Peter Kevan

University Professor Emeritus
Email: 
pkevan@uoguelph.ca
Phone number: 
(519) 824-4120 Ext.52479
Website links: 
Google Scholar
ResearchGate

Education

BSc McGill; PhD Alberta

  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2009 – date)

  • North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Lifetime Achievement Award (2021)

  • Fellow of the Linnean Society of London

  • Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society

  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology

  • Gold medalist of the Entomological Society of Canada (2005)

  • Alumni Pride Award of the University of Alberta (2003)

  • Synergy Award of the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada and Conference Board of Canada (2001)

Research

Community and applied ecology, pollination biology, native vegetation and insect fauna, conservation of beneficial insects, apiculture, plant breeding systems, foraging and perception by arthropods, insect and plant thermoregulation, arctic ecology, biological control, micrometeorology within herbaceous plant structures

Grants & Contracts

Numerous grants held since start of academic career in both Canada and USA.

  • $5,000,000 for the Canadian Pollination Initiative (CANPOLIN) from the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (Scientific Director, 2008 - 2014).

  • Renewal of NSERC Discovery Grant for ecological research 2017 for 5 years.

  • Receipt of NSERC-Engage grant for work with commercial greenhouse strawberry growers on biological means of insect pest control in SW Ontario (2017-2018).

  • Receipt of Weston Foundation grant, Seeds for Innovation (2019 – 2022) and collaborative funding from MITACS.  R & D on biological control with apivectoring on field-grown strawberry production and on honeybee health by biocontrol against diseases and parasites.

  • Numerous other contracts with private and public organizations nationally and internationally for R & D and problem solving in agriculture, applied ecology, crop protection, apiculture.

Teaching

  • Developed and taught over 10 different courses for undergraduate and graduate students in Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil and Colombia. 

  • Teaching evaluations from students average “very good” to “excellent”, especially for intensive, hands-on field courses (e.g. Mexico, Costa Rica, Canadian Arctic, Colombia & Brazil).

  • Text book developed for Introductory Apiculture “Bees, Biology & Management” 345 pp. (Eviroquest Ltd., Canada)

  • Book “Practical Pollination Biology” (A. Dafni, P. