pollinators

USDA Fellow to Study Pesticide Exposure in Key Pollinators

dgivens8 — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:40:12 +0000

USDA Fellow to Study Pesticide Exposure in Key Pollinators dgivens8 Mon, 10/23/2023 - 11:40

Synthetic pesticides were first developed in the 1930s, but began to be widely used in agriculture in the 1950s and 1960s. Scientists have since discovered how toxic certain chemicals like DDT can be to ecologies and humans, but researchers still want to know more about their environmental impact on animal pollinators like bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and bats at the genetic level.

A School of Biological Sciences postdoctoral scholar will have a chance to help the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) fill in the blanks in that knowledge, thanks to a two-year fellowship from the agency’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Sarah Orr, who researches in Professor Michael Goodisman’s lab, receives the grant for her project proposal, “Effects of Pesticide Exposure on Developmental Genetics in Bumblebees.” The award is part of a new USDA/NIFA $11.6 million funding initiative for projects that promote healthy populations of animal pollinators in agricultural systems where reliance of crops on pollinators is increasing, but pollinator numbers are declining.

“I am honored and ecstatic to have received this prestigious postdoctoral fellowship from USDA,” Orr says. “It’s rewarding to see how my research can have important implications in agriculture broadly in the U.S. Being able to bring in my own funding and serve as the project director on a grant as a postdoc has also been exciting. It’s a brief glimpse into what it will be like to hopefully be a faculty member myself in the future.”

Orr knows that pesticides play an important role in agricultural production and human food supply. Her scientific goal is to help find a balance between the risks and benefits of pesticide use.

“My investigation into the genetic effects of pesticides is unique and somewhat novel,” she says. “Beyond traditional toxicological methods, my project will improve our understanding of how pesticides may affect the developmental genetics of bumblebees.”

Homing in on key pollinators

Bumblebees are social insects native to North America and important pollinators for food crops including tomatoes, blueberries, and eggplant. As with most social insects, bumblebees live in colonies made up of a single queen and hundreds of sterile workers. “This genetic structure provides a really interesting model to study integrated development,” Orr says.

Orr’s project will investigate how pesticides affect the integrated developmental processes of Bombus impatiens bumblebees by examining changes in gene expression. Orr’s research will attempt to determine if pesticides impact the ratio of males to females in bee colonies, and how pesticides affect morphological traits of both worker and queen bees.

Orr says that new chemicals are approved before science can fully explore all of the potential environmental impact from their use. “For example, a lot of my research will focus on sulfoxaflor, a relatively new pesticide on the market,” she says, “and scientists are continuing to discover negative consequences of sulfoxaflor on native bee populations.”

USDA/NIFA New Contract/Grant/Agreement No. 2023-67012-39886, Proposal No. 2022-09642, Effects of Pesticide Exposure on Developmental Genetics in Bumblebees
Initial Award Year: 2023
Investigator: S.E. Orr

Subtitle

As part of an $11.6 million research initiative, Biological Sciences postdoctoral fellow Sarah Orr will leverage a new USDA Fellowship to study the impact of synthetic pesticides on bumblebees — a key pollinator for U.S. agricultural production.

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Dateline

Thu, 09/07/2023 - 12:00

renay.san@cos.gatech.edu

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Writer: Renay San Miguel
Communications Officer II/Science Writer
College of Sciences
404-894-5209

Editor: Jess Hunt-Ralston

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As Temperatures Climb, Flying Insects Slower to Migrate to Cooler Elevations

admin — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 21:56:31 +0000

As Temperatures Climb, Flying Insects Slower to Migrate to Cooler Elevations admin Mon, 09/11/2023 - 17:56

This story by Jennifer Woodruff is shared jointly with the University of Colorado Denver.

In response to rising global temperatures, many plants and animals are moving to higher elevations to survive in cooler temperatures. But a new study from the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) and Georgia Tech finds that for flying insects — including bees and moths — this escape route may have insurmountable issues that could mean their doom.

