits are not available even in large scale surveys like National Family Health Survey 4 done in 2015-16. The current study gives an insight in to these visits with a five-point approach i.e. type of personnel doing the visit, frequency of the visits, visits done in a particular week from among those four weeks separately for the three visits separately. The current study is basically regarding the summary of this Penta approach for the post- delivery one-month period.     The first month period after each delivery deals with 70% of the time of the postnatal period & the entire neonatal period. Therefore, it does impact the Maternal Mortality Rate & Ratio (MMR) & the Neonatal Mortality Rates (NMR) in India and especially in UP through the unsafe Maternal & Neonatal practices in the first month period after delivery. The current MM Rate of UP is 20.1 & MM Ratio is 216 whereas the MM ratio is 122 in India (SRS, 2019). The Sample Registration System (SRS) report also mentions that the Life Time Risk (LTR) of a woman in pregnancy is 0.7% which is the highest in the nation (SRS, 2019). This means it is very risky to give birth in UP in comparison to other regions in the country (SRS, 2019). This risk is at the peak in the first month period after each delivery. Similarly, the current NMR in India is 23 per 1000 livebirths (UNIGME,2018). As NMR data is not available separately for states, the national level data also hold good for the states and that’s how for the state of UP as well. These mortalities are the impact indicators and such indicators can be reduced through long drawn processes that includes effective and timely visits to RDWs especially in the first month period after delivery. This would help in making their post-natal & neonatal stage safe. This is the area of post-delivery first month visit profile detailing that the current article helps in popping out in relation to the recent delivery of the respondents.   A total of four districts of Uttar Pradesh were selected purposively for the study and the data collection was conducted in the villages of the respective districts with the help of a pre-tested structured interview schedule with both close-ended and open-ended questions.  The current article deals with five close ended questions with options, two for the type of personnel & frequency while the other three are for each of the three visits in the first month after the recent delivery of respondents. In addition, in-depth interviews were also conducted amongst the RDWs and a total 500 respondents had participated in the study.   Among the districts related to this article, the results showed that ASHA was the type of personnel who did the majority of visits in all the four districts. On the other hand, 25-40% of RDWs in all the 4 districts replied that they did not receive any visit within the first month of their recent delivery. Regarding frequency, most of the RDWs in all the 4 districts received 1-2 times visits by ASHAs.   Regarding the first visit, it was found that the ASHAs of Barabanki and Gonda visited less percentage of RDWs in the first week after delivery. Similarly, the second visit revealed that about 1.2% RDWs in Banda district could not recall about the visit. Further on the second visit, the RDWs responded that most of them in 3 districts except Gonda district did receive the second postnatal visit in 7-15 days after their recent delivery. Less than half of RDWs in Barabanki district & just more than half of RDWs in Gonda district received the third visit in 15-21 days period after delivery. For the same period, the majority of RDWs in the rest two districts responded that they had been entertained through a home visit.

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