Better bees for tomorrow: A proteomic and physiological characterization of male fertility in managed versus feral honeybees in Western Australia. The importance of honeybees for food production is often undervalued as they pollinate more than 80 crops of economic interest. However, honeybee populations are on a worldwide decline and the beekeepers struggle to survive economically. Australia has so far been spared of major collapses but this seems merely a question of time. The work proposed ini ....Better bees for tomorrow: A proteomic and physiological characterization of male fertility in managed versus feral honeybees in Western Australia. The importance of honeybees for food production is often undervalued as they pollinate more than 80 crops of economic interest. However, honeybee populations are on a worldwide decline and the beekeepers struggle to survive economically. Australia has so far been spared of major collapses but this seems merely a question of time. The work proposed initiates a close collaboration between the only honeybee-breeding organization in Western Australia and the University of Western Australia. Scientific research to ensure a future supply of managed and healthy honeybees is initiated to understand honeybee reproduction, diseases and immunity in more detail. The results are expected to be of interest for the entire Australian honeybee industry.Read moreRead less
Safeguarding Honeybees: Increasing parasite treatment effectiveness using nanotechnology. There is increasing concern about the exposure of honeybees to pesticides used to control both agricultural pests and diseases. Emerging reports indicate that these chemicals substantially harm bees and therefore contribute to the dramatic declines reported. A widespread bee pathogen, Nosema, will be used to directly quantify the effectiveness of commercially used pesticides on both parasite and honeybee vi ....Safeguarding Honeybees: Increasing parasite treatment effectiveness using nanotechnology. There is increasing concern about the exposure of honeybees to pesticides used to control both agricultural pests and diseases. Emerging reports indicate that these chemicals substantially harm bees and therefore contribute to the dramatic declines reported. A widespread bee pathogen, Nosema, will be used to directly quantify the effectiveness of commercially used pesticides on both parasite and honeybee viability. Furthermore, state-of-the-art nanotechnology will be used to develop benign treatments with enhanced effectiveness and minimal dosage/exposure to the bees. Outcomes of this project can have major impact on future parasite management in commercial honeybees.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100709
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Assessing pollination services of honey bees in native ecosystems and threats posed by parasites. The European honeybee is our most abundant pollinator but we know little about its role in native Australian ecosystems or how its many diseases may affect its ability to pollinate. This project will determine whether honeybees are important pollinators of native plants and how a common parasite affects their pollination ability.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100382
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Odorant recognition in insect olfactory system to control insect behaviour. This project seeks to develop new insights into insect’s ability to detect odour and to identify potential attractant compounds to support the development of environmentally safer insect pest control strategies. Insect reliance on senses to detect food has considerable potential for the development of odour-based behaviour control methods. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are an ideal molecular target to identify odorant- ....Odorant recognition in insect olfactory system to control insect behaviour. This project seeks to develop new insights into insect’s ability to detect odour and to identify potential attractant compounds to support the development of environmentally safer insect pest control strategies. Insect reliance on senses to detect food has considerable potential for the development of odour-based behaviour control methods. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are an ideal molecular target to identify odorant-based insect attractants from a large pool of compounds. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanism that mediates chemoreception in insects is limited. This project may provide valuable insight into the role of OBPs in molecular recognition in insects and develop a new way to screen attractants based on the binding ability of OBPs to compounds.Read moreRead less