The study, led by Rutgers University, finds that bees are emerging earlier each spring, advancing their life cycle by nearly a day per decade.

"This may become a case of 鈥榤issed connections鈥� in terms of bees and the plants they need to pollinate," says Sheila Colla (right), a 91亚色 PhD聽candidate in biology and study co-author. "So far, bees and plants are keeping pace with each other, but this may not be the case as rates of temperature warming increase."

Scientists call this phenomenon a "phenological mismatch" 鈥� when the life cycles of dependent species fall out of sync with one another.

"In the case of bees, [this mismatch] hasn鈥檛 happened yet," Colla says. "The concern is that some plant species will not respond to climate change in the same manner as their pollinators."聽

The study looked at the past 130 years of data on聽10 species of wild bees that emerge in the early spring in eastern North America, comparing it with published studies of bee pollinated plants over the same time period.

Results show that life cycle changes in bees have paralleled changes in the plants they visit. Both bees and plants responded to temperature increases from 1971-1999 by more than doubling their rates of phenological advance, suggesting a parallel response to climate change.

"So far, there is only a small difference between bees and plants in terms of their response to climate change, noted in only a handful of species. But, this small difference is worrying," Colla says, noting that of聽particular concern is the finding that plant studies conducted in cities showed greater rates of advance for species that emerge earlier in the season.

"This suggests more investigation into the effects of temperature warming in urban environments is needed," says Colla. She emphasizes that potential problems aren鈥檛 just limited to pollination.

"Many ecological functions result from interactions among species, and because not all species respond to climate warming in the same manner, this could potentially lead to phenological mismatches that result in the loss of function. In other words, this could result in serious challenges for many different forms of animal and plant life."

Colla conducted her research under the supervision of 91亚色 biology Professor Laurence Packer as a PhD student in the Department of Biology in聽the聽Faculty of Science & Engineering.聽The research was funded through a Natural Sciences聽& Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship to Colla.

The study, "Climate-associated phenological advances in bee pollinators and bee-pollinated plants," was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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The announcement of Hach茅's appointment was made yesterday by 91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. 鈥淚 am thrilled that Dr. Hach茅 is coming to 91亚色,鈥� said聽Shoukri. 鈥淒r. Hach茅's ideas, experience and skills will enable us to continue to enhance our increasingly strong research profile, and expand into one of Canada鈥檚 leading interdisciplinary research and teaching universities.鈥�

Right: Robert Hach茅

Hach茅聽is currently the聽associate vice-president research at the , where he has played a key role in advancing strategic research priorities. He has also held appointments in the university's Department of Cell Biology聽and Anatomy in the Faculty of Medicine, and in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Science, where he maintained an active research program. Previously, he spent聽18 years at the University of Ottawa, the last聽12 in a series of research leadership positions that ended with a term as vice-dean, research for the Faculty of Medicine.

鈥淚 am delighted to be coming to 91亚色 at what is sure to be a promising time in its history,鈥� said Hach茅. 鈥淚 look forward to working with faculty and researchers to further the development of its rapidly growing and internationally-recognized research enterprise.鈥�

A聽molecular聽and cellular biologist and biochemist, Hach茅 has made important contributions to the understanding of how steroid hormone signaling takes place in cells and how cells respond to DNA damaging agents. He has chaired and been a member of a number of boards and advisory committees associated with research development and research management. Hach茅 received his BSc in biochemistry from McGill University and his PhD in biochemistry from Queen's University.

Hach茅 has been the recipient of many research grants and awards, including from the (CIHR), the , the (NCIC), The Inc., and the (NSERC). He is the author of more than 130 scientific articles and abstracts and has delivered many distinguished invited presentations on various aspects of his research.

鈥淚 would like to thank Stan Shapson for his outstanding leadership and friendship,鈥� Shoukri said of 91亚色's outgoing vice-president research & innovation. 鈥淒uring his time at 91亚色, Stan was instrumental in advancing 91亚色鈥檚 research and innovation mandate, as well as raising the University鈥檚 profile externally. Among his many contributions, Stan helped to oversee the launch of the Markham Convergence Centre, an important research initiative in the provincial government鈥檚 ONE Network.鈥�

Added Shoukri: 鈥淚 am grateful to Stan for all that he has achieved over the years at 91亚色, and wish him well in all of his future endeavours.鈥�

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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