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10-Minute Presentation
Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology
Josiah B. Kaderis
Master's Student
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Clarissa P. Ferreira
University of Minnesota
Declan Schroeder
University of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Lewis Bartlett
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Provisional feeding by humans is done under two main contexts: (1) management, and (2) recreation. This practice is a powerful tool for population managers and allows the public to directly engage in conservation. However, the positive aspects of provisional feeding may be outweighed by certain negative outcomes. It has been shown in vertebrate taxa that there is potential negative impact on wildlife health via increased contact rates, pathogen deposition, and contamination, as well as contributing to unnatural host aggregation, altered behaviors, mismatched nutrition, and chronic stress. Despite positive intentions, managers and the public may be having a deleterious effect on wildlife health. To address this uncertainty, we assessed the effects of provisional feeding on a widespread and economically important invertebrate pollinator, the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.).