Margaret Couvillon
- Pollinator Biology and Ecology
- Behavioral Ecology
The ongoing pollinator crisis exemplifies how public interest in scientific issues can be a mixed blessing, simultaneously raising awareness of important issues while also generating rallying cries for untested solutions. For example, lack of forage is considered a factor contributing to bee declines. This stressor can act directly, where hungry bees are unable to meet their nutritional needs, or indirectly, where the resulting nutritional stress reduces the bees’ ability to cope with other stressors, such as diseases and pesticides. Media coverage has been wide, and as a consequence, everyone wants to feed hungry bees by planting bee-friendly flowers indiscriminately. Such help is offered with best intentions, but efficacy is undermined because we do not fully understand how bees are foraging in the existing landscape.
The Couvillon Lab investigates the dynamics of how pollinators collect their food, with a specific focus on honey bee foraging, recruitment, and health. More broadly, we are interested in the behavioral ecology of social insects, in particular the adaptations that have contributed to their success as organisms.
For more details about my research and the Couvillon lab, please visit www.freelyflyingbees.com
Postdoctoral Fellow in Research, Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, University of Sussex, Brighton, England, 2009-2014
Postdoctoral Fellow in Research and Teaching, University of Arizona, Tucson, 2007-2009
Ph.D. in Behavioral Ecology of Honey bees and Stingless bees, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England, 2007
M.S. in Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 2004
B.S. in Biology, Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana, 2000
Selected Professional Experience:
2015-2016: Scientific Advisor, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
2011 – Present: Columnist, The Beekeepers Quarterly
2014 – Present: Associate Editor, Insectes Sociaux, journal of International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI)
Applied and basic questions in honey bee foraging ecology and pollinator health. For more information, see www.freelyflyingbees.com
Entomology 2804: Bees: Biology, Diversity, and Sustainability (offered Fall only)
I am the designer and lead instructor for this course, which will serve as a foundational introduction to bees. We will begin with behavior, communication, and social organization of honey bees, then cover diversity and use of alternative (non honey bee) pollinators and scientific inquiry in ecosystem services management, and conclude with a section on current global challenges to and sustainable solutions for pollination in the modern-day agricultural landscape. (3H,3C)
This course is part of Virginia Tech's Pathways to General Education Curriculum and counts towards "Reasoning in the Natural Sciences".
Entomology 5004: Graduate Seminar Course (offered Spring and Fall)
I am lead instructor for this course, which serves to develop graduate students into critical and constructive (1) consumers and (2) presenters of science. This will be accomplished through regular attendance at our weekly Entomology research seminars, followed by a weekly meeting as a group the next morning to discuss the seminar content and assignments relevant to the course. (1H, 1C)
Entomology 2254: Bees and Beekeeping (offered Spring only)
I contribute to this course, which is taught by Dr. James Wilson. This course is designed to provide students with (1) a knowledge of honey bee biology, (2) an understanding of modern beekeeping practices and management techniques, and (3) a knowledge of the importance of the honey bee to modern agriculture and its use for crop pollination. I contribute 2 lectures on honey bee foraging, recruitment, and self-organization.
Agricultural and Life Sciences 5204: Research and Information Systems in the Life Sciences (offered Fall only)
I contribute to this course, which is taught by Dr. Roger Schürch. This course is designed to give students an introduction into research techniques and processes used in the life science professions. I contribute 1 lecture and 1 activity on scientific writing in the life sciences.
For an updated list of publications from the Couvillon lab, please see the lab's website.