Do you have an interest in water quality, climate change, and/or pollinators? Join us in investigating how all three of these are connected in our novel project on cyanobacterial toxins and pollinator health.
Increased agricultural activity across the landscape, climate warming, and increased runoff due to draining activities have left many lakes and wetlands impaired by increased fertilizer and nutrient input. These inputs lead to cyanobacterial blooms which host a wide range of highly potent neuro, hepato, and cytotoxins detrimental to animal health (humans, fish or aquatic invertebrates). Preliminary research on pollinators indicates that these toxins may affect bee health and activity through exposure in drinking water. However, we know very little on how these toxins operate in colonies, affect bee behavior and subsequently pollination services. In addition, these potential impacts could exacerbate with climate change because elevated temperatures are expected to intensify toxic cyanobacteria bloom formation, while simultaneously increasing water requirements for bees. In this project, we will evaluate how toxic cyanobacteria under different temperatures affect bee health at the individual and colony level and investigate pollination activity post toxin exposure to elucidate impacts to pollination services. The end goals of this project are to provide insights into cyanobacteria toxins as additional contributors to pollinator declines, and to provide recommendations to farmers and national stakeholders on how to manage water bodies in order to maximize the sustainability of agricultural practices.
Time plan: Projects can start from Fall 2023 onwards.
Workload: Research projects of 30-60 credits can be formulated.
Contact: Corrie Nyquist (Aquatic Ecology Unit, Dept. Biology, Lund University, corrie.nyquist@biol.lu.se), Pablo Urrutia Cordero (Aquatic Ecology Unit, Dept. Biology, Lund University, pablo.urrutia_cordero@biol.lu.se, 0762971234), Björn Klatt (Biodiversity Unit, Dept. Biology, Lund University, bjorn.klatt@biol.lu.se, 0739317689)