Doug is currently a postdoctoral scholar at Penn State University’s Center for Pollinator Research. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, and he went on to receive his PhD from Ohio State University. His research brings spatial ecology perspectives to the topics of pollinator foraging and toxicology, with particular emphasis on urban plant-pollinator interactions and mechanistic understandings of toxic exposure.

Listen in as we go over pesticide’s effects on pollinators, the difficulties in testing, and the advantages certain insects have in fighting pesticides.

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“It’s a bit ironic that the most convenient organism for which to study toxicology from a logistical perspective, the honey bee, is also the most problematic one for which to interpret toxicology.“ – Doug Sponsler

Show Notes:

• What determines risk of a pesticide’s effect on pollinators
• Why toxicity is talked about more than exposure
• How field experiments on pesticides and pollinators can run into problems
• How the EPA’s new BeeREX model helps in risk assessment
• What the “dynamic hazard surface” can explain about the complexity of pesticide testing
• Why the fully distributional nature of exposure is necessary
• Why honeybee’s social complexity aids in defending them against pesticides

“[current models for pesticide exposure to bees in risk assessment] are good, but they do not get to the behavioral and chemical mechanics of exposure that go into bringing a bee into intersection with a pesticide.” – Doug Sponsler

Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State
• Check out Doug’s articles online:
  • “Mechanistic modeling of pesticide exposure: The missing keystone of honey bee toxicology”
  • “Poisoning a Society: A Superorganism Perspective on Honey Bee Toxicology”
• Find out more about Doug’s favorite bee book, “The Wisdom of the Hive”
• Learn more about Doug’s favorite tools:
  • R (open source statistical computing software)
  • QGIS (open source GIS software)
• Check out Doug’s favorite bees:
  • Apis dorsata
  • Bees from the genus Andrena
• Connect with Doug Sponsler at Penn State University