URI_Research _Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2020_Melissa-McCarthy

Casey Johnson ’19 Undergraduate Student Wildlife and Conservation Biology chemicals and methods to eliminate mites from a bee colony, while not harming the bees.” Johnson conducted a series of research experiments to evaluate the efficacy of lactide and lactic acid vapor to control varroa mites, she concluded that known treatments were more effective. Johnson is interested in using organic methods to treat bee colonies and hopes to continue her research as a URI graduate student this summer. “I’m grateful that Professors Kiesewetter and Alm value my contributions to the research project,” Johnson says. “I want to continue this research, specifically working with pollinators and pollinator conservation. Conservation is significant at this time in our history due to a bottom up trophic cascade that is under way, meaning the insect population is declining at rapid rates. Since they are a food source or pollinate the food source of other animals this has an impact on our ecosystem.” According to Johnson, beekeepers need to do their due diligence and know all the factors that pertain to beekeeping. Many may not know that varroa mites will attach to a bee, and stay attached during flight, thereby endangering other neighboring hives. “It’s not an easy hobby,” Johnson says. “Beekeepers will need to monitor their mites and treat when and where appropriate.”

Thomas Wright ‘22 Graduate Student Chemistry

Wildlife and Conservation Biology major Casey Johnson ’19 of Warwick RI, has been a leader of the field work at URI’s East Farm. Working with bees requires full-time dedication, Johnson is often seen early in the morning, at high noon in the hot sun, and late into the evening caring for the hives. “My role is to conduct a variety of research experiments, take care of the hives, make sure there are healthy queens, and monitor mite populations in each hive,” Johnson says. “We had seven hives last year and five made it through the winter, which is actually pretty good considering that most people lose about 40 percent of their hives.” Johnson has always been interested in environmental issues and was more interested in entomology than any other subject she studied. As an undergraduate student, she took URI entomology Professor Steven Alm’s course, Biology of Bees and Pollination Ecology, which is where she learned how diverse and vital bee pollination is to the ecosystem. In the summer of 2019, her senior, year Johnson applied for the URI Coastal and Environmental Fellowship, which gave her hands-on experience with bees, hives and the research projects that Alm has initiated to combat varroa mites. “One of the most useful things I have learned is how to test and treat hives for varroa mites,” Johnson says. “Through this research we’ve been testing new

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