肯尼索,Ga。 | Jan 15, 2025

A Kennesaw State University student is 银河娱乐博彩ing to protect a $15 billion industry by addressing the declining honeybee population and leveraging statistical tools to identify environmental stressors.

Naima Fouad-Gilliam, a master’s student at Kennesaw State’s 数据科学与分析学院, is exploring hidden stressors harming honeybee colonies. Her research highlights the impact of unpredictable factors like weather, starvation, and queen failure alongside traditional threats.

Her analysis, based on a dataset provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) spanning over 44 states, went beyond the obvious threats like habitat loss and pesticides. Instead, her work uncovered a more intricate web of stressors affecting bee colonies.

At the heart of her research is Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a statistical tool that simplifies complex data by uncovering patterns and relationships. Through this approach, Fouad-Gilliam was able to pinpoint the stressors most significantly impacting honeybee health, regardless of geography or season.

“它让我对这个问题有了一个全面的认识，”福阿德-吉列姆说，“它让我退后一步，看到更大的图景，了解不同的因素是如何联系起来的，并导致蜜蜂种群的总体下降。”

一种使蜜蜂衰弱并导致蜂巢崩溃的寄生虫是瓦螨。 研究表明，它们是蜜蜂数量减少的主要原因。 Other pests, such as tracheal mites, hive beetles, and wax moths, also add significant stress to bee colonies, although their effects are less severe.

The study points to human activity, particularly the transportation of bee colonies, as an additional stressor that is often over银河娱乐博彩ed. The constant relocation required for commercial pollination services disrupts the natural rhythms of the colonies, and the stress of long-distance travel, combined 银河娱乐博彩 changes in climate, food availability, and exposure to new environmental pathogens, can severely weaken the bees.

Fouad-Gilliam’s research has already gained recognition, particularly during KSU’s 分析一天, where her presentation impressed peers and professors.

福阿德-吉列姆说：“在这么有才华的学生中展示我的发现，既令人紧张又令人兴奋。看到其他人如何用这样的创造力和新鲜的视角来解决复杂的问题，这令人鼓舞，我很高兴我能成为其中的一部分。”

Beyond academics, Fouad-Gilliam is passionate about raising awareness of honeybee health. She believes social media and other promotions can be an effective tool to educate the public.

“我觉得人们很关心，但他们往往不了解全部情况，”她说。 “如果我们能更好地教育公众蜜蜂在我们的生态系统中发挥的关键作用，我们就能为保护蜜蜂的行动提供更强有力的支持。”

尽管她的发现意义重大，但福阿德-吉列姆才刚刚开始。 She plans to expand her research by incorporating geospatial analysis and time series analysis to better understand how regional and seasonal factors affect bee health. These methods will help pinpoint the specific needs of honeybee colonies in different environments.

堪萨斯州立大学助理教授保罗·约翰逊说：“奈玛是智力和好奇心的罕见结合。” “大多数数据科学家专注于问题的技术方面； 她关注的是为什么这个问题值得解决。”

——雷纳德·丘吉尔的故事

Matt Yung摄影

肯尼索州立大学是创新教学和学习的领导者，为其51,000多名学生提供本科，研究生和博士学位。 肯尼索州立大学是佐治亚大学系统的一员，拥有11个学院。 这所大学充满活力的校园文化、多样化的人口、强大的全球联系和创业精神吸引了来自全国和世界各地的学生。 肯尼索州立大学是卡内基指定的博士研究机构（R2），使其成为精英群体，只有8%的美国学院和大学拥有R1或R2地位。 For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.