NC State Department of Applied Ecology

Paddleboarding for pollen is all in a day's work for NC State Department of Applied Ecology grad student April Sharp. 🤿🐝 Sharp is studying how certain pollen diets can impact bee health. Her hypothesis centers around whether the interaction between spiky-shaped pollen and a bee's gut helps reduce infection of the damaging parasite Crithidia bombi. Sharp and the research team are paddleboarding on Yates Millpond to collect flowers with that spiky-shaped pollen for testing. Learn more about the research: http://ncst.at/BbVh50UcV4J

Could you share an entire research thesis in under 3 minutes? ⏰️ PhD student Bethany Wager can! She earned her spot as a finalist in the #3minutethesis competition. Bethany took the stage and shared her research in a (less than) three minute presentation titled: Hidden highways of the sea: where sharks, shipwrecks, and sanctuaries meet 🌊🦈 Congratulations, Bethany!

Can certain diets keep bees healthy? 🐝 That’s what April Sharp, a graduate student in the Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University, aims to find out by studying Crithidia bombi, a fecal-orally transmitted parasite that may contribute to world-wide bee declines. Just as humans pick up germs from unwashed hands, bees become infected with Crithidia bombi by coming in contact with contaminated flowers. Sharp suspects that a bee’s diet, specifically pollen, may play an important role in reducing infection intensity. 📰 : https://lnkd.in/dCS4tt6G

More rocks ➡️ more aquatic insects ➡️ healthier streams! Thanks PBS North Carolina for featuring research by Associate Professor Brad Taylor and alumnus Samantha Dilworth. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gWmmHFcp

Boo! Research Associate Brad Metz and Extension Apiculturist and Professor David Tarpy share the spooky diseases haunting honey bees... 🐝

Recently published by the Ecological Society of America: 🌱 🤝 🐜 North Carolina State University and Peruvian researchers examined the beneficial relationship between certain ant species and tropical shrubs (Cordia nodosa) that house the ants in exchange for defense against plant-eating pests. They found that climate change could be destabilizing the mutualistic relationships between insects and plants. The findings could portend the future fracturing of symbiotic relationships that underpin healthy ecosystems. Read more: https://lnkd.in/d5NuSxTM

The buzz is real for NC State's new apiculture research facility. 🐝 Nearly a decade in the making, the 5,000-square-foot facility will be a hub for cutting-edge apiculture research. A groundbreaking ceremony was held earlier this month at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory. “This is a proud day for me and all of us associated with NC State and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,” said NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson. “Here, our faculty and students will advance research on colony health and productivity and use NC State Extension to get that information out to the farmers and beekeepers that need it.” Learn more about it: http://ncst.at/Xke550TO1xt

Meet Vamery González Hernández, a Latina PhD student from Puerto Rico. As a first-generation college student, community has been very important throughout her academic career. “Moving away from Puerto Rico, starting work and school in another country, with a new language and culture, away from everything and everyone I knew, the Ramírez lab was always of great support. They gave me a family away from home. "Being part of a lab so special, with such a unique dynamic got me through so much of feeling home sick. Knowing that I had people like me that spoke my same language, that had such similar culture and backgrounds to me helped me in more ways than I can explain. Something that sounds very simple like the fact that we have our lab meetings in Spanish, it is a very comforting situation that I never would take for granted. It is a very special place to be a part of and I am so thankful for it.” Vamery is studying the Urban Heat Island effect in streams in San Juan, Puerto Rico and researching how increasing water temperature, which is observed in urban streams, is affecting the development of aquatic insects. “My research is conducted in Puerto Rico and this is my home, this is where I grew up and where family and friends still live. Therefore, this is of great motivation in my research because I know I am contributing to the place and the communities that supported me to be where I am today and who I am as a person and scientist. Additionally, I am very proud to be contributing to such an understudied area of ecology that is also so close to my heart and roots. “I hope that by sharing a little about how my community has supported me, it inspires others to look for similar opportunities or even create spaces where we are allowed to express our cultures and heritages.” #EcologyInAction #LatinasInStem #WomenInStem

Applied Ecology Professor Alonso Ramirez has built a welcoming community for Latino students through ongoing research and initiatives aimed at connecting aquatic researchers throughout Latin America 🌎 📰: https://lnkd.in/gn4z6UWh 

Meet Mariely Vega Gomez, a Latina PhD student studying tropical montane stream ecosystem responses to natural disturbances such as droughts and hurricanes. “My research site is my home. Puerto Rico has recently experienced devastating natural disturbances, which are projected to become more frequent and severe due to climate change. My work is motivated by my drive to generate knowledge to help us better protect some of our most important yet vulnerable resources, our freshwater ecosystems.” Reflecting on her academic career so far, Mariely expresses gratitude for every person who has supported her, including 🌴the Alonso Ramirez Lab 🌊MacroLatinos, a network of researchers that study aquatic macroinvertebrates and freshwater ecosystems 🪲The Society for Freshwater Science 🌄 The Long Term Ecological Research Network in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico 🎓The NC State University Graduate School and the NC Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation - Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship, that aims to increase the quantity of underrepresented students who complete doctoral degrees in STEM And of course, her friends and family! 🫶 Mariely proudly shares, “I hope to serve as a role model for other Hispanic students aspiring to pursue a career in STEM!” #EcologyInAction #LatinasInStem #WomenInStem