What’s All the Buzz about GPS Tracking for Bumblebees?
24 Oct 2013Researchers use GPS tracking to determine the reason for pollination decline.
The amount of pollination from bees is on decline and researchers want to know why. They have turned to GPS tracking due to the success this technology has had for other tracking and monitoring projects by researchers and scientists.
Global positioning systems (GPS) provide everything from navigation to civilians and the military to monitoring animal activity and finding stolen vehicles or goods. In the past, it has been used for things such as monitoring animals that are at risk of extinction and catching poachers of such animals. Now, researching want to utilize this advanced technology for monitoring the bumblebee’s behavior and find out why their pollination numbers have dwindled.
The GPS tracker device will need to be one of the smallest yet, as it has to be light enough and small enough to be fitted to the back of the bumblebee.
Scientists working at Oregon State University (OSU) are currently on a mission to build one that will work effectively. Sensors are already being used for fish and birds, so it will be similar technology. The research project at Oregon State University is currently being led by Sujaya Rao, an entomology professor.
The concern right now is with the decline in bee pollination. Without proper pollination from these bumblebees, approximately a third of the food currently being eaten throughout the world stands to be gone.
This project is led by Rao and his research team, as well a engineers from OSU to develop a GPS tracker device that is small enough for putting on the back of the bees. Once it has been created, there were will be several duplicates of the miniature devices to be glued on the backs of various bees. This will allow researchers to monitor the bees behaviors and find out what is going on.
Rao and his team already know part of the problem is that there is a decline in bee population. So the hope is that during the study they can monitor the bees and track the data in order to find ways to build the bee populations and further to sustain their populations, even with the near constant change in the landscape and climate that the bees must survive in.
The OSU GPS tracking research project is costing $500,000 and being funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It will take about two years for the GPS trackers and wireless sensors to be built, since they are working on such a small scale. Once complete, they will provide data in real time that is seen from a remote computer or electronic device. To thwart pollination decline, the EPA is also taking steps to minimize pesticide contact with bees. Aside from looking at their behavior and population issues, researchers will also look at the production of crops that pollination assists with.
Comments are closed.