Supervisors

- Position
- Associate Professor
- Division / Faculty
- Science and Engineering Faculty

- Position
- Professor in Statistics
- Division / Faculty
- Science and Engineering Faculty
External supervisors
- Dr Ashley Mortensen, Plant and Food New Zealand
- Dr Lisa Evans, Plant and Food New Zealand
Overview
European honey bees are an important component of crop production in Australia. There is also a significant undersupply of hives for pollination services.
Identifying strong colonies is an important step in delivering effective pollination. However, auditing processes are usually invasive, requiring opening hives which may spread disease. They are also heavily dependent on 'tacit knowledge' of the auditor.
This project will align with a project under the Hort Innovation Pollination Fund to determine:
- the characteristics of strong bee colonies that deliver effective pollination
- if sensing technology can be used to identify colony strength without invasive practices
- a more standardised framework for hive auditing.
Research activities
You'll work with apiarists on real-world beehives to:
- determine the composition of the colony strength (brood, nurses bees, foragers)
- mark bees leaving the hive to observe their pollination activities
- use sensing technology to determine factors that reliably determine colony 'strength' for pollination.
This project is aligned with a significant industry funded project, and will work with Plant and Food New Zealand and industry partners engaged in commercial hive sensing technology.
Outcomes
As a result of this research project, you'll:
- determine the characteristics of strong bee colonies that deliver effective pollination
- determine if sensing technology can be used to determine colony strength without invasive practices
- develop a standardised framework for hive auditing to determine colony strength.
Skills and experience
To be considered for this project we expect you to have:
- demonstrated skills and understanding of
- experimental design
- statistical analysis
- modelling
- experience and understanding of community structure in bee colonies
- a demonstrated understanding of the use and application of sensing technology in agriculture.
While not mandatory, it would be ideal if you've had previous experience in working with European bees.
Scholarships
You may be able to apply for a research scholarship in our annual scholarship round.
Keywords
Contact
Contact supervisor for more information