DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Buzz about Bee Behavior, Taking an Interdisciplinary Approach to Assess Cognitive Impairments behind Pollinator Declines

论文研究：关于蜜蜂行为的热议，采用跨学科方法评估传粉媒介下降背后的认知障碍

• 批准号: 1501737
• 负责人: Robert Gegear
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1501737&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Buzz; about; Bee

Animal pollinators are declining in abundance, diversity, and geographic range at an alarming rate worldwide. Given the critical role of pollinators in natural and agricultural ecosystems, these declines represent a significant threat to global biodiversity and crop production. However, conservation and restoration efforts to address this important problem are impeded by a lack of information on mechanistic links between environmental stressors and population decline. To address this important knowledge gap, the investigators will examine sub-lethal effects of chronic exposure to different stressors on brain functions important for pollinator survival and reproduction. The investigators will develop quantitative tools to measure physiological and molecular responses to environmental stressors in pollinators, and then correlate those changes with changes in their brain functioning and behavior. In addition to elucidating causal factors in pollinator decline, the research will allow for the development of ecological tools for monitoring pollinator health in wild populations, thereby accelerating efforts to identify and protect species particularly susceptible to decline. The investigators will also engage in pollinator-focused educational outreach activities for K-12 educators, students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, and the local community.This project utilizes a highly interdisciplinary approach to characterize mechanisms linking exposure to pesticides and infectious agents to cognition-based behavioral impairments in bumblebee pollinators native to North America. Molecular and immunological approaches will be used to develop methods for the identification and quantification of compounds produced by the humoral pathway of the bee immune system in response to infection. Ecotoxicological approaches will be used to develop tools for the quantification of pesticide and metabolite residues in specific bee tissues after chronic exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides. Measures of pesticide and immune responses will be correlated with performance on standard behavioral assays of cognitive function in order to identify the mechanistic underpinnings of behavioral alterations observed when bees are exposed to environmental stressors. All digital data generated from the research will be stored on an EMC Isilon storage array that is maintained by the local institution's Center for Academic and Research Computing. All analyzed primary data under this award will be promptly published to peer-reviewed journal publications. The findings of the research will also be disseminated at domestic and international professional conferences.

动物传粉者的数量、多样性和地理范围正在以惊人的速度在全球范围内下降。鉴于传粉媒介在自然和农业生态系统中的关键作用，这些减少对全球生物多样性和作物生产构成重大威胁。然而，保护和恢复努力，以解决这一重要问题是阻碍了缺乏信息的机械之间的联系，环境压力和人口下降。为了解决这一重要的知识差距，研究人员将研究长期暴露于不同压力源对传粉者生存和繁殖重要的脑功能的亚致死效应。研究人员将开发定量工具来测量传粉者对环境压力的生理和分子反应，然后将这些变化与大脑功能和行为的变化相关联。除了阐明传粉者减少的原因外，这项研究还将开发用于监测野生种群传粉者健康的生态工具，从而加快识别和保护特别容易减少的物种的努力。研究人员还将为K-12教育工作者、学生（特别是来自代表性不足群体的学生）和当地社区开展以传粉者为重点的教育外展活动。该项目利用高度跨学科的方法来表征北美大黄蜂传粉者暴露于杀虫剂和传染性病原体与认知行为障碍之间的联系机制。分子和免疫学的方法将被用来开发的化合物的识别和定量的蜜蜂免疫系统的体液途径在响应感染。生态毒理学方法将被用来开发工具，用于定量的农药和代谢物残留在特定的蜜蜂组织后，长期暴露于类烟碱农药。农药和免疫反应的措施将与认知功能的标准行为测定的性能相关，以确定蜜蜂暴露于环境压力时观察到的行为改变的机制基础。从研究中生成的所有数字数据将存储在由当地机构的学术和研究计算中心维护的EMC Isilon存储阵列上。本奖项下的所有分析的主要数据将及时发表在同行评审的期刊出版物上。研究结果还将在国内和国际专业会议上传播。