Project Grant F24AP00734

AGRICULTURAL PESTICIDES POSE A RISK TO THE WILD AND MANAGED POLLINATORS ESSENTIAL TO FOOD PRODUCTION AND THE FUNCTION OF NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS. WE PROPOSE LEVERAGING RECENTLY GENERATED NOVEL DATASETS DESCRIBING PESTICIDE USE BY ACTIVE INGREDIENT (KG 1997 THROUGH 2017 AND POTENTIALLY MORE RECENT DATA IF AVAILABLE) AND AGGREGATE INSECTICIDE LOAD (KG AND HONEY BEE TOXICITY THRESHOLDS 1997 THROUGH 2014 AND POTENTIALLY OTHER NATIVE BEE TOXICITY DATA SOURCES) FOR STATE AND CROP COMBINATIONS IN THE STATES ASSOCIATED WITH THE GREAT LAKES BASIN TO PREDICT HAZARD FACED BY INSECT POLLINATORS IN THE REGION. THESE DATA ALLOW MAPPING OF PESTICIDE INDICATORS AT FINE SPATIAL SCALES RELEVANT TO POLLINATOR RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION. COUPLED WITH INFORMATION ON PESTICIDE FATE AND SPECIES OCCURRENCE WE CAN PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INSIGHTS TO POLLINATOR CONSERVATION DECISION MAKING IN THE GREAT LAKES BASIN (1) WHERE AND HOW ARE PESTICIDE HAZARDS TO POLLINATORS DISTRIBUTED OVER THE LANDSCAPE AND (2) WHERE AND HOW CAN PESTICIDE MITIGATION MOST EFFECTIVELY AID POLLINATOR CONSERVATION. THESE INSIGHTS WILL AID IN (1) PLANNING FOR POLLINATOR HABITAT RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT (LOW CHEMICAL HAZARD AREAS) (2) HABITAT PROTECTION (LOW CHEMICAL HAZARD ENVIRONMENTS IN HIGH QUALITY POLLINATOR HABITAT) AND (3) PESTICIDE MITIGATION (HIGH HAZARD ENVIRONMENTS OTHERWISE SUITABLE FOR POLLINATORS).