Current Projects
Agricultural Landscapes, Pollen Resources, and Honey Bee Health
Vika Makovetski
MSc Student
How do agricultural landscapes influence the pollen honey bees collect, and how might this relate to their health?
Bees rely on pollen as an important source of nutrients, but the availability and variety of floral resources can change throughout the growing season. Agricultural intensification and landscape simplification may also influence the diversity and availability of flowering plants, potentially affecting the pollen resources available. This MSc research project will investigate how surrounding landscape characteristics relate to the richness of pollen collected by honey bee colonies throughout the spring, and whether differences in pollen richness are associated with levels of Nosema ceranae, a common intestinal parasite of honey bees.
The study will involve sampling honey bee colonies at three points throughout the spring, before, during, and after blueberry bloom. By examining stored pollen, measuring N. ceranae levels, and analyzing the landscapes surrounding participating apiaries, we hope to better understand how agricultural landscapes influence collected pollen and whether differences in pollen richness are associated with this important honey bee pathogen.
Interested in Participating in 2027?
We are looking to collaborate with beekeepers across a wide range of landscapes in British Columbia, from areas with little agricultural activity to those dominated by intensive agriculture. Beekeepers from all types of landscapes are encouraged to participate! Having apiaries across a gradient of agricultural land-use intensities will be especially valuable for this research.
We are prioritizing beekeepers whose colonies will remain at the same location throughout the spring sampling period, although beekeepers who move their colonies are still welcome to reach out.
As part of the study, we will also collect information about colony management practices, such as supplemental feeding, Varroa mite treatments, and other relevant management activities. This information will help us better understand the factors that may influence our findings. All management information will be kept confidential and will not be shared outside the research team.
Participating beekeepers will have the opportunity to learn more about the pollen their bees collect, how Nosema ceranae levels change in their hives, and contribute to research that may help inform future beekeeping and landscape management practices. A summary of the study’s findings will be shared with participants.
For more information about the project or participating, please contact:
Vika Makovetski
vikamako@student.ubc.ca
Evaluating the effects of perennial landscape features and forest cover on native bee biodiversity and interactions
Tara Christensen
Postdoctoral Researcher
Declines in pollinators due to agricultural intensification and habitat loss are widely documented and associated with economic losses. Agricultural hedgerows have been shown to support pollinator diversity and pollination services in many ecosystems. Similarly, the landscape surrounding agricultural areas can impact pollinator biodiversity by providing habitat refugia, facilitating movement, or supplementing nectar and pollen resources.
In the agriculturally-productive Lower Fraser Valley of BC, it is unknown how agricultural enhancements such as hedgerows, and landscape factors like surrounding forest cover, influence pollinator diversity and the diversity of their interactions with food plants. In this study we are conducting pollinator visitation surveys and pollen analysis to document bee’s interactions with flowers on both hedgerow and control edges within a landscape gradient of forest cover and fragmentation. With these data, we hope to determine whether hedgerows and forest cover are influencing bee and plant biodiversity as well as interaction network metrics that can provide insight into ecosystem resilience.
Assessing the benefits of farmland perennial plantings on bumble bee colony health and survival
Yao Yao
PhD student
Bumble bees are important pollinators for many crops, contributing significantly to an estimated $3 billion/year of pollination services by wild insects in the US alone. As the most efficient pollinators of blueberries, it’s important that we understand how to best support their populations within the agricultural landscapes of the Lower Fraser Valley.
PhD student Yao Yao aims to assess the role of perennial plantings, such as hedgerows and riparian plantings, in supporting farmland bumble bee populations. She expects that landscapes with a higher cover of perennial features will provide floral resources and refuge from pesticide exposure, resulting in higher colony survival and long term population success.
Mechanisms of Pollinator Decline and Pathways to Recovery
Batoule Hyjazie
PhD student
Pollinator populations declines are driven by multiple stressors including habitat loss, primarily through agriculture. Understanding which conservation strategies are most effective and how specific agricultural practices impact pollinator communities is critical for reversing these declines.
In this project led by PhD student Batoule Hyjazie, our research addresses these knowledge gaps through two complementary approaches: a comprehensive assessment of conservation intervention effectiveness and an investigation of the impacts of agricultural intensity on bumble bee populations across the United States.
Pollinator conservation outcomes vary across habitats and taxa
Several interventions have been proposed as potential solutions for conserving pollinator populations. We identified seven categories of the most common pollinator conservation interventions: floral enhancement, hedgerow supplementation, multi-dimensional diversification, integrated conservation programs, reduced mowing, organic management, and restoration. Using Bayesian meta-analysis, we are comparing the effectiveness of seven of these categories across habitats and taxa. This synthesis will inform evidence-based decision-making and fine-tune conservation strategies.
Impacts of Agricultural Intensity on Bumble Bee Populations
Using an amalgam of data from citizen science and museum collections, we are uncovering the effects of agricultural intensity on bumble bee populations across the United States. To estimate agricultural intensity, we leverage data on a range of agricultural practices, including genetically modified crops (GMOs), crop homogenization, pesticide use, fertilizer use, and irrigation. Using Bayesian hierarchical modelling, principal component analysis (PCA), and econometric causal inference, we assess how specific agricultural practices predict bumble bee abundance and species richness, how agricultural intensity predicts bumble bee abundance and species richness, and the potential causes of bumble bee declines, respectively. Our work will provide key evidence for the macroecological impacts of agricultural drivers impacting bumble bees, inform conservation measures, and update current agricultural practices.
PERCS: Perennial Plant Restoration for Carbon Sequestration in Canadian Agricultural Landscapes
Our interdisciplinary team is funded by the NSERC-SSHRC Sustainable Agriculture Initiative to study the drivers and outcomes of perennial plant restoration for carbon sequestration in agriculture.
Working with our partners, we will explore how restoration can sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canadian agriculture through the planting of perennial vegetation. Our work emphasizes the ecological and social benefits of connecting habitat edges in agricultural landscapes for biodiversity, carbon mitigation and productivity.
For more information, visit https://percs.landfood.ubc.ca/