A queen bumblebee collects pollen and nectar early in spring in the Snowy Range. Michael
Dillon, a UW associate professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology, is a
member of the Insect Cryobiology and Ecophysiology Network that recently received
a $5.86 million grant. The group will study how bees overcome harsh winter conditions
to successfully emerge and reproduce in the spring. (Michael Dillon Photo)
A University of Wyoming faculty member is part of a research team that will study
how bees overcome harsh winter conditions to successfully emerge and reproduce in
the spring.
Michael Dillon, a UW associate professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology,
is a member of the Insect Cryobiology and Ecophysiology (ICE) Network that recently
received a $5.68 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Established Program to
Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grant. Of that total, UW receives a little
more than $2.37 million.
The project is titled “Insect Cryobiology and Ecophysiology (ICE) Network: Integrating
Genomics, Physiology and Modeling.”
North American bees spend most of their lives overwintering in a physiological state
that protects them from damage caused by low temperatures and conserves resources
necessary for reproduction during the growing season. Regulation of this overwintering
state determines key elements of bee life cycles, including when these critical pollinators
are available in natural and agricultural ecosystems.
“Bees and other animals and plants that live in temperate climates, like Wyoming,
spend as much as three-quarters of their lives overwintering. But, except in rare
cases, we often ignore winter when we study them,” Dillon says. “Beyond simply having
to survive through winter, the condition bees are in when spring finally comes will
strongly affect whether they are successful in the growing season (spring and fall).
So, though often overlooked, what happens to bees in winter is likely profoundly important.”
The ICE Network brings together experts in genomics, gene regulation, physiology and
ecological modeling to predict how each of three species will respond to changes in
temperature.
Julia Bowsher, an associate professor of evolutionary and developmental biology at
North Dakota State University (NDSU), heads the research team made up of individuals
from three states. Other members include Joseph Rinehart, a research biologist with
the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); Kendra
Greenlee, an associate professor in insect physiology and immunology at NDSU; and
Brook Milligan, a professor of biology at New Mexico State University. These faculty
members will collaborate with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, setting the
stage for improved management of three agriculturally relevant bee species, and more
accurate forecasting of wild and agricultural bee populations.
“I have studied physiology of insects -- in particular, bees -- for many years. Colleagues
at NDSU, the lead institution, brought me on board, as we have complementary expertise,”
Dillon says. “So, we are ideally poised to tackle the ‘genome to phenome’ approach
necessary for this grant. The planned work spans from the level of molecules and genes
to whole animal function, to modeling at continental scales the predicted effects
of changing winter temperatures on bees.”
Dillon says he will serve as the lead on much of the bumblebee studies. Because a
primary focus of the work is understanding how bees prepare for and respond to winter
conditions -- in particular, low temperatures -- he says the group will measure temperatures
of their overwinter habitats, metabolic rates and energy usage at low temperatures;
and potential stress of temperature variation during winter.
“In collaboration with Franco Basile (a UW professor in the Department of Chemistry)
and Dan Rule (a UW professor in the Department of Animal Science), we also will measure
how their fat stores change over time and how this may influence survival through
winter and success in spring,” Dillon says. “We will be working at sites across the
U.S. and at the three institutions.”
This four-year research effort also will support the development of early-career faculty
members and involve students from diverse backgrounds in the research efforts, including
students from tribal colleges.
“As one of only eight national NSF EPSCoR Track II awards given in this grant round,
it speaks to the high-quality research being done at these institutions,” says Kelly
Rusch, executive director of North Dakota EPSCoR. “The critical research on these
agricultural-essential pollinators will provide insights that help support North Dakota’s
primary industry.”
