The Agricultural Research Foundation at Oregon State University (OSU) has awarded the OBGP with a small grant to begin sequencing genomic regions in bees and to develop molecular detection tools for these insect pollinators within the state of Oregon. This is the start of what we hope will be a long and productive collaboration between the OBGP, the Jim Rivers and Sandy DeBano laboratories at OSU, the Oregon State University Arthropod Collection, and the Oregon Bee Atlas.
Extending our scope to develop molecular tools to detect bees may not seem an obvious progression but both groups are experiencing major population declines worldwide and would benefit from the creation of improved monitoring tools. The most recent WWF Living Planet Report reports that populations of freshwater species have declined by 83% since 1970 and a study by Sánchez-Bayo and Wyckhuys (2019) suggests that more than 50% of bee species are experiencing significant population declines.
Developing methods to more rapidly and efficiently monitor these groups is essential given their population shifts and the prospect of mining the nuclear genome for bee detection is an exciting one. This is possible with bees because monitoring them involves capturing whole insects and not just environmental DNA samples. These are exciting times and the OBGP is looking forward to harnessing the molecular tools at our fingertips to enhance wildlife detection and monitoring.