We also lack a comprehensive understanding of the effects of pesticide exposure at the molecular level. New techniques in the analyses of gene and protein expression offer exciting and timely opportunities to examine the ‘unseen’ effects of pesticides, and develop molecular markers to detect the extent of pesticide exposure in wild populations. Determining the key mechanisms and pathways involved in the adaptation and recovery from pesticide exposures is vital for achieving sustainable intense agricultural practises, while minimising environmental impact.

Recent studies have focussed on the effects of single neonicotinoids or other individual chemicals. However, single application studies are not relevant to natural environments where pollinators are exposed simultaneously to a range of pesticides of varying concentrations, through multiple exposure routes and differences in foraging. EU and UK reports have highlighted that more information is urgently required on the effects of pesticide mixtures in field-realistic doses. In the UK, bees risk exposure to a number of pesticides when they forage in agricultural landscapes and this exposure is dependent on numerous factors such as type and duration of pesticide application, location of non-arable land (wildlife corridors) and foraging range of the species.

In order to address this issue, Dr Daisy Taylor and Dr Seirian Sumner, School of Biological Sciences, have used Cabot Institute Innovation Funds to identify the molecular effects of pesticides in the field. Daisy spent time working with farmers and agronomists across the UK to determine the extent of pesticide exposure in UK pollinators in order to design field-realistic experiments.

All the farms approached for this study were keen to be involved as bees provide vital pollination services and contribute significantly to agricultural practises. A number of farms allowed them access to their fields in order to collect wild bee populations for further studies of wild populations. Mapping the land usage of a number of farms also allowed them to create field-relevant experimental designs which we can recreate under controlled conditions. These pilot data will be used in our forthcoming grant proposals.

The Cabot Institute also connected Daisy and Seirian with researchers at Rothamstead Agricultural Research facility, which has the facilities to conduct large-scale, controlled field experiments. Facilitating new relationships between the University and these collaborators has not only strengthened their research proposal, but also builds associations for further research ideas.