(Press-News.org) TOOELE, UTAH, USA -- Wildlife conservation is critical to sustaining the planet’s biodiversity and health. But putting together a conservation plan is a tall order. First of all, you need to determine what species you’re conserving, along with their numbers, habitat needs, threats and how they fit into a complex ecosystem.
As pollinators for native plants and food crops, bees play a pivotal role in our ecosystem, according to Utah State University ecologist Joseph Wilson. He and undergraduate researcher Anthony Hunsaker took on the herculean task of documenting Utah’s bee species using online occurrence records from the Symbiota Collection of Arthropods Network, along with specimen records housed at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insect Research Unit located at USU’s Logan campus.
They discovered the nickname “Beehive State” aptly describes the western state’s bee diversity, and published “A Checklist of the Bees of Utah,” with colleagues Terry Griswold of the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit and USU alum Olivia Messinger Carril (Biology ’00, MS’06) of the Native Pollinator Project, in the March 14, 2025 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Diversity.
“In total, we documented 1,167 bee species in the state of Utah,” says Wilson, evolutionary ecologist and associate professor in the Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center at USU Tooele.
Hunsaker, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in natural resources from USU Tooele in May 2024, says documenting as many bees as possible is important for accuracy.
“We want our research to represent the truth and inform conservationists,” says the Magna, Utah native, who graduated from Cyprus High School in 2018. “This is important for conservation efforts, because our list shows evidence for high species richness in Utah.”
Hunsaker, who teaches, among other courses, a wildlife studies class at a public middle school, says the checklist will aid conservationists in identifying bee specimens, serve as a baseline to determine if any new bees are identified in Utah and serve as an alert if a species is disappearing from the state.
“Our checklist helps scientists and managers understand bee distributions, which are essential to protecting these vital pollinators,” he says. “The information can help managers limit adverse impacts, if a new invasive species is introduced.”
Wilson says a state-level checklist is useful, as conservation efforts and policies are often made at the state level.
“While several North American state and province-level bee species have been published, few exist for the arid western states where bee diversity tends to be higher,” he says. “Our findings highlight Utah as one of the most bee-rich regions. We estimate there could be as many as 1,500 bee species in our state.”
A first-generation college graduate, Hunsaker says he got involved in undergraduate research, because he would like to pursue graduate studies in the future.
“Dr. Wilson introduced me to the possibilities of research and graduate school and, when we were brainstorming ideas for projects I could work on, the ideas of a bee species list for Utah really stood out for me,” he says. “I knew a list could be very helpful and valuable to people working in conservation, and I was excited to be involved in an effort to protect wildlife.”
Hunsaker says the project taught him research can be mundane and repetitive at times, but completing the task and getting published was “very rewarding.”
“Being involved in undergraduate research is extremely beneficial, as it opens your mind to what this process is and what it can look like,” he says. “Even if you aren’t planning to go to graduate school, I learned and practiced patience, problem-solving, critical thinking and analytical skills — all qualities that can be applied in future studies or in the workforce.”
###
END
USU ecologists document Utah's bee species and say beehive state is rich in bee diversity
Joseph Wilson, Anthony Hunsaker publish findings about Utah's Pollinators in the journal 'Diversity'
2025-03-25
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
A hit of dopamine tells baby birds when their song practice is paying off
2025-03-25
DURHAM, N.C. -- In his home office in Durham, Duke neuroscientist Richard Mooney shows a series of images of a bird’s brain on song.
In one, what looks like a pointillist painting illustrates a young zebra finch’s myriad attempts to sound more like an adult, capable of wooing a mate. In another, squiggly lines trace the ebb and flow of chemical signals in the reward circuit of the bird’s brain.
“Their songs don’t sound like much at first,” said Mooney, who has studied birdsong for four decades.
That’s because some things take considerable practice to master. Nobody walks onto a tennis court for the first time and plays ...
Basketball analytics investment is key to NBA wins and other successes
2025-03-25
If you filled out a March Madness bracket this month, you probably faced the same question with each college match-up: What gives one team an edge over another? Is it a team’s record through the regular season? Or the chemistry among its players? Maybe it’s the experience of its coaching staff or the buzz around a top scorer.
All of these factors play some role in a team’s chance to advance. But according to a new study by MIT researchers, there’s one member who consistently ...
Scientific cooperation is strategic for Brazil to strengthen relations with Europe
2025-03-25
Relations between Europe and South America – and especially with Brazil - are at a favorable moment, due to factors such as the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, signed in December 2024 and currently being approved. However, in order to take advantage of this window of opportunity and be competitive, Brazil must continue to expand scientific and technological cooperation with European partners.
This assessment was made by the Brazilian Ambassador to Germany, Roberto Jaguaribe, ...
Engineering antibodies with a novel fusion protein
2025-03-25
The Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 100 monoclonal antibodies to treat a range of diseases. Other antibodies are used by physicians to diagnose conditions or by scientists to advance research projects.
Even with significant expansion in the global market for antibodies used in clinical care and research, scientists recognize that there is still untapped potential for finding new antibodies. Many proteins group together in what are called protein complexes to carry out biological functions. The traditional method of generating antibodies by immunizing animals struggles to make antibodies related to these protein complexes.
The conventional ...
Transforming cardiovascular care through upfront combination therapy
2025-03-25
NEW ORLEANS - Ochsner Health Medical Director for Cardiac Rehabilitation and Preventive Cardiology, Carl J. “Chip” Lavie, Jr., MD, recently co-authored a groundbreaking research study featured in the prestigious Mayo Clinic Proceedings highlighting the comparative efficacy of lipid-lowering therapies for reducing cardiovascular risks and led by Maciej Banach, MD,PhD from Poland and leader of the International Lipid Expert Panel ( ILEP). Impact of Lipid-Lowering Combination Therapy With Statins ...
URI to host international XV Progress in Motor Control Conference
2025-03-25
Scientists from around the world specializing in motor control and neuroscience will travel to the University of Rhode Island this summer as the university hosts the international XV Progress in Motor Control Conference.
The university’s Department of Physical Therapy, its George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at URI, will host the biennial meeting of the International Society of Motor Control (ISMC) June 30 to July 2. This year’s conference will be held in the Center for ...
How Zika virus knocks out our immune defenses
2025-03-25
LA JOLLA, CA—Zika virus and dengue virus are very close relatives. Both are mosquito-borne flaviviruses, and both specialize in infecting a host's dendritic cells.
But a new Nature Communications study, led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and UC San Diego shows that these two viruses have vastly different ways of making us sick.
Zika virus uses stealth. Zika virus slips into dendritic cells and blocks the dendritic cells from alerting nearby T cells to danger. It's the classic horror movie cliche—the creeper is already in the house, and ...
Could an arthritis drug unlock lasting relief from epilepsy and seizures? UW–Madison researchers see promising results in mice
2025-03-25
MADISON — A drug typically prescribed for arthritis halts brain-damaging seizures in mice that have a condition like epilepsy, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
The drug, called tofacitinib, also restores short-term and working memory lost to epilepsy in the mice and reduces inflammation in the brain caused by the disease. If the drug proves viable for human patients, it would be the first to provide lasting relief from seizures even after they stopped taking it.
“It ticks all the boxes ...
SCAI announces 2025-26 recipients of JSCAI Editorial Fellowship Program
2025-03-25
SCAI Announces 2025-26 Recipients of JSCAI Editorial Fellowship Program
WASHINGTON — The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) is pleased to announce the selection of 10 outstanding early-career interventional cardiologists for the 2025-26 JSCAI Editorial Fellowship Program cohort.
The JSCAI Editorial Fellowship Program provides fellows-in-training and early-career interventionalists with a unique opportunity to develop their skills as peer reviewers and gain firsthand experience in the editorial process. Participants are paired with JSCAI Deputy or Associate ...
Study unravels mystery of cancer-fueling enzyme—could lead to new therapies
2025-03-25
For organs to develop, grow and regenerate, cells must proliferate. But when that process goes awry, leading to uncontrolled cell growth, cancer can emerge.
New CU Boulder research, published in the journal Science Advances, offers unprecedented insight into how an enigmatic enzyme, known as CDK7, drives this complex process. The research shows that novel cancer drugs designed to inhibit CDK7 can, within minutes, shut down gene expression pathways that drive cell proliferation in dozens of different ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
U.S. uterine cancer incidence and mortality rates expected to significantly increase by 2050
Public take the lead in discovery of new exploding star
What are they vaping? Study reveals alarming surge in adolescent vaping of THC, CBD, and synthetic cannabinoids
ECMWF - delivering forecasts over 10 times faster and cutting energy usage by 1000
Brazilian neuroscientist reveals how viral infections transform the brain through microscopic detective work
Turning social fragmentation into action through discovering relatedness
Cheese may really be giving you nightmares, scientists find
Study reveals most common medical emergencies in schools
Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks
Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems
Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions
Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing
New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture
The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet
Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy
Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab
Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy
Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues
New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children
Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer
It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections
From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine
Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023
No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults
NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders
Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds
University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant
Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research
Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma
[Press-News.org] USU ecologists document Utah's bee species and say beehive state is rich in bee diversityJoseph Wilson, Anthony Hunsaker publish findings about Utah's Pollinators in the journal 'Diversity'