Project Grant 20226701336286

MANAGING POLLINATORS FOR AGRICULTURE AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IS A CRITICAL TASK FOR LANDOWNERS, NGOS, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.HOWEVER, WHILE POLLINATOR CONSERVATION IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS KEY FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, SEVERAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS REMAIN THAT COULD IMPROVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES GLOBALLY. IN PARTICULAR, NON-NATIVE POLLINATORS ARE FREQUENTLY MOVED TO NEW REGIONS FOR POLLINATION SERVICES, WITH SOMETIMES POORLY UNDERSTOOD IMPACTS ON THE NATIVE POLLINATORS THAT ARE ALSO ESSENTIAL FOR POLLINATION.BUMBLE BEES (BOMBUSSPP.) ARE ONE GROUP OF POLLINATORS THAT ARE MANAGED FOR CROP PRODUCTION. THEY CAN OFFER BENEFITS OVER HONEY BEES THAT INCLUDE MORE EFFICIENT POLLINATION OF SOME CROPS, AND GREATER CONVENIENCE FOR GREEHOUSE USE. HOWEVER, ONLY A FEW BUMBLE BEE SPECIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DOMESTICATED WORLDWIDE, CREATING PRESSURE TO IMPORT NON-NATIVE SPECIES FOR POLLINATION SERVICES. THIS HAS LED TO THE INTRODUCTION AND ESCAPE OF SEVERAL BUMBLE BEE SPECIES GLOBALLY, INCLUDING INTO SOME ECOSYSTEMS WHERE NATIVE BUMBLE BEES ARE ALREADY FOUND. IN SOME REGIONS, SUCH AS PATAGONIA, THIS HAS RESULTED IN NOTABLE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON NATIVE BUMBLE BEES, WHILE IN OTHER REGIONS SUCH AS JAPAN, THE IMPACTS ARE MORE NUANCED. GIVEN THE CONTINUED GLOBAL NEED FOR POLLINATION SERVICES IN AGRICULTURE, THIS IS AN AREA OF RESEARCH THAT URGENTLY NEEDS FURTHER ATTENTION.THE RECENT ESCAPE AND ESTABLISHMENT OFBOMBUS IMPATIENS, THE COMMON EASTERN BUMBLE BEE, IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST UNITED STATES AND ADJACENT PARTS OF CANADA, PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THE IMPACTS OF NON-NATIVE POLLINATORS ON NATIVE SPECIES IN REAL TIME AS THIS SPECIES' POPULATION EXPANDS. INTEGRATING MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL EXPERTISE IN FIELD ECOLOGY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, AND INSECT PATHOLOGY, WE WILL USE LARGE-SCALE FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND MANIPULATIVE EXPERIMENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS OF THIS ESCAPED, MANAGED SPECIES ON NATIVE BUMBLE BEE COMMUNITIES. THIS RESEARCH WILL REFINE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE RISKS OF MOVING MANAGED POLLINATORS, AND WILL HELP LAND MANAGERS AND REGULATORS MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AND POLICIES ABOUT IMPORTING DOMESTICATED BEES WHILE CONTINUING TO CONSERVE NATIVE POLLINATOR COMMUNITIES.