Committee Chair

Beasley, DeAnna

Committee Member

Aborn, David A.; Chatzimanolis, Stylianos

Department

Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Rapid urban development may increase stress and disease exposure on economically essential organisms, including honey bees. We surveyed 18 apiaries containing 53 hives for diseases and productivity from 2021-2022 in Hamilton County, Tennessee at varying levels of urbanization. Disease levels were analyzed at 1.0km intervals from 0.5-9.5 km radii from each hive. Varroa levels significantly decreased with increased urbanization. There was a weak negative correlation between Varroa load and the likelihood of surviving the study. There was a positive relationship between urbanization and small hive beetle count. A positive relationship existed between small hive beetle counts and increased urbanization. This is significant as it indicates a changing disease ecology based on the degree of urbanization. As both urbanization and the demand for pollination services increase, it is vital to understand how honey bees will adapt to changing environments and pressures.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people and agencies. The UTC Graduate School provided funding through an assistantship from 2021 to 2022, the College of Arts and Sciences awarded the Graduate Engagement Award in 2023. The continued advice of Dr. DeAnna Beasley was instrumental in making it through this process. Dr. Francesca Leasi assisted me with statistical analysis. Joshua Crow and Megan Ferrel assisted in field collection. The NoogaQueenBee Club and Tennessee Valley Beekeepers spread the word of this project to members and provided useful information. Alex Wild gave me permission to use his excellent photographs online. The beekeepers in my surveys were willing to allow me to inspect their hives. Finally, family members were nice enough to let me keep a beehive in the backyard and gave me support and feedback throughout the study.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

5-2023

Subject

Honeybee--Effect of human beings on--Tennessee--Hamilton County; Honeybee--Diseases--Tennessee--Hamilton County

Keyword

honey bee; varroa; urbanization; hive beetle; season, insect

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

ix, 76 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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