A University of Alabama biologist is heading west as part of a national team of researchers examining the adaptive qualities of bumblebees across multiple habitat types.
Jeff Lozier and his collaborators from the University of Wyoming and Utah State University are utlilizing a $1 million National Science Foundation award to study the genetics of differing bee species.
Lozier says the team is trying to determine links between the species' differing genetic makeup and their habitats. Or, in other words: How quickly and how well do the bees adjust to their changing circumstances?
The study focuses on two species of bumblebees that are abundant in California, Oregon and Washington across multiple elevations and habitats.
The team is also interested in how much the species have shared genes through interbreeding.
Lozier says the team's field work should be completed by next summer with their findings published shortly thereafter. He hopes the work will lead to additional facets of bumblebee research.