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Weight-of-evidence evaluation of an adverse outcome pathway network linking activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in bees to colony loss
Citation:
LaLone, C., R. Milsk, Dan Villeneuve, K. Garber, K. Sappington, J. Housenger, AND G. Ankley. Weight-of-evidence evaluation of an adverse outcome pathway network linking activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in bees to colony loss. SETAC North America, Orlando, FL, November 06 - 10, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
not applicable
Description:
Ongoing honey bee colony losses are of significant international concern because of the essential role these insects play in pollinating staple food crops. Chemical and non-chemical stressors both have been implicated as possible contributors to colony failure, however, the potential role of commonly-used neonicotinoid insecticides has emerged as particularly concerning. Neonicotinoids act on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) to eliminate target pest insects, however, mounting evidence indicates that these chemicals may adversely affect beneficial pollinators, such as the honey bee, via impacts on learning and memory thereby affecting foraging success. However, the mechanisms linking activation of the nAChR to adverse effects on learning and memory are uncertain. Additionally, clear connections between observed impacts on individual bees and colony level effects are lacking. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) as a means to evaluate the biological plausibility and empirical evidence supporting (or refuting) the linkage between the nAChR and colony level impacts. Development of these AOPs has led to the identification of research gaps which, for example, may be of high priority in understanding how perturbation of pathways involved in neurotransmission can adversely affect honey bee health, causing colony instability and further failure. From this effort, an AOP network also was developed, laying the foundation for further insights as to the role of combined chemical and non-chemical stressors in impacting bee populations. Insights gained from AOP network assembly, which more realistically represent multi-stressor impacts on honey bee colonies, are promising aids for understanding common nodes in the biological pathway and identifying where mitigation strategies may be focused to reduce colony losses.