[Pollinator] Pathogen linked to bee colonies' collapse -- study

[Ladadams at aol.com]

AGRICULTURE: Pathogen linked to bee colonies' collapse -- study  (Thursday, 
April  16, 2009) 
Sara Goodman, E&E  reporter 
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. 
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 Nosema ceranae. They looked for other potential causes  -- 
other pathogens, mites and pesticides -- and found none. 
The scientists then successfully treated surviving colonies  with an 
antibiotic drug, they report in Environmental Microbiology  Reports, a journal 
from the Society for Applied Microbiology.  
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.  
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. 
"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.  
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. 
"They're still having problems --  it's not having the universal effect as 
indicated" in the study, Fore  said. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
_Click here_ 
(http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122204880/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0)  to see the report. 

>From Greenwire
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





Laurie Davies Adams
Executive  Director
Pollinator Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th  floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137
LDA at pollinator.org

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