Features

Pollination, the transfer of pollen from the male component of a plant to the female, is arguably the most important ecosystem service. When pollination is successful it results in fertilization and the development of a fruit, nut or seed.

“People should know that one third of the food we eat is related directly to the pollination services of bees,” says Ernesto Guzman, environmental sciences professor and Pinchin Family Chair in Bee Health. “If we don’t keep a healthy, strong abundance of bees, it is going to be difficult to produce these products.”

The beloved honey bee is known nation-wide for its contribution to pollination and production of honey. In recent years, honey bees have also been a big buzz topic in the media, with reports that bees are dying at an alarming rate. Is the story being sensationalised? How alarmed should we be? Why are they dying? How can humans help?

The goal of this article is to provide a quick timeline of the issues, highlighting areas of controversy and elaborating on some of the main stressors that bees face today. 

A recent survey was conducted by Friends of the Earth, asking 2,000 Canadians a handful of questions about honey bees and their wild relatives. The question “How concerned are you about the health of honey bees and the conservation of wild, native bees in Canada?” showed that 68 percent of the people surveyed were either concerned or very concerned about the health of Canada’s bees.

The television show Portlandia has a popular skit where two characters ask a server detailed questions about the chicken on the menu. What did the chicken eat? Is it local? Organic? Did it have friends? Was it happy? The server presents a folder of information on “Colin the chicken”.

Interestingly enough, animal biosciences professor Dominique Bureau says that technology isn’t far off from providing this level of detailed information on individual animals.

Waiting in line at a small town coffee shop got Prof. Al Lauzon wondering about the different demographic he was seeing working at this rural Ontario location – more middle aged male workers. Job losses from the auto sector over the last decade could explain some of the changes in this older work force, but Lauzon wondered what was happening to employment opportunities in rural Ontario.

What if dairy farmers could improve their cows’ health and enhance milk’s nutritional quality through understanding their animals’ feeding behaviour?

We know more about mink sexual development thanks to University of Guelph researchers and local mink farmers. It may not be a “romantic” topic for Valentine’s Day, but it is certainly a story about relationships.

Lead researcher Jamie Ahloy Dallaire and Prof. Georgia Mason, Department of Animal Biosciences, found that young male mink who spent more time playing as juveniles showed more vigorous sexual performance as adults.

As a way of ensuring their long-term viability, Ontario’s rural communities should do more to attract and keep newcomers in their municipalities – and a University of Guelph professor has developed some recommendations on how to best do that.

Changing demographics are leaving many rural areas struggling with declining populations, and although immigration is a key solution, most of the province’s immigrants prefer to settle in large urban centres like Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton or London.

Wikipedia’s reputation as a go-to source for information is clear in the English site’s statistics; it receives 7.7 billion page views per month, but is it a reputable source for information?

The information on pet nutrition is certainly much more credible today, thanks to Prof. Kate Shoveller’s pet nutrition class that gathered reputable information on 32 different pet nutrition topics for submission to the site.

There’s a refreshing research project taking root across Ontario that’s set to help grow Ontario’s craft cider industry. University of Guelph researcher John Cline is beginning the third phase of his three-part project that will help build sustainable, value-add opportunities for Ontario’s agri-food sector.