Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Bees are important not only for their unmatched pollination services but also for their wide range of social behaviours. In my lab, we study the interplay between social environment and microbial ecology. Our research focuses on the small carpenter bees as a model for the study of social evolution and pollinator health. We have developed a wide range of tools and share open access data of broad relevance to both evolutionary ecologists and conservation biologists. The first part of our research focuses on how genetics influences social life. We study the small carpenter bees because they are a solitary bee with many social tendencies, including prolonged maternal care, grooming and guarding of offspring, extensive mother adult offspring interaction, and mutual tolerance of adults in the nest. Further, they are locally abundant and easily tractable in both field and lab settings. We are studying the role of social environment and individual interaction on whether individuals tolerate or aggress nestmates. Our studies involve observation colonies which allow us to track individual interaction and to experimentally modify their nutrition and social environment. We also use genomic methods to develop a brain atlas, single cell gene expression, as well as their effects of social environment on brain gene expression to understand the role of individual interactions on group cohesion and division of labour. The second part of our research focuses on microbial ecology and pollinator health. Not only does social environment play a critical role in colony productivity and survival, but arguably environmental factors such as food availability, disease, and nesting habit have an overwhelming influence. Our studies demonstrate that bees are sensitive to local landscape not only in terms of greenspace availability, but also the connectivity of greenspaces. Further, there is growing appreciation that bee health is complemented by a core microbiome consisting of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi. Bees that are malnourished and combating pathogens have reduced survival and rarely reproduce. We aim to determine the core nutritional requirements and healthy microbiome of bees to inform landscape restoration and conservation practices. With data on habitat requirements and their connectivity in the landscape we can better protect pollinator populations. Our research is significant to all Canadians, because our system is unique in permitting experimental assessments of all components that result in a healthy bee. On a practical side, our research also informs pollinator plantings, conservation status recommendations, and bee habitat across a wide range of rural and urban land use practices. We broadly disseminate information through public lectures, websites, and school visits. The skills ?that students learn in our lab are directly translated into careers in teaching, research, environmental monitoring, industry, and science communication.