Examining The Red Mason Bee

**Examining the red mason bee (Osmia bicornis) and its phenotypic variability in the context of agricultural systems (100%) **:Art des Angebots: Bachelorarbeit

**Background**:
Throughout Europe, beekeeping has increased strongly in recent years. With an average of 4.7 bee colonies per square kilometer, Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest density of honey bees in the world. At the same time, however, the natural insect fauna has been experiencing a dramatic decline for several decades. A consequence of this is the global pollination crisis.
Since around 80% of all wild plants and 75% of crops are insect-dependent, the insect decline is increasingly causing gaps in pollination. Thus, honey bees and
managed wild bees such as the red mason bees are more frequently used in agriculture. However, studies have shown that an excessive introduction of managed bees can have negative effects on naturally occurring wild pollinators, as well as on wild plants and crops. Namely, on the one hand, these introduced bees compete with naturally occurring wild bees for limited pollen and nectar sources, and on the other hand, there is also a risk of disrupting well-functioning pollination networks, which in turn can have negative impacts on the pollination performance.

The Bachelor thesis is part of a dissertation within a FiBL research project with international cooperation. The work will provide information on the phenotypic plasticity of managed mason bees in agricultural systems with competing bee communities. Based on this, the relevant fitness proxies for further studies will be determined.

**Methods**:

- Assessment of the morphology of previously captured individuals of managed mason bees with landmark based geometric morphometrics
- Evaluation of additional fitness parameters (e.g., body weight, parasite infestation)
- Comparison of the parameters with scientific literature

**Requirements**:

- Enthusiasm and motivation working with binoculars
- Joy in digging into data and discovering patterns
- Precise and independent way of working
- Creativity, a heart for bees & a steady hand

**Contact**:

- Sabrina Gurten
- Fabian Cahenzli

**Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung**:
**Kontakt**:
**Fabian Cahenzli**
Dr. sc. nat.

Departement für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften

FiBL Schweiz
Ackerstrasse 113
CH-5070 Frick

+41 (0)62 865-7281
fabian.cahenzli(at)fibl.org