The research team examined more than 800 species of insects from around the world and discovered that many winged insects are moving to higher elevations much slower than their non-flying counterparts. This is because the thinner air at higher elevations provides less oxygen for species to use. Because flight requires more oxygen to generate energy for movement than other styles of movement, such as walking, these species are migrating more slowly.

The team’s findings were published in this week’s Nature Climate Change journal. Jesse Shaich, postbaccalaureate student at CU Denver, is also a member of the research team.

“When we think about where species will be able to live under climate change in the coming decades, we need to remember that animals are sensitive to more than just how hot or cold they are,” said CU Denver Assistant Professor of Integrated Biology Michael Moore, who led the study.

Declining insect biodiversity has direct impact on humans

If flying insects’ native habitats get too warm too quickly, and they can’t find a suitable alternative or adapt in time, that will likely lead to their extinction. Beyond just being bad for the bugs themselves, loss of insects is bad news for humans as well. Most crop pollinators are the flying species the researchers expect to be vulnerable, and their extinction would be catastrophic to global food supply. Not only would this have implications for agriculture and food supply chains, but similar challenges are likely true for other species that need a lot of oxygen to live.

“Our earth’s biodiversity is rapidly declining, especially amongst insects. The global loss of insects will be ecologically catastrophic, so we urgently need to understand why and how this is happening,” said James Stroud, assistant professor of Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech.

Broadening research on high elevation challenges

To conserve as many species as possible, researchers need to grasp the full scope of challenges plants and animals face, whether they can overcome these challenges, and to predict the locations where they can survive. High elevation environments are also difficult for new species because of the scarcity of food, stronger winds, more extreme cold snaps, and increased ultraviolet radiation.

Moore concludes, “If we want to design effective conservation strategies, we must consider a broader range of environmental factors that species need to live.”

About Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is one of the top public research universities in the U.S., developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its more than 45,000 undergraduate and graduate students, representing 50 states and more than 148 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.

About the University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver is the state’s premier public urban research university and equity-serving institution. Globally connected and locally invested, CU Denver partners with future-focused learners and communities to design accessible, relevant, and transformative educational experiences for every stage of life and career. Across seven schools and colleges in the heart of downtown Denver, our leading faculty inspires and works alongside students to solve complex challenges through boundary-breaking innovation, impactful research, and creative work. As part of the state’s largest university system, CU Denver is a major contributor to the Colorado economy, with 2,000 employees and an annual economic impact of $800 million. For more information, visit ucdenver.edu.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01794-2

Acknowledgments: Support was generously provided by the University of Colorado Denver (to M.P.M. and J.S.) and Washington University in St. Louis and the Georgia Institute of Technology (to J.T.S.). Conversations with J. de Mayo, J. Grady and A. Lenard and input from three reviewers improved this study.

Subtitle

Flying insects like bees and moths struggle with low oxygen and thin air at high elevations.

Summary sentence

In response to changing climates, many plants and animals are moving to higher elevations, seeking cooler temperatures. But a new study finds that flying insects like bees and moths may struggle with insurmountable issues to this escape route.

Summary

In response to changing climates, many plants and animals are moving to higher elevations, seeking cooler temperatures. But a new study from Georgia Tech and the University of Colorado Denver finds that flying insects like bees and moths may struggle with insurmountable issues to this escape route.

Dateline

Mon, 09/11/2023 - 12:00

jess@cos.gatech.edu

Contact

Jess Hunt-Ralston
Director of Communications
College of Sciences at Georgia Tech
jess@cos.gatech.edu

Jennifer Woodruff
Director of Public Relations & Integrated Media
University of Colorado Denver
Jennifer.Woodruff@ucdenver.edu
+1 (303) 315-0283

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USDA Fellow to Study Pesticide Exposure in Key Pollinators

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As Temperatures Climb, Flying Insects Slower to Migrate to Cooler Elevations

Declining insect biodiversity has direct impact on humans

Broadening research on high elevation challenges

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