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| USDA Announces Colony Collapse Disorder Action Plan |
362 Views |
| posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 |
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USDA ANNOUNCES COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER RESEARCH ACTION PLAN
By Kim Kaplan
USDA
July 13, 2007
Original Link
WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics Gale Buchanan today announced that USDA researchers have finalized an action plan for dealing with colony collapse disorder (CCD) of honey bees. The plan can be read here (pdf).
"There were enough honey bees to provide pollination for U.S. agriculture this year, but beekeepers could face a serious problem next year and beyond," Buchanan said. "This action plan provides a coordinated framework to ensure that all of the research that needs to be done is covered in order to get to the bottom of the CCD problem."
The action plan coordinates the federal strategy in response to CCD. It addresses four main components: (1) survey and data collection needs; (2) analysis of samples to determine the prevalence of various pests and pathogens, exposure to pesticides, or other unusual factors; (3) controlled experiments to carefully analyze the potential causes of CCD; and (4) developing new methods to improve the general health of bees to reduce their susceptibility to CCD and other disorders.
Four possible causes for CCD are identified in the plan: (1) new or reemerging pathogens, (2) new bee pests or parasites, (3) environmental and/or nutritional stress, or (4) pesticides. Research will focus on determining which of these factors are contributing causes of CCD, either individually or in combination.
CCD became apparent as a problem beginning in the winter of 2006-2007 when some beekeepers began reporting losses of 30-90 percent of their hives. While colony losses are not unexpected during winter weather, the magnitude of loss suffered by some beekeepers was highly unusual.
There is currently no recognizable underlying cause for CCD. The main symptom is finding no or a low number of adult honey bees present with no dead honey bees in the hive. Often there is still honey in the hive and immature bees (brood) are present.
Pollination is a critical element in agriculture, as honey bees pollinate more than 130 crops in the United States and add $15 billion in crop value annually.
The research action plan was developed by a CCD Steering Committee, chaired by Kevin Hackett, USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) national program leader for bees and pollination; H.J. Rick Meyer, national program leader for plant and animal systems for USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES); and Mary Purcell-Miramontes, national program leader for biobased pest management, entomology and nematology for CSREES. The committee also included other federal and university experts.
Even before the completion of this research plan, considerable research efforts have begun to be redirected to deal with CCD.
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IMPORTANT RESOURCES:
WIKIPEDIA ON COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder
MAAREC COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER WEBSITE:
http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorderInfo.html
MAP OF U.S. STATES REPORTING COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (pdf):
http://beealert.blackfoot.net/~beealert/USshaded.pdf
THE WAY BACK TO BIOLOGICAL BEEKEEPING (DEE LUSBY):
http://www.beesource.com/pov/lusby/index.htm
BUSH BEES WEBSITE (ORGANIC BEE WEBSITE):
http://bushfarms.com/bees.htm
VERY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (5/4/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12932
YAHOO ORGANIC BEEKEEPERS DISCUSSION LIST:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Organicbeekeepers/
GENERAL BEE ARTICLES & REPORTS:
http://www.beesource.com/news/index.htm
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY ON POLLINATORS: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id11761
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PREVIOUS NHNE NEWS LIST ARTICLES:
HONEYBEE DIE-OFF NOW REPORTED IN 35 STATES (6/12/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13100
WHO KILLED THE HONEYBEES? (5/30/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13034
VERY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (5/4/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12932
HONEYBEE DIE-OFF THREATENS FOOD SUPPLY (5/3/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12930
HONEYBEE COLLAPSE MYTHS (5/2/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12924
BEES VANISH, & SCIENTISTS RACE FOR REASONS (4/25/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12895
ORGANIC & KILLER BEES SEEM RESISTANT TO 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (4/24/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12889
HONEY BEE DIE-OFF ALARMS BEEKEEPERS, CROP GROWERS & RESEARCHERS (4/24/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12888
HONEY BEE EXPERTS GATHER TO POOL KNOWLEDGE (4/22/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12880
HONEY BEE DIE-OFF RESOURCES (4/17/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12857
ARE MOBILE PHONES WIPING OUT OUR BEES? (4/15/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12851
BEE COLONIES ACROSS U.S. CONTINUE TO DIE (4/7/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12825
ARE GM CROPS KILLING BEES? (3/23/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12754
HONEYBEES VANISH, LEAVING KEEPERS IN PERIL (2/27/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12647
U.S. BEE COLONIES DECIMATED BY MYSTERIOUS AILMENT (2/14/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12588
PARASITE DEVASTATES U.S. BEES (5/2/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/9104
MAD BEE DISEASE (2/20/2001):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1181
...........
NHNE Factory Farming Resource Page
NHNE Factory Farming (& Cruelty To Animals) News Stories
NHNE Climate Change Resource Page
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