Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Baton Rouge, Louisiana » Honey Bee Lab » Research » Research Project #439072

Research Project: Improving Honey Bee Resilience to Biotic and Abiotic Stressors

Location: Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research

Project Number: 6050-21000-016-011-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 1, 2020
End Date: Aug 31, 2025

Objective:
The primary objective of this agreement is to establish a mechanism to fund trainee research on honey bee health. The Cooperator has a strong graduate education program in Entomology, but does not have the facilities or expertise to conduct in house research on honey bee health from a genetics and breeding perspective. We will provide these resources, while partnering with the Cooperator to recruit strong students to participate in current research with the goal of training the next generation of pollinator health experts.

Approach:
The SY PI will work closely with the Cooperator to recruit and train graduate students with an interest in honey bee health and stakeholder interaction. The trainees will receive classroom training and access to facilities from the Cooperator. The SY PI will provide mentorship and expertise in honey bee biology, as well as access to the genetic stock, beekeeping equipment and research facilities maintained at the Research Unit. The SY PI will work with trainees to develop a research project that will complement parent project goals and leverage Cooperator resources to identify points of interaction between honey bee stressors and how they can be mitigated by management practices.