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UK funding (1 072 663 £) : Choix des fleurs et butinage du pollen chez les abeilles Ukri05/10/2020 UK Research and Innovation, Royaume Uni
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Choix des fleurs et butinage du pollen chez les abeilles
| Abstract | One third of all crops grown worldwide benefit from pollination by insects such as bees, therefore plant-pollinator interactions are of significant importance to global food security and the diversity and nutritional quality of human diets. Bees visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar, which together comprise the entirety of their diet and that of their offspring. We know that bees use nutritional cues such as sugar concentration to assess the value of nectar rewards offered by flowers and guide their foraging decisions. However, we still know very little about how insects assess reward quality during pollen collection and the factors which shape flower choices when foraging for this resource. The complexity of pollen as a food source means that a purely behavioural approach to examining the factors guiding the flower choices are limited, due to difficulties in controlling both the nutritional and physical properties of the pollen stimuli used. Therefore, to fully characterise the sensory and cognitive mechanisms underpinning pollen collection by bees, I propose to complement behavioural methods with a physiological approach. I will use electrophysiological recordings to directly measure bees' capacity to use smell or taste to detect important nutritional compounds in pollen, which may in turn be used to guide their pollen collection preferences. Respirometry will be combined with behavioural assays to quantify, for the first time, the direct energetic costs of pollen collection. Finally, the relative contribution of floral rewards and handling costs in guiding pollen foraging decisions will be examined using artificial flowers where floral features such as flower morphology can be manipulated. Pollination is ultimately dependent on the flower choices of individual insects. Therefore, by improving our understanding of the cues guiding bees' foraging choices, my research will impact on the environmental management of agricultural landscapes for wild bees, with the potential to sustainably enhance crop pollination and yields and mitigate the risks posed to global food security by a lack of insect pollinators. |
| Category | Fellowship |
| Reference | MR/T021691/1 |
| Status | Closed |
| Funded period start | 05/10/2020 |
| Funded period end | 30/06/2025 |
| Funded value | £1 072 663,00 |
| Source | https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FT021691%2F1 |
Participating Organisations
| University of Sussex | |
| British Beekeepers Association | |
| Lancaster University | |
| University of Surrey | |
| Uppsala University | |
| Royal Horticultural Society |
Cette annonce se réfère à une date antérieure et ne reflète pas nécessairement l’état actuel. L’état actuel est présenté à la page suivante : University OF Sussex, Brighton, Royaume Uni.
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