The Use of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) and Hive Products for Biomonitoring of Superfund Sites in Denver, CO, USA

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Presenter(s)

Natasha Pember

Abstract or Description

European honeybees (Apis mellifera) and their hive products have been shown to be useful environment proxies. Globally, this managed species interacts closely with the environment while foraging on a variety of plant and water sources. As a result, the bees and their hive products contain pollutants found in the air, soil, and water within their foraging range. This poster presents the study design and background of our research that examines the bioavailability of environmental contaminants, particularly heavy metals and radioisotopes, on both active and remediated superfund sites in the Denver Metropolitan Area (DMA) using honeybees and hive products (e.g., pollen, honey and wax). Small colonies of honeybees known as nucleus hives (nucs) will be placed on or near five superfund sites across the DMA for eight weeks as well as on rural and suburban control sites without any known heavy metals or radioisotopes. Samples of bees, wax, pollen, and honey will be collected every two weeks during the peak resource period (June-July). Collected samples will be analyzed using an accessible, fast, and cost-effective method known as energy disperse x-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) rather than the more widely used inductively coupled plasma (ICP) techniques that are expensive and require extensive sample preparation and specialized training to use. The proposed research is the first attempt at using honeybees for environmental sampling on superfund sites to determine environmental quality and contamination.