Bee Pollinator Health: A Complex and Multi-Faceted Issue
In recent years there has been considerable discussion about the health of bee pollinators in terms of their interface with agroecosystems. In most cases, agricultural pesticides raise the greatest level of concern. If you consider the neonicotinoid and bee pollinator issue as an example it is easy to see how a topic like this can be so deeply polarizing. The problem is that there is an overwhelming amount of information available on bees and neonics professing a broad spectrum of impacts – primarily negative but often neutral and even positive. As a result its difficult to sieve through the material and determine what is accurate and what isn’t. In this presentation the importance of connecting lab and field studies, the difference between hazard and risk assessment in terms of potential pesticide toxicology, and how to consider the results of studies conducted under the process of Good Laboratory Practises (GLP) will be discussed so that in the future you can make an educated decision about the results provided in papers you are reading and relay this information with confidence to the growers you interact with on a daily basis.
Speaker
Cynthia Scott-Dupree
Cynthia is a Professor and Bayer CropScience Chair in Sustainable Pest Management (2014-2019) in the School of Environmental Sciences - University of Guelph and has been a faculty member there since 1986. She received her Master of Pest Management (1983) and Ph.D. (1986) from Simon Fraser University. Over the years she has supervised 40 graduate students and 4 PDFs, edited 3 books and 5 book chapters, and published 69 refereed scientific papers, 37 refereed proceedings papers, 80 technical reports and 30 extension publications. Her current research interests include sustainable management of insect crop pests using environmentally compatible control methods; management of invasive alien insect species; impact of agro-ecosystems on beneficial insects such as honey bees, non-Apis bees (i.e., bumble bees and leafcutter bees) and natural enemies; and environmental toxicology specifically the development of standardized pesticide risk assessment methods for non-Apis bees. She also is presently involved with risk assessment method development for studying the impact of pesticides in agroecosystems on bumble bees and leafcutter bees in lab and field situations; survey and development of IPM strategies for brown marmorated stink bug and ambrosia beetles – invasive insect pests in Ontario; and IPM for carrot weevil and carrot rust fly in Ontario. Since the early 90’s, I have been involved with the supervision of large-scale GLP and other field studies in Ontario – looking at the impact of insecticides on honey bees and bumble bees. Born and raised in western Canada (Brandon, Manitoba), Cynthia became acquainted with apiculture and agriculture through family beekeeping and farming operations. She is keenly aware of the importance of IPM, entomology/apiculture, and agriculture to the Canadian economy and endeavors to relay this to others through her research, teaching and outreach activities.