Collaborative Research: The role of floral secondary compounds in bee performance and disease transmission in a natural ecosystem

合作研究：花次生化合物在自然生态系统中蜜蜂性能和疾病传播中的作用

• 批准号: 1256817
• 负责人: Rebecca Irwin
• 金额: $ 18.5万
• 依托单位: Dartmouth College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-06-01 至 2016-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1256817&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; role; floral; secondary

Natural chemical defenses occur in all plants and can be toxic to animals that eat plants (herbivores). Interestingly, some herbivores are able to eat and then use these naturally-occurring chemicals to protect themselves from predators and parasites. Because bees consume large amounts of nectar and pollen that contain these chemicals, they may be able use them as a form of self-medication. This work will test that idea. The research has three main objectives: (1) Pollen and nectar will be collected from wild plant species and tested for potentially protective chemicals. This will reveal the extent to which bees are naturally exposed to such chemicals. (2) Laboratory experiments will determine which chemicals may affect disease in bees. (3) Laboratory and field experiments will test the role of the same chemicals on disease transmission between flowers and bees. Taken together, this research represents a novel approach and will provide insight into how plant defensive chemicals can impact wild animals.This work also addresses the contemporary societal issue of bee health and disease. Many bee populations are in steep decline, which poses a large threat to society because bees provide pollination services that are essential for plant conservation and crop production -- services that are worth billions of dollars annually in the United States. While the combination of many factors is responsible for the crash of bee populations, diseases are one of the major culprits. Understanding whether bees can use particular compounds in nectar and pollen to self-medicate has great potential for discovery of new mechanisms to manage bee diseases and combat pollinator decline. Finally, by training students in bee ecology, this project will help produce a new generation of scientists with the skills needed to pursue solutions to bee decline and other ecological threats.

所有植物都存在天然化学防御，并且可能对以植物为食的动物（食草动物）有毒。有趣的是，一些食草动物能够吃掉这些天然存在的化学物质，然后利用这些化学物质来保护自己免受捕食者和寄生虫的侵害。 由于蜜蜂消耗大量含有这些化学物质的花蜜和花粉，因此它们可以将它们用作自我治疗的一种形式。 这项工作将检验这个想法。 该研究有三个主要目标：（1）将从野生植物中收集花粉和花蜜，并测试潜在的保护性化学物质。这将揭示蜜蜂自然暴露于此类化学物质的程度。 (2) 实验室实验将确定哪些化学物质可能影响蜜蜂疾病。 (3) 实验室和现场实验将测试相同化学物质对花朵和蜜蜂之间疾病传播的作用。总而言之，这项研究代表了一种新颖的方法，并将深入了解植物防御化学物质如何影响野生动物。这项工作还解决了蜜蜂健康和疾病的当代社会问题。许多蜜蜂数量急剧下降，这对社会构成了巨大威胁，因为蜜蜂提供对植物保护和农作物生产至关重要的授粉服务，这些服务在美国每年价值数十亿美元。 虽然许多因素共同导致蜜蜂数量锐减，但疾病是罪魁祸首之一。 了解蜜蜂是否可以利用花蜜和花粉中的特定化合物进行自我治疗，对于发现管理蜜蜂疾病和对抗传粉媒介衰退的新机制具有巨大的潜力。 最后，通过对蜜蜂生态学方面的学生进行培训，该项目将帮助培养新一代科学家，他们具备寻求解决蜜蜂衰退和其他生态威胁所需的技能。