Canada’s Pioneering

Roles in Protecting

Pollinators

Peter Kevan

University of Guelph

November 19, 2009

Canadian Club of Halton Peel

Why Protect Pollinators?

• Food Security

• Fibre Production

• Vegetable Oils

• Seed Production

• Agriculture, Horticulture, Floriculture

• Forestry & Forest Ecosystem Sustainability

• Wilderness Ecosystems: Arctic to Tropical

Pollination is an Essential & Crucial Ecosystem

Service that links Plant & Animal Biodiversity on Earth

Pollination: For Food. For Fibre Centrality of Pollination Services

• Pollination: an Essential Natural Services

Insect pollination

has an estimated

worth for food and

fibre production of

$217 Billion/year

globally!

1 in 3 bites of

food: Thank a

pollinator!

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages

• Since the dawn of agriculture

– Figs

– Dates

Amos of the

Old Testament

was a fig-

piercer (2800

BP)

Herodotus 2500 BP

Babylonian date pollination

by hand 3700 BP

Pollination & Pollinator

Shortages

• Recent examples

– Red clover in New Zealand (19th C)

• No bumblebees

– Alfalfa in western Canada (20th C)

• Agriultural intesification

– Oil palm in Malaysia (20th C)

• Hand pollination costly

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages

• Agriculture: Practices & Intensifation

• Pesticides

• Habitat Destruction

• Habitat Loss

• Habitat Fragmentation

• Diseases & Parasites

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages

Canadian Stories

• Canadian Examples: Canadian Leadership

– An Apple a Day

– Alfalfa Seeds, Forage, and Leafcutting Bees

– Blueberries, Bees, Business & Litigation

– Tomatoes & Bumblebees in the Greenhouse

– Honeybees, Beekeeping … Honey, we got

problems!

– Emerging problems & NSERC-CANPOLIN

An Apple a Day!

Lessons from Apples apply

to most orchard fruits:

Pears, Cherries, Plums, etc

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – Apple

• Apple in the Canadian East

• Native bees (many species)

effective (J. Macoun 1923, 1924)

• Insecticides problematic,

studies by W.H. Brittain

and team (1928-1932)

in Annapolis Valley, NS

• Solution

John Macoun

W. H. Brittain

• Honeybee husbandry

• Hive-mounted

pollen dispensers

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – Apple

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – Apple

• Changes in pesticide application policies and legislation (Bees Acts across Canada, Ontario first in 1887)– Do not spray blooming crops!

Bees Act

R.R.O. 1990, REGULATION 57

• Spraying of fruit trees

• 18. No person shall spray or dust fruit trees during the period within which

the trees are in bloom with a mixture containing any poisonous substance

injurious to bees unless almost all the blossoms have fallen from the trees.

R.S.O. 1990, c. B.6, s. 18.

Value of Pollination to Apple

Production

• No insect pollinators: no apples

• $65 Million Ontario crop value 2005

• Add honey bees to orchards

– 700% return on investment

– Larger, better formed, high value apples

– Juicers = lo$$e$Versus

R & D Needs for Pollination in

Fruit Production

• R & D needs

– Pollination needs (crosses between cultivars)

– Pollinator behaviour

– Orchard design

– Pollinator diversification

– Wild pollinators

Pollination needs: Breeding System

•Apples are self-

incompatible between

cultivars

• Within cultivars, cross

pollination does NOT

result in fruit setMcIntosh pollen

G. Delicious

Idared, Spy,

etc.

McIntosh flower

Pollinator Behaviour: Pollen Pick-up &

Delivery

Stigma touch/ Pollen collected ++++ Stigma touch/ Nectar

collected +++

Stigma missed/ Nectar collected +/-

Stigma missed/

Anthers missed - -

Floral Form &

Bee Behaviour

Mutsu – large gaps between filaments: bees can work from petals

Jona Gold – filaments tight together: bees have to work from top

Empire – filaments with small gaps

Pollination neighbourhood

Most pollen comes from within 20m of each tree

20m

Orchard Design: Gene Movement

Mixed pollens on one

flower: better fruit-

set

Some cultivars have

“stud-pollen”; others

have “wimp-pollen”

Pollinator Diversification

• Blue orchard bees

• Horn-faced bees

Wild Pollinators

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages

Canadian Stories – Alfalfa

• Alfalfa in the Canadian West

• F.W.L. Sladen (1918) advocated

Megachile spp. for pollination

• To the 1940s, system seemed

effective (Salt 1940)

• High productivity of alfalfa

seed leads to expansion

of fields

• By 1950s, problems!

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories - Alfalfa

• Huge alfalfa fields, no Megachile

nesting habitat, except around edges

• Seed Yields drop:

1000 to 15 kg/ha

(Stephen 1955)

• Solution

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories - Alfalfa

• Alfalfa leafcutting

bee husbandry

• G. Hobbs,

Lethbridge, AB (perfected by mid 1960s)

Gordon Hobbs

Value of Leafcutter Bee

Industry in Canada

• 50,000 bees per ha = over 2.0 Billion

bee population in SK alone (75% of

Canada’s alfalfa seed production)

• 13.5 Million kg seed/yr = $40 Million

$25 Million/yr in exports

• Bees = 30+% of seed value

= $15 - 20 Million

Lowbush Blueberries

• Maritimes & Quebec

• Canadian production

– 300 Million kg/yr

• Exports = $323 Million

• Must be pollinated by bees

– Buzz pollination

– Wild bees (70+ species)

– Honeybees

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:Canadian Stories – Blueberries & the Forest

Problem: pesticides

Blueberry Pie Ecosystem

& Pesticides

– Before Fenitrothion

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:Canadian Stories – Blueberries & the Forest

• Blueberry Pie

Ecosystem & Pesticides

– During Fenitrothion

• This example: New

Brunswick

• Other similar examples:

Quebec, Ontario

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:Canadian Stories – Blueberries & the Forest

New Brunswick’s Blueberries, Bees, and Pesticides

Crop loss ≈ 0.7 million kg/year !

Fenitrothion

• Solutions

– Litigation

– Restraining orders

– More science

• Other pesticides

• Other pollinators

• Other plants

• Other places

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:Canadian Stories – Blueberries & the Forest

Disrupted ecosystem

function

Reduced pollinator

diversity and abundance

Reduced fruit / seed set

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – The Forest

• Solution

– Tighter control on forest pesticide use

– More emphasis on biocontrol

– Recognition of pollinators in forest

ecosystem function

New Brunswick blueberry story was the start of a major trend in

pollinator conservation worldwide

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:Canadian Stories – Greenhouse Tomatoes

• Still air

• Hand pollination

– Labour costs $$$

– Reliability

– Timing

• Solution

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:Canadian Stories – Greenhouse Tomatoes

• Bumblebee cultureMB Plowright & Jay 1966ON Kevan et al. 1991

BC Dogterom 1998

ON Morandin et al. 2001- 2

BC Winston team 2003-4

Value of Greenhouse Tomato

Production• 736 Acres in Ontario (75% of Canadian production)

• $290 Million/year

• Bumblebees @ 2 colonies/acre/month for 10 months

– 20 colonies @ $200 each/acre/year

– $3.7 Million/year in Canada

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – Honeybees

• Beekeeping in Canada

• First records: Quebec, 1820s; Ontario, 1830s

• Industrial growth for honey and other hive products

• 1891 = 145,000 colonies for 3.4 million lbs of honey in Ontario

• Problems

– Pesticides

– Diseases

– Parasites

• Solutions

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – Honeybees

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – Honeybees

• Pesticides

– legislation, product labeling, use reduction

• Diseases

– sanitation (Foul Brood Act 1889, 1906)

– bee breeding for resistance

• Parasites

– Border closures banning import problems

Pollination & Pollinator Shortages:

Canadian Stories – Honeybees

• Bee breeding

programs

(incl. Instrumental

insemination)

Selection for overwintering & honey production

Resistance to tracheal mites (Nasr, 1980 on)

Resistance to Varroa mites (Nasr & Wilson 1990s)

Research centres:

AAFC (Beaverlodge AB); U of Guelph; U Manitoba; Simon Fraser U.

Honeybee Problems

• Colony losses in most of Canada

– Overwintering losses: up to & over 30% of

colonies/year

– Cost = $5+ Million/year to the industry

• Costs of Pest, Parasite & Disease

management rising

• Pollination demands rising

Crying need for R & D!

Value of Honeybees for

Crop Pollination

• Est. value = $1.3 to $1.7 Billion annually

in Canada

– 300,000 colonies for hybrid canola seed

– 35,000 colonies for blueberries

– 15,000 colonies for fruit trees

– @ average $120/ colony = $42 Million in

hive rentals/year

• Honey = $110 Million/year (28 Million kg)

Pollination costs!

Not pocket change

Commodity Value (Annual) Bee value (annual)

Apples >$100 Million

Alfalfa seed >$40 Million $15 – 20 Million (LCbees)

Blueberries $400 Million

Greenhouse Tomatoes $290 Million $3.7 Million (bumblebees)

Honey $110 Million $42 Million (hive rentals)

Just to mention a few, major crops!

What about Pollinator Shortages &

Economic Impacts ?

Insect pollination has an

estimated worth for food

and fibre production of

$217 Billion/year globally

Value of beekeeping

in Canada:

Pollinator shortage =

crop reductions =

higher price of

production =

consumer pays … but… if prices set internationally, Canadian farmer pays

Economics of Pollination Shortfalls

Initiatives on Pollination &

Pollinator Shortages:Canada at the Forefront

• NRCanada (1981) Pesticide Pollinator Interactions

• AgCanada (1989) National Workshop, Winnipeg

• ESC (1997) Pollinators & Mother Earth

• Canadian participation in International & US meetings (1992, 1995-1999, 1998-2006 )

• Review of Canadian Legislation (Thomas)

• US NRC (2007) Status of Pollinators in North America

Recent Global & International Initiatives

• Forgotten Pollinators 1995 – 1999

• CBD from São Paulo Declaration on Pollinators 1999

• NAPPC 2000 annually

• UN-FAO Internat. Pollinator Initiative 2001

• African PI 2002 –

• US National Academy of Sciences “The Status of Pollinators in North America” 2006-7

• CPPI 2007 –

Recent Canadian Initiatives

• CPPI – January, 2007 in Ottawa

• CANPOLIN –

NSERC Strategic Network Proposal:

submitted February 2008 ($5 million)

• City of Guelph Pollination Park 7 March 2008

• CPPI – Urban pollination, 8 March 2008

• National Wildlife Week, 30 April 2008

• Pollinator Conservation in Practice, 13 Nov. 2009

Funded Oct. 2008!

NSERC-CANPOLIN: Facets

• Wild pollinator diversity

• Managed pollinator health & sustainability

• Plant reproductive needs

– Insect pollination & wind pollination

• Ecosystem function, complexity & conservation

• Predictions

– Climate & land-use changes

– Economics & Policy issues

Assembling the CANPOLIN Players

• Laurence Packer & Peter Kevan hatch the idea

• Listing of Players

– Known colleagues

– Literature records to fill out the list

• Contacting the Players

• Inclusive policy of Invitation to join

– Very few opted out

• Active invitees became leader

– No one was excluded

A true

Network

not a hub,

spokes

and rim

Proposal Woes & Whoopee

• Pre-proposal 1 to NSERC (2004): Thanks but no thanks!

• Pre-proposal 2 to NSERC (2005): Program suspended

• Pre-proposal 3 to NSERC (2006): Thanks but no thanks; Economic$ & Policy not NSERC’s mandate:

But a little birdy told us …

• Pre-proposal 4 to NSERC (2007): Thanks, and a Full proposal requested ($25,000 to prepare) and include Economic$! Victoria MacPhail hired!

• Full Proposal submitted before deadline online

• Site Visit (July 2008): Experts from Canada, U.S.A., France!

Proposal Wishes & Whoopee

• Site Visit

– If we build it, they will come

– Positive responses all round

• October 2008! GREAT NEWS!

Kevan, Packer et al.

50 + Scientists at 26 Institutions

Continuing Canada’s legacy in

pollination R & D

Serving Canadian Agriculture,

Forestry & Conservation

$5 Very Large over 5 years

Thank you!

• I am most grateful to the Canadian Club of Halton-Peel for inviting me to this exciting event and “To share and promote NSERC-CANPOLIN’s passion for Canada"

• I am sure that I speak for all members of NSERC-CANPOLIN, academic, government, industry, and NGOs across Canada in expressing our collective thanks as well

• Please join us in support of our pollinators and the plants they pollinate:

www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin