
Alison McAfee is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia, where she studies honey bee reproductive health. She is also a science writer, publishing a monthly column, Science Insider, for American Bee Journal, and other work has been published by Scientific American, the Gairdner Foundation, The Conversation, and UBC Magazine.
Research Summary
Honey bee queens mate several times early in life, then maintain the sperm for years in a specialized storage organ until they die. Colony health depends on the queen’s ability to keep these sperm alive so that she can lay an abundance of fertilized eggs and keep the colony strong; however, environmental factors like heat-shock, cold-shock, and pesticide exposure can dramatically reduce sperm viability.
Extreme weather patterns are on the rise and pesticide residues are persisting in the environment, creating major threats to honey bee colony health. Alison’s research will help us better understand the biological processes underlying sperm viability, how sperm are affected by environmental stressors, and contribute to best-practice recommendations to limit adverse exposure of the queens.
Bio
Alison holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry and completed her Ph.D. in Genome Science and Technology at the University of British Columbia, where she studied molecular mechanisms of hygienic behavior. She is originally from a remote, coastal community and enjoys steep hikes, training horses, catching huge, ugly fish, and breaking speed limits on her bicycle.
January 8, 2019 at 6:08 pm
Alison,
I read your article “Hygienic behavior and the scent of death” while searching for the chemical composition of the characteristic scent of American Foulbrood.
Unfortunately I was not able to find the answer to my question in your article, or anywhere else.
Do you happen to know what it is, or where I might look for it?
Thank you.
Frank Linton
http://colonymonitoring.com
Author The Observation Hive Handbook
and The Beefeater Bee Feeder (Oct 2018 ABJ)
EAS-certified master beekeeper
LikeLike
January 11, 2019 at 1:50 am
Hello! No one has actually investigated that yet. I thought about pursuing it at the outset of my thesis, but prioritized varroa and freeze-killed brood instead. The question awaits to be answered.
LikeLike
January 8, 2023 at 3:42 am
You are supporting a devilish, utterly criminal cartel and therefore are putting everyone at risk, while destroying ecosystems
Hope you get what you deserve
LikeLike