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From an issue with a focus on pesticides: <br><br>
Science 16 August 2013: <br>
Vol. 341 no. 6147 p. 695 <br>
DOI: 10.1126/science.1244271
<ul>
<li>Editorial
</ul><h1><b>The Road to Pollinator Health</b></h1>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/search?author1=Catherine+Woteki&sortspec=date&submit=Submit">
Catherine</a>
<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/search?author1=Catherine+Woteki&sortspec=date&submit=Submit">
Woteki</a>
<li><a name="aff-1"></a>Catherine Woteki<a name="aff-1"></a> is the Chief
Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics at
the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
<li>E-mail:
<a href="mailto:Catherine.woteki@osec.usda.gov.">
Catherine.woteki@osec.usda.gov.</a>
</ol>
<img src="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6147/695/F1.medium.gif" width=123 height=220 alt="Figure">
<br>
CREDIT: USDA<br>
<b>Related Resources<br><br>
<h4><b>In Science</i> Magazine </b></h4>
<ul>
<li>Introduction to Special Issue Introduction
<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6147/728.full">The
Pesticide Paradox </a>
<ul>
<li>Martin Enserink <i>et al.</i>
</ul>
Science 16 August 2013: 728-729.<br><br>
</ul>Agricultural production is a balancing act. On one side is
sustainable production of food and biobased products for a growing
population. On the other is protecting our natural resources and the
environment. The global decline of the honey bee, a major domestic
pollinator of many crops, exemplifies how complex the factors are that
contribute to maintaining this balance. Overall bee colony decline,
including loss from colony collapse disorder (CCD), poses a serious
challenge to agricultural research worldwide. The causes are still not
definitive, but stress from pesticides may be a factor. This spring, the
European Commission temporarily restricted the use of three neonicotinoid
pesticides for specific applications (pending more research). Last year,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) formed a bee health task force to take an even broader
look at the pollinator crisis, with a plan to collect interagency input
and develop a federal Pollinator Roadmap before the end of 2013. <br>
<img src="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6147/695/F2.medium.gif" width=220 height=189 alt="Figure">
<br>
CREDIT: LOUISE DOCKER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS<br><br>
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has noted that 71 of
the 100 crops that provide 90% of human food are pollinated by bees, and
the estimated value of those crops is as much as $200 billion
annually.<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6147/695.full#fn-1">
*</a> In the United States, honey bees contribute over $17 billion to the
nation's economy and are vital to keeping fruits, nuts, and vegetables in
our diets. Since 2006, U.S. beekeepers have seen colony loss rates
increase to 30 to 35% per year, as compared to historical loss rates of
10 to 15%, a situation that requires beekeepers to rapidly, and at great
expense, rebuild their colonies. The honey bee declines have been
associated with a combination of many factors, such as poor nutrition,
parasites, pests, pathogens, pesticides, and stress from colony
transport. <br><br>
In May, the USDA, EPA, and Pennsylvania State University released a
comprehensive scientific
report<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6147/695.full#fn-2">
†</a> that focuses on four areas for concentrated work: nutrition;
pathogens and arthropod pests; pesticides; and bee genetics, breeding,
and biology. We need to examine the interactions of these factors.
Because honey bees are social insects, assessing the impact of pesticide
exposure, especially at sublethal amounts, requires a different metric
that accounts for colony survival. And a decline in nutrient availability
in the environment could cause bees to respond poorly to environmental
challenges. The symbiotic microbiota that bees need to process and store
their food also might be affected by the environment. These impacts could
contribute to colony losses weeks or months after exposure. <br><br>
To fully address the range of interacting factors that contribute to bee
declines, and building on the work of the Honey Bee Health and CCD Action
Committee that reports to Congress yearly, the EPA-USDA task force is
taking a landscape-level systems approach to bee research and rescue,
examining land-use patterns, nutritional stress associated with available
forage, exposure and susceptibility to parasites and pathogens, bee
genetic diversity, and the means to augment pollinator forage in all
landscapes, in addition to minimizing pesticide exposures. A
meta-analysis should guide attention to the most urgent research. Steps
to improve collaboration and information sharing among commercial
beekeepers, agricultural producers, the research community, and other
stakeholders will also be laid out. The task force's goal is to turn
around this decline as we proceed with our work over the next 5 to 10
years. As our knowledge increases during this time, there will be
constant evaluation of research priorities and actions. <br><br>
Exploring the causes of bee colony declines and specifically CCD remains
a priority for the USDA, even as funding for agricultural research has
been reduced by almost 20%. Our health and environmental well-being are
related to the health of honey bees in the complex web of
interconnectedness that is our world. Their crisis is ours as well.
<br><br>
<ul>
<li>*
<a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0512sp1.htm">
www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0512sp1.htm</a>.
<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6147/695.full#xref-fn-2-1">
</a>
<li>†
<a href="http://www.usda.gov/documents/ReportHoneyBeeHealth.pdf" eudora="autourl">
www.usda.gov/documents/ReportHoneyBeeHealth.pdf</a>.
</ul><br>
<h2><b>The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science</i>
sites <br><br>
<br>
</b></h2><h4><b>In Science</i> Magazine </b></h4>
<ul>
<li>Introduction to Special Issue Introduction The Pesticide Paradox
<ul>
<li>Martin Enserink,
<li>Pamela J. Hines,
<li>Sacha N. Vignieri,
<li>Nicholas S. Wigginton,
<li>and Jake S. Yeston
</ul>
Science 16 August 2013: 728-729.
</ul></body>
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