Honeybees play an important role in agriculture by pollinating at least 90 different species of food plants, worth about 15 billion dollars in the U.S. alone. As a result, beekeeping or apiculture is a multi-million dollar business. However, over the last year, honeybee populations are crashing (Colony Collapse Disorder) with hives dying off in less than a week, without an obvious cause. Ian Lipkin, a senior researcher in the Epidemiology (infectious disease) Department of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, believed the cause to be a pathogen (virus, bacteria, or fungus) of some sort. Use the information given to answer the following questions.
a. What is the hypothesis? (Hint, it is already given)
The hypothesis is that the cause of honeybee population decline and Colony Collapse Disorder is a pathogen, such as a virus, bacteria, or fungus.
b. Help Dr. Lipkin design an experiment to test this hypothesis. (Be sure you can explain how you are going to conduct the test and predict what the results will be if they support the experiment.) You are not to create the data for your results section.
To test the hypothesis, Dr. Lipkin can conduct the following experiment:
1. Collect samples from honeybee hives experiencing Colony Collapse Disorder.
2. Isolate and identify any potential pathogens present in the samples.
3. Introduce the isolated pathogens to healthy honeybee hives.
4. Monitor the health and survival of the introduced honeybee hives over a period of time.
5. Compare the health and survival of the introduced hives with a control group of healthy honeybee hives that were not exposed to the isolated pathogens.
If the results of the experiment support the hypothesis, the introduced honeybee hives exposed to the isolated pathogens should exhibit similar symptoms of Colony Collapse Disorder and experience a decline in population, similar to the original hives experiencing the disorder.
c. If your hypothesis is to be supported, what should the data indicate?
If the hypothesis is supported, the data should indicate that the introduced honeybee hives exposed to the isolated pathogens exhibit symptoms of Colony Collapse Disorder and experience a decline in population, similar to the original hives experiencing the disorder.
d. If your hypothesis is disproven, what should the data indicate?
If the hypothesis is disproven, the data should indicate that the introduced honeybee hives exposed to the isolated pathogens do not exhibit symptoms of Colony Collapse Disorder and do not experience a decline in population. The health and survival of the introduced hives should be similar to the control group of healthy honeybee hives.
