It is becoming abundantly clear that wild and domesticated bees are surprisingly sensitive to global warming, heatwaves, and droughts – all hallmarks of climate change – leading to population declines, range restrictions, and reduced performance. This is a far-reaching problem that spans individual health and populations dynamics to reductions in pollination efficiency and loss of biodiversity at the landscape level. While these effects are well-documented, the reasons explain why bees are so sensitive to hot and dry conditions are understudied. One possibility is that bees simply overheat when it is too warm – much like we do – causing them to die from heat shock or necessitation acclimation of behaviour or physiology to minimise the negative effects. To understand whether bees will thrive in a future world, we now need fundamental information about their temperature tolerance and thermal sensitivity across species, time, and space.
Several projects at MSc or BSc levels are available at the intersection between bees, eco-physiology, and agriculture. Projects can be field- or lab-based, or both, and revolve around using and/or developing eco-physiological methods to answer why bees suffer from global warming. Enquiry can be at the level of populations (including biodiversity surveys), organisms, or cells. Starting time is either spring or summer, and duration is 30-60 credits. 15 credit options may also be available upon enquiry.
For more information, contact: Andreas Nord, andreas.nord@biol.lu.se