I come from Mexico, where I studied my Bachelor and Master’s degree in biological sciences in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). During my Bachelor’s degree I got interested in different areas of the biological sciences, especially in the fields of genetics, molecular sciences and entomology. For my bachelor’s thesis I worked in a project about genetics and DNA regulations of bacteria. For my Master’s studies I worked with physiology and ecology of damselflies, writing a thesis about this and collaborating in the same field with the study of other insects. After my master’s I wanted to keep working with insects but with a molecular approach, so came to Australia to study the PhD at UWA. Here I joined The Honey Bee Health Research Group of Dr Julia Grassl working with the CRC for Honey Bee products. As part of the Honey Bee Health Research Group I am studying the honey bee nutrition through biochemical techniques but also beekeeping skills, to improve beekeeping management strategies in WA.

Project title: Honey Bee Nutrition - Early detection of malnutrition and colony collapse

Project outline: My project aims to identify metabolomic profiles of honey bees during a nutritional decline and correlate them with hive health indicators. Using these biomarkers, nutritional strategies are been evaluated to assist beekeepers with management decisions, minimising the risk of productivity losses.

Outputs:

• Identify molecular indicators for the early onset of honey bees malnutrition.
• Determine the best nutritional strategies for the management of colonies, regarding time windows and supplementary food sources.
• Write a report for beekeepers about the best management strategies to prevent and control bee malnutrition in order to achieve an optimal productivity.