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<DIV><TR valign="top"><TD align="left"><FONT style="TEXT-DECORATION: none"
face="ARIAL, SANS SERIF" size=2><NOBR>From: Capital Press</NOBR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" face="ARIAL, SANS SERIF" color=#606060
size=2><NOBR><A
href="http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=801&ArticleID=33722&TM=52507.24">http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=801&ArticleID=33722&TM=52507.24</A></NOBR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" face="ARIAL, SANS SERIF"><B><FONT
size=2><NOBR>7/18/2007 9:40:00 AM</NOBR> </FONT></B></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV></TD></TR><TR valign="top"><TD align="left" colspan="2"><FONT
face="ARIAL, SANS SERIF" size=3><B>Experts aren't convinced bee colony collapse
will be as devastating as predicted</B></FONT><BR><FONT size=2><FONT
face="ARIAL, SANS SERIF"><B>Mateusz Perkowski</B></FONT><BR><BR></FONT><FONT
face="ARIAL, SANS SERIF"><FONT size=2>SALEM - Colony collapse disorder in
beehives has been publicized as a menace to crop production and a sign of the
earth's crumbling ecosystem, but some experts aren't convinced the threat will
be as devastating as anticipated.<BR><BR>"The media is perpetuating it," said
Michael Burgett, retired entomology professor at Oregon State
University.<BR><BR>While Burgett acknowledges that some beekeepers in the U.S.
have seen serious hive reductions, the evidence about colony collapse disorder
has generally been anecdotal, he said.<BR><BR>"We don't know how big the problem
is," Burgett said.<BR><BR>If the estimated 25 percent loss of bee populations
was correct, it wouldn't be far off from prior die-offs caused by trachael and
varroa mites that Burgett has seen in his career. When these parasites were
introduced to the U.S. in the 1980s, beekeepers suffered similar rates of
reduction, he said.<BR><BR>"It was 25 percent 20 years ago, so what's new?" he
said.<BR><BR>The impact of the problem in late 2006 and early 2007 hasn't been
precisely quantified, so will be difficult to tell whether colony collapse
disorder gets worse next winter - if it returns at all, Burgett
said.<BR><BR>Furthermore, the phenomenon may caused by multiple factors rather
than one unknown element, he said. <BR><BR>Some theories as to its cause may
hold water, such as insufficient nutrition from certain plants, stress from
transportation, pesticide buildup in beeswax and emerging pathogens, according
to Burgett.<BR><BR>Pesticide resistance in mites may have also played a role,
since many of the symptoms reported by beekeepers mirrored those caused by the
parasites, he said. Regional weather conditions may have contributed to heavier
population losses as well, he said.<BR><BR>There are also ridiculous theories,
like jet contrails or cell phone transmissions causing colony collapse disorder,
that have gained traction with the public despite being scientifically
unsubstantiated, he said.<BR><BR>"It brings the nuts out, and continues to do
so," Burgett said.<BR><BR>People may also not realize that such die-offs don't
necessarily result in permanently reduced populations; beekeepers can regenerate
their hive numbers, but it takes time and money, he said.<BR><BR>"It's well
within good beekeepers' management skills to get colonies to rebound," Burgett
said.<BR><BR>Despite heavy winter losses in many states, pollination in the U.S.
was not hindered this year, according to the USDA. Nonetheless, the agency
launched an action plan July 13 to study and hopefully remedy future colony
collapse disorder problems.<BR><BR>The plan will place a major focus on
developing reliable statistics about the cause and prevalence of colony collapse
disorder.<BR><BR>Current surveys "are either limited in scope, fundamentally
flawed, or otherwise unable to provide an accurate picture of bee numbers and
products," states the USDA's action plan.<BR><BR>Colony collapse disorder now
appears to have been building up over several years, but its strong impact last
winter caught researchers by surprise and the information they compiled probably
wasn't totally reliable, explained Mace Vaughan, conservation director for the
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.<BR><BR>"People were scrambling to
find out what was going on," he said. "Self-reporting may not be as rigorous as
scientific study."<BR><BR>If colony collapse returns in full force this year, it
may be a sign that beekeepers and farmers have a serious problem on their hands,
he said. <BR><BR>On the other hand, similarly mysterious phenomenon - such as
disappearing disease more than three decades ago - also caused a great deal of
consternation but then vanished, Vaughan and Burgett said.<BR><BR>"At this
point, there's a big question mark," Vaughan said.<BR><BR>As for Burgett, he
remains tentatively optimistic that the predicted effects of colony collapse
disorder are overblown.<BR><BR>"Beekeepers have suffered as individuals, but
it's not the horror story some people would lead you to believe," he
said.<BR><BR><I>Staff Writer Mateusz Perkowski is based in Salem, Ore. E-mail:
mperkowski@capitalpress.com.</I></FONT></FONT></TD></TR></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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<DIV><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>The Xerces Society is an international
nonprofit organization that </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>protects the diversity of life through
invertebrate conservation. </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>To
</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>join the Society, make a </FONT></FONT><FONT
size=1>contribution</FONT><FONT size=1>, </FONT><FONT size=1>or read about our
work, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>please visit </FONT><FONT size=1><A
href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</A>.</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Matthew Shepherd</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Director, Pollinator Conservation Program</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215,
USA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Tel: 503-232 6639 Cell: 503-807 1577 Fax: 503-233
6794</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Email: </FONT><A href="mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org"><FONT
size=1>mdshepherd@xerces.org</FONT></A><FONT size=1> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
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