FUNGICIDES ARE WIDELY USED AND ARE COMMON CONTAMINANTS OF BEE COLONIES. BASED ON ACUTE MORTALITY TESTING, FUNGICIDES ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE HARMLESS TO BEES. HOWEVER, WE HAVE RECENTLY SHOWN THAT THE COMMON FUNGICIDE PRISTINE™, AT CONCENTRATIONS ROUTINELY FOUND IN POLLEN, STRONGLY INHIBITS THE MITOCHONDRIA OF HONEY BEES IN VITRO, AND THAT BEES FED PRISTINE™-CONTAMINATED POLLEN SHOW REDUCED FEEDING AND EVIDENCE OF POOR PROTEIN DIGESTION. MITOCHONDRIA ARE THE "POWERHOUSE OF THE CELL", AND ARE THE MAJOR SITE OF ENERGY PRODUCTION IN MOST ANIMALS. WE WILL TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE FUNGICIDAL COMPONENTS OF PRISTINE™ INHIBIT MIDGUT MITOCHONDRIA OF YOUNG ADULT HONEY BEES, WHICH REQUIRE PROTEIN TO MATURE AND SYNTHESIZE FOOD FOR THE LARVAE. WE WILL TEST THE DOSE-RESPONSE OF MIDGUT FUNCTION TO THE PRISTINE™ COMPONENTS BOSCALID AND PYRACLOSTROBIN AND THEIR MIXTURE, EXAMINING PROTEIN AND SUGAR DIGESTION AND TRANSPORT, GROWTH OF MIDGUT CELLS, AND THE EFFECT ON BODYNUTRIENT STORES. WE WILL ALSO TEST WHETHER THESE FUNGICIDES CAUSE REDUCED LEARNING, FORAGING, FEEDING OF THE BROOD, AND COLONY GROWTH. WE WILL INTEGRATE OUR RESULTS INTO A MODELING FRAMEWORK CURRENTLY BEING USED BY THE EPA FOR EVALUATING SUBLETHAL EFFECTS, ALLOWING EXTRAPOLATION TO INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER STRESSORS, AND THE POTENTIAL TO AMELIORATE SUCH EFFECTS BY VARYING THE TIMING AND DOSING OF FUNGICIDE APPLICATION. WE WILL DISTRIBUTE OUR FINDINGS TO BEEKEEPERS, REGULATORS AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES, WEBCASTS AND SEMINARS. THIS RESEARCH ADDRESSES SECTION V, PRIORITY AREA 2 OF THE U.S. POLLINATOR RESEARCH ACTION PLAN, AND WILL AID IN DEVELOPMENT OF A GENERALIZED INTEGRATED APPROACH TO EVALUATE THE SUBLETHAL EFFECTS OF SUCH FUNGICIDES.

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators