Interactive Case Study for The Effects of Fungicides on Bumble Bee Colonies
Description
This video case study explores whether fungicides play a role in the decline of bee populations.
Fungicides are applied to a variety of flowering plants to protect them from fungi, not insects. However, entomologist Shawn Steffan wondered whether fungicides might be harmful to bees, which are declining due to a number of factors. This video case study presents an experiment that Steffan conducted to investigate the possible consequences of fungicide applications on bee colonies.
This video incorporates embedded questions at automatic pause points, where students are asked to make predictions, construct explanations, and analyze data. After answering all the questions, students can view their answers in a “Report” that can be printed. They can also add further explanation to each answer in the Report if their thinking has changed. The video can also be shown without embedded questions using "Presentation Mode."
The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.
Student Learning Targets
- Define the term fungicide and describe how fungicides can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment.
- Given a scientific question, design an investigation that attempts to answer the question.
- Use scientific evidence from an experiment to identify limitations of a study, draw conclusions, and suggest future studies.
Estimated Time
Key Terms
agriculture, bar graph, fungus, insecticide, larvae, pesticide, pollen, pollinator, scientific methodology, yeast
Primary Literature
Prud'homme-Genereux, Annie, Gibson, Phil, Csikari, Melissa. “Case Study: Creating a Video Case Study.” Journal of College Science Teaching. 48, 4(2019): 47–53. https://doi.org/10.2505/4/jcst19_048_04_46.
Steffan, Shawn A., Prarthana S. Dharampal, Luis Diaz-Garcia, Cameron R. Currie, Juan Zalapa, and Chris Todd Hittinger. “Empirical, Metagenomic, and Computational Techniques Illuminate the Mechanisms by which Fungicides Compromise Bee Health.” _Journal of Visualized Experiments_ 128 (2017): 54631. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5752386/
Terms of Use
Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.
Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)
Version History
NGSS (2013)
HS-LS4-5; SEP3, SEP4
AP Bio (2019)
ENE-3.D, EVO-1.E, IST-5.A; SP3, SP4
IB Biology (2016)
C.1, C.4
AP Environmental Science (2020)
Topic(s): 3.5, 5.6
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-3, EIN-2.G, SP1, SP4, SP7
IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)
3.1, 3.4
Common Core (2010)
Math.S-IC.5; MP3
Vision and Change (2009)
CC5; DP1