A Bio-Economic Case Study of Canadian Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies: Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) in Queen Breeding Affects Beekeeper Profits.
Over the past decade in North America and Europe, winter losses of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies have increased dramatically. Scientific consensus attributes these losses to multifactorial causes including altered parasite and pathogen profiles, lack of proper nutrition due to agricultural monocultures, exposure to pesticides, management, and weather. One method to reduce colony loss and increase productivity is through selective breeding of queens to produce disease-, pathogen-, and mite-resistant stock. Historically, the only method for identifying desirable traits in honey bees to improve breeding was through observation of bee behavior. A team of Canadian scientists have recently identified markers in bee antennae that correspond to behavioral traits in bees and can be tested for in a laboratory. These scientists have demonstrated that this marker-assisted selection (MAS) can be used to produce hygienic, pathogen-resistant honey bee colonies. Based on this research, we present a beekeeping case study where a beekeeper's profit function is used to evaluate the economic impact of adopting colonies selected for hygienic behavior using MAS into an apiary. Our results show a net profit gain from an MAS colony of between 2% and 5% when Varroa mites are effectively treated. In the case of ineffective treatment, MAS generates a net profit benefit of between 9% and 96% depending on the Varroa load. When a Varroa mite population has developed some treatment resistance, we show that MAS colonies generate a net profit gain of between 8% and 112% depending on the Varroa load and degree of treatment resistance.
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2125 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4, ( miriambixby@gmail.com ; foster@chibi.ubc.ca ; Marta.Guarna@agr.gc.ca ).|Corresponding author, e-mail: miriambixby@gmail.com.
Miriam
M
Bixby
Department of Agricultural & Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 302b Mumford Hall, 1301 W. Gregory, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (baylis@illinois.edu).
Kathy
K
Baylis
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Agriculture Centre, 100, 5401- 1 Ave., South, Lethbridge, AB, T1J 4V6, Canada (shelley.hoover@gov.ab.ca).
Shelley E
SE
Hoover
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Room 218, Entomology Bldg, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada (Rob.Currie@umanitoba.ca).
Rob W
RW
Currie
Department of Horticulture, College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University, 2750 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, Oregon 97331 (Andony.Melathopoulos@oregonstate.edu)and.
Andony P
AP
Melathopoulos
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Beaverlodge Research Farm, Box PO 29, Beaverlodge, Alberta T0H 0C0, Canada (Steve.Pernal@agr.gc.ca).
Stephen F
SF
Pernal
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2125 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4, (miriambixby@gmail.com; foster@chibi.ubc.ca; Marta.Guarna@agr.gc.ca).
Leonard J
LJ
Foster
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2125 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4, ( miriambixby@gmail.com ; foster@chibi.ubc.ca ; Marta.Guarna@agr.gc.ca ).|Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Beaverlodge Research Farm, Box PO 29, Beaverlodge, Alberta T0H 0C0, Canada ( Steve.Pernal@agr.gc.ca ).
M Marta
MM
Guarna
D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000378:metabolism; D056630:Beekeeping / Q000191:economics*; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics*; D001947:Breeding / Q000191:economics; D002170:Canada; D005819:Genetic Markers; D012641:Selection, Genetic
D005819:Genetic Markers
Varroa; economics; honey bee; marker-assisted selection