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<DIV><STRONG><U><FONT color=#3f803f>AGRICULTURE:</FONT></U><FONT face=Arial
size=3> Pathogen linked to bee colonies' collapse -- study
</FONT></STRONG><FONT face=Arial color=#5f5f5f size=3><I>(Thursday, April
16, 2009)</I></FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>Sara Goodman, E&E
reporter</B></FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>An emerging pathogen could be
responsible for a mysterious illness that has caused record losses in commercial
honeybee colonies, Spanish researchers say in a new paper.</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=Arial size=1>The researchers examined two apiaries, or bee yards, suffering
from "colony collapse disorder," or CCD, and found a common thread: an infection
from the parasite <I>Nosema ceranae</I>. They looked for other potential causes
-- other pathogens, mites and pesticides -- and found none.</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=Arial size=1>The scientists then successfully treated surviving colonies
with an antibiotic drug, they report in <I>Environmental Microbiology
Reports</I>, a journal from the Society for Applied Microbiology.</FONT>
<BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>The disorder emerged in 2006, when beekeepers began
reporting losses of 30 percent to 90 percent of hives. Since then, the annual
loss rate has been roughly 33 percent, according to government estimates.</FONT>
<BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>Scientists are probing a wide range of potential
causes -- viruses, parasites, environmental stresses, poor nutrition, transport
stresses and pesticides. Experts have pointed to pesticides as a cause for
concern, but there has not been a direct link between chemicals and the
disorder.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>"Now that we know one strain of
parasite that could be responsible, we can look for signs of infection and treat
any infected colonies before the infection spreads," lead researcher Mariano
Higes from the Bee Pathology Laboratory in Spain said in a statement.</FONT>
<BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>Troy Fore, executive director of the trade group
American Beekeeping Federation, cautioned that in the United States, beekeepers
have been aware of the parasite and have treated their hives with the
antibiotic.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>"They're still having problems --
it's not having the universal effect as indicated" in the study, Fore
said.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>The global honeybee industry is valued
at more than $15 billion, with nearly 130 different crops dependent on
pollination to grow. Pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of 75
percent of the world's flowering plants, most of which are crop species. The
U.S. Agriculture Department estimates that one-third of the human diet comes
from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of
that pollination.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>The Spanish researchers
first tracked down the pathogen, which originated in Asia, in Spanish bee
populations in 2005. They then tracked it in colonies in France, Germany and
Switzerland.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=1>Robert Paxton, a British
professor of biological sciences, wrote recently that the parasite is now found
in North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.</FONT> <BR><A
title=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122204880/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122204880/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0"><FONT
face=Arial color=#a00000 size=1><B><U>Click here</U></B></FONT></A><FONT
face=Arial size=1> to see the report.</FONT> <BR></DIV>
<DIV>From Greenwire</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive
Director<BR><B>Pollinator Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th
floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137<BR>LDA@pollinator.org</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A
href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT><br/><font style="color:black;font:normal 10pt arial,san-serif;"> <hr style="margin-top:10px"/>Access 350+ FREE radio stations anytime from anywhere on the web. <a href="http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000003">Get the Radio Toolbar</a>!</font></DIV></BODY></HTML>