INVASIVE SPECIES: HOW INVASIVE SPECIES Impact POLLINATION DECLINE IN MICHIGAN

Research Question:

This page will discuss how invasive species have impacted the decline of pollinators within Michigan.

Introduction:

There has been a rapid decline of pollinators worldwide due to numerous reasons. One of the main reasons for this decline is the increase of invasive plant and pest species. These species can push out these native plants that pollinators rely on in order to create honey and pollinate agricultural crops. Farmers rely heavily on pollinators to ensure there is food security within the area. This risk not only threatens biodiversity within the plant community but also can pose a risk to access to human food sources as well. This is a prominent problem within the state of Michigan in the agricultural community.

Literature Review

Figure 1:

Invasive plants interact with native flower visitors directly (blue arrows) and indirectly via effects on interactions with native plants (green arrows).

Stout, J.C. and Tiedeken, E.J. (2017), Direct interactions between invasive plants and native pollinators: evidence, impacts and approaches. Funct Ecol, 31: 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12751

Invasive Plant Species

This is an image of garlic mustard which is a invasive plant species in Michigan.

Many invasive plant species can pose a huge threat to biodiveristy and the natural order of our ecosystems. Species such as garlic mustard, purple loostrife, spotted knapweed, etc. can flood out native plants within Michigan's environment. Not only are these species flooding out native ones, but they can pose a threat to honeybees food aources as well. Most of these species can appear appealing towards pollinators, but not have the biological component to make nector accessabile to bees. This can cause a depletion of honeybees food sources as well as pull pollinators away for native food options.

Invasive Pest Species (Varroa Destructor)

This is an image of the invasive species; Varroa Destructor.

Not only do invasive plant species threaten pollinators, but Varroa mites are incredibly harmful as well. They came originally from East Asia and have a two stage life cycle. The first being when they attach themselves to the honeybee and feed off of their fat bodies and the second being when they reproduce within the brood cells. Once a hive is contaminated, it's incredibly easy for it to spread to other local hives nearby through its foulbrood. Its entire life cycle thrives off of taking over a honeybee colony. Many beekeepers struggle with this issue within Michigan and the spread of this pest is growing quite rampant.

How does this affect Michigan's agriculture?

Threaten sustainable farming practices
Decreased pollination services
Lower crop yield (apples, cherries, and blueberries)
Threaten food security

This is an image of pollination services being done to native cherry trees within Michigan.

COnstructs:

Farming Practices
Quality of Life

With sustainable pollination services from honeybees, sustainable and efficient farming practices will be implemented. With high crop yeilds and successful farms, this will lead to healthy and sustainable food systems which ultimately leads for a higher quality of life for residents within Michigan.

Theory:

Pollination Network Theory-

This theory focuses on how plants and pollinators are dependent on one another for reproduction purposes and stable ecosystems. There are two groups within this theory: plants and pollinators. If there is a disruption within the set of plant species, such as a rapid increase of invasive species flushing out native species or invasive species being more appealing to pollinators than native plants, this can pose a threat to the pollinator population. In turn, if there is a disruption amongst the pollinator population such as a rapid decline, this can drop crop yields posing a threat to agriculture or especially threaten biodiversity and the natural order of surrounding ecosystems. If there is a disruption amongst pollination services due to an imbalance with this relationship, farming practices can be put at risk through low crop yeilds from crops not being properly pollinated. This can later pose a risk to food security as well which can affect our quality of life by not having access to these healthy food choices. This theory describes the relationship between plants and pollinators with the intention to understand and protect this relationship. With the application of this theory, we can better understand how native biodiversity leads to healthy and sustainable pollinator populations and how an increase of pollinators can cause healthy and sustainable ecosystems and agriculture.

This diagram showcases the Pollination Network theory with the two groups within this theory, plants and pollinators. It shows when there is a stable relationship between the two groups, it leads to sustainable farming pratcies which then leads to stable food systems and food security. It also shows the effects that can range when there is a disruption in each of the main two groups.

Methods:

Throughout my research, there was a case study done on the impact of pollination services on plant health in native and non-native regions. With the continuation of my research, I would like to implement these ideas on cherry farms within Michigan through a case study. This would involve data-anaylsis on crop yield and overall plant health, while also taking into consideration the amount of pollinators within the area. This study would be done on a black cherry farm within Michigan, where these fruits are native, and then a black cherry farm in Japan, where these fruits are not native. With pollination services being used, I will begin to evaluate how the crop is affected within these different regions by using data and statistics to evaluate the overall plant health.

References:

Bloom, E. H., Graham, K. K., Haan, N. L., Heck, A. R., Gut, L. J., Landis, D. A., Milbrath, M. O., Quinlan, G. M., Wilson, J. K., Zhang, Y., Szendrei, Z., & Isaacs, R. (2022). Responding to the US national pollinator plan : a case study in Michigan. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 20(2), 84–92. https://research.ebsco.com/c/6l5vh5/viewer/html/bwequnp7qb

Exotic pests. Bee Aware. (n.d.). https://beeaware.org.au/archive-pest/varroa-mites/#ad-image-0

Gibbs, J., Elle, E., Bobiwash, K., Haapalainen, T., & Isaacs, R. (2016). Contrasting Pollinators and Pollination in Native and Non-Native Regions of Highbush Blueberry Production. PLoS ONE, 11(7), 1–24. https://research.ebsco.com/c/6l5vh5/viewer/pdf/yxvplea2kv

Kovács-Hostyánszki, A., Szigeti, V., Miholcsa, Z., Sándor, D., Soltész, Z., Török, E., & Fenesi, A. (2022). Threats and benefits of invasive alien plant species on pollinators. Basic and Applied Ecology, 64, 89–102. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179122000627?via%3Dihub

Liu, J., Zhang, R., Tang, R., Zhang, Y., Guo, R., Xu, G., Chen, D., Huang, Z. Y., Chen, Y., Han, R., & Li, W. (2023). The Role of Honey Bee Derived Aliphatic Esters in the Host-Finding Behavior of Varroa destructor. Insects (2075-4450), 14(1), 24. https://research.ebsco.com/c/6l5vh5/viewer/pdf/k2tetwe2yb

Murphy, J. T., Breeze, T. D., Willcox, B., Kavanagh, S., & Stout, J. C. (2022). Globalisation and pollinators: Pollinator declines are an economic threat to global food systems. People & Nature, 4(3), 773–785. https://research.ebsco.com/c/6l5vh5/viewer/pdf/tg6rttpoyf

NAPCC. (n.d.). Invasive Species. North American Pollinator Protection Campaign . https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator.org/assets/generalFiles/NAPPC-Invasive-Species-Fact-Sheet.pdf

University of Michigan. (n.d.). Responding to honey bee population decline in Michigan. DOW Sustainability Fellows. https://graham.umich.edu/media/files/dow/DOW-Global-Impact-Bee-Populationxx.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (n.d.). Threats to pollinators. FWS.gov. https://www.fws.gov/initiative/pollinators/threats

Wang, L. L., Yang, Y. P., & Duan, Y. W. (2021). Pollinator individual-based networks reveal the specialized plant-pollinator mutualism in two biodiverse communities. Ecology and evolution, 11(23), 17509–17518. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8384

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