Amy Storey, a third-year master’s student in zoology and physiology at the University of Wyoming, was recognized on April 8 for her research on bumble bee parasites at the Wyoming Chapter of the Wildlife Society meeting in Sheridan. Her presentation, titled “Parasites and Bumble Bee Decline in Wyoming,” was named the top entry among master’s students.
Storey’s work addresses concerns about declining wild bumble bee populations and highlights a lack of data on parasite infection rates among bees in Wyoming. She said her project stood out because it provided the first-ever data on parasite rates in the state, giving researchers baseline infection rates to reference moving forward. “I think my project presentation won because the project has had a lot of time to mature into a cohesive story due to where I am in my degree,” Storey said. “I also think these results are interesting for audiences to hear about because bees are charismatic and folks understand how important pollination is. They’re also interesting results because they’re the first; these are the first-ever parasite rates in Wyoming. Researchers of bee parasitism in the Rocky Mountains now have baseline infection rates to work from.”
Storey used PCR molecular lab methods to screen wild bumble bees across Wyoming for three known parasites: Apicystis bombi, Vairimorpha bombi, and Vairimorpha ceranae. She found that all three were present at higher-than-expected rates among wild bees.
Lusha Tronstad, lead invertebrate zoologist with the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database and Storey’s adviser, said that before this study there was no information about what proportion of bumble bees were infected with these parasites in the Intermountain West region. “Amy Marie’s study showed that most bumble bees in Wyoming are infected with at least one of these three parasites, which are all capable of causing bumble bee loss,” Tronstad said. “Surprisingly, bumble bees from Wyoming towns to wilderness were equally infected by some parasites.” Tronstad added that planting more flowers can help reduce infection rates: “Amy Marie’s results showed that more flowers in an area related to fewer infected bees… So planting more flowers that bloom throughout the summer supports our native bees.”
Storey received $100 as part of her award-winning effort at this event judged anonymously by organizers. She plans to provide further details when she defends her thesis on Friday, April 24.
