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A29 - Tracking Alaskan Bee Populations
Pollinators are incredibly important to humans, especially bees.
A29 - Tracking Alaskan Bee Populations
Mentor: David Russell, Ph.D.
Pollinators are incredibly important to humans, especially bees. They provide the pollination for food and create the base of the food chain. In different environments, they can have different levels of success, and that can depend on pesticide and fungicide usage and how disturbed the areas around the trapping locations are. In this study, we compared two peony farms near Fairbanks, Alaska. The first farm is Boreal Peony Farm, and the second is Howling Downs Farm. These places have slightly different surrounding environments. Boreal Peony Farm is located about 20 miles east of Fairbanks, Alaska, and is surrounded by other farms. Two samples were taken in two different environments, one was in the Peony farm, and one was next to a small patch of boreal forest. At Howling Downs Farm it was located 21 miles east of Fairbanks, surrounded by undisturbed boreal forest, and the two samples were taken on opposite sides of the farm, and both were next to forest. Other farms surround Boreal Peony Farm, there is a higher chance of pesticide contamination, and it is a more disturbed land, which is less likely to be a good environment for ground-dwelling bees.
