Penn State Center for Pollinator Research Sponsoring Pollinator Health Conference

Online, July 26, 2013 (Newswire.com) - There is still time to register for the second International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy being held August 14 to 17 at the Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.
The conference will feature two world-renowned keynote speakers: David Goulson, University of Stirling, United Kingdom who is an expert in the behavior, ecosystem services and conservation of bumble bees; and Heather Patisaul, North Carolina State University, who will share insights into the genomic, neurophysiological and behavioral impacts of environmental contaminants that act as endocrine disruptors in mammals.

Additional symposia will include invited and contributed talks and posters related to pollinator behavior, physiology, host-parasite interactions, conservation, ecosystems services and policy. The full agenda can be viewed at http://agsci.psu.edu/pollinator-conference. To date, over 240 people from 24 countries will be attending the conference.

Pollinators are essential for both plants and animals in agriculture and natural ecosystems, but there have been dramatic drops in pollinator populations worldwide, according to Christina Grozinger, professor of entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research. "Pollinator decline not only has alarmed the scientific community but has gained prominence in the popular press, raising the public's awareness about threats to our ecosystem," she said.

The conference will be preceded by the Pollinator Conservation Short Course on Aug. 14, hosted by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. The Short Course, also at the University Park campus, will feature presentations on creating and protecting pollinator habitat and related research by Penn State scientists.

To register, go to http://agsci.psu.edu/pollinator-conference.
A special rate is available for students. The keynote addresses will be free and open to the public. For more information on the conference, visit the conference site at http://agsci.psu.edu/pollinator-conference. Follow the event on Twitter using #bee2013.

The conference is supported and sponsored by Penn State's Center for Pollinator Research, Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences; Wyman's; Syngenta; Bayer; Häagan Dazs; Ernst Conservation Seeds; BASF; Project Apis m, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Paramount Farming Company, Almond Board of California, Monsanto and USDA-APHIS.

Penn State's Center for Pollinator Research at http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators is a dynamic consortium of more than 25 faculty members involved in research, education and extension efforts focused on improving pollinator health, conservation and ecosystems services.

To learn more, contact the organizers by email: Christina Grozinger, Chris Mullin and Neal Williams. Media can visit the conference's digital press kit for select speaker bios, image galleries and additional conference information. Details of the 2010 conference, including an abstract book and several of the policy-related presentations, can be found online at http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators/pollin-spotlight-items/2010-conference.