Details zur Publikation
Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1111/1365-2664.12222
Titel (primär) BEEHAVE: a systems model of honeybee colony dynamics and foraging to explore multifactorial causes of colony failure
Autor Becher, M.A.; Grimm, V.; Thorbek, P.; Horn, J.; Kennedy, P.J.; Osborne, J.L.
Quelle Journal of Applied Ecology
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
Department OESA; iDiv
Band/Volume 51
Heft 2
Seite von 470
Seite bis 482
Sprache englisch
Keywords Apis mellifera; colony decline; cross-level interactions; feedbacks; foraging; modelling; multiple stressors; multi-agent simulation; predictive systems ecology; Varroa destructor
UFZ Querschnittsthemen RU5;
Abstract

  1. A notable increase in failure of managed European honeybee Apis mellifera L. colonies has been reported in various regions in recent years. Although the underlying causes remain unclear, it is likely that a combination of stressors act together, particularly varroa mites and other pathogens, forage availability and potentially pesticides. It is experimentally challenging to address causality at the colony scale when multiple factors interact. In silico experiments offer a fast and cost-effective way to begin to address these challenges and inform experiments. However, none of the published bee models combine colony dynamics with foraging patterns and varroa dynamics.
  2. We have developed a honeybee model, BEEHAVE, which integrates colony dynamics, population dynamics of the varroa mite, epidemiology of varroa-transmitted viruses and allows foragers in an agent-based foraging model to collect food from a representation of a spatially explicit landscape.
  3. We describe the model, which is freely available online (www.beehave-model.net). Extensive sensitivity analyses and tests illustrate the model's robustness and realism. Simulation experiments with various combinations of stressors demonstrate, in simplified landscape settings, the model's potential: predicting colony dynamics and potential losses with and without varroa mites under different foraging conditions and under pesticide application. We also show how mitigation measures can be tested.
  4. Synthesis and applications. BEEHAVE offers a valuable tool for researchers to design and focus field experiments, for regulators to explore the relative importance of stressors to devise management and policy advice and for beekeepers to understand and predict varroa dynamics and effects of management interventions. We expect that scientists and stakeholders will find a variety of applications for BEEHAVE, stimulating further model development and the possible inclusion of other stressors of potential importance to honeybee colony dynamics.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=14620
Becher, M.A., Grimm, V., Thorbek, P., Horn, J., Kennedy, P.J., Osborne, J.L. (2014):
BEEHAVE: a systems model of honeybee colony dynamics and foraging to explore multifactorial causes of colony failure
J. Appl. Ecol. 51 (2), 470 - 482 10.1111/1365-2664.12222