Barbara Booth

Buzz about the bees: ES&T's Top Feature 2010.

T the headline-grabbing problem of colony collapse disorder, and the potentially more important collapse of other bee species, the authors present a gripping tale in ES&T’s first Award for Best Feature: ‘The Plight of the Bees’ by Marla Spivak, University ofMinnesota; EricMader,Mace Vaughan, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Ned Euliss, U.S. Geological Survey (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es101468w). “I was really impressed with this article. It was fascinating, well written, and presented new information I was not aware of. I thought the authors described it well in their opening statement, how some environmental issues ‘grab hold of our most primeval instincts, causing us to reach deeply into our memories of childhood, and our first direct experiences with nature...’ The plight of bees does just that—everyone can relate to this important environmental issue,” comments ES&T Editorial Board member Susan Richardson of the U.S. EPA. “The demise of managed and wild bees is one of the great ecological tragedies of our era, and it’s tempting to find and blame one cause. Not so; ‘The Plight of the Bees’ is a remarkable article in recognizing that bees are the canary in the coal mine, telling us that we have reached a level of management in agricultural systems that has taxed the resilience of bees beyond their breaking point. They focus on multiple interacting factors: parasites, diseases, pesticides, nutrition, vast monocropped acreages, loss of nesting sites; together these tell us that we are experiencing the impacts of too much human presence and control in ecosystems, and only by dialing back a bit will we restore balanced environments where bees can once again thrive,” says Mark Winston of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia . “Like most of us, I had heard about declines in the honey bee populations and the resulting threat to our agriculture and food supply. But, I didn’t know about the interrelated causes, and that it is not only the honey bee, but also our native bees—including bumble bees—that are suffering. In fact, one West Coast species may now be extinct. It was fascinating to discover that these native bumble bees are more effective pollinators than the honey bees we read so much about. And, especially for our native crops, like tomatoes, pumpkins, blueberries, and cranberries,” says Richardson. (A bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenski, is depicted approaching a tomato flower in the accompanying photo by Mace Vaughn, Xerces Society.) Evidence suggests the most likely cause of declines in bumble bees is introduced diseases spread by managed colonies of bumble bees, says Vaughan. “As with restrictions on the importation of honey bees from parts of world where novel diseases or pests may occur, we believe it is important to restrict movement of bumble bees outside of their range in order to minimize the chance of an accidental disease or pest introduction.” This Feature suggests how research can be translated into practice. Entomologist Marla Spivak was named a 2010 MacArthur Fellow for her work on protecting the health of bee pollinators and promoting sustainable beekeeping practices. Eric Mader and Mace Vaughan work with “farmers, land-managers, gardeners, and everyday people to help them better understand the needs of pollinators, especially native bees, and to take concrete steps to help protect, restore, or enhance habitat for those bees.” “Bees provide ecosystem services (e.g., pollination, food provisioning) that are critically important to humans and sustainability of modern ecosystems” says Ned Euliss. Can individuals help? Yes, says Vaughan. Individuals can plant flowers that are good for bees, and they can take extreme care in their use of pesticides. “Assume that all insecticides may kill bees if sprayed around the backyard, and be aware that yard care companies—even organic ones—are likely using insecticides that may poison flowers or even the ground where many of our bumble bees and gentle miner bees live.” says Vaughan.

Gardea-Torresdey receives Distinguished Scientist Award from SACNAS

The honor recognizes his research and his work to promote careers in science among Hispanics and Native Americans.

Microbes in the air near swine farms--more or less.

Monitoring of bioaerosols from CAFOs under conventional and alternative waste management conditions suggests some promising alternatives for North Carolina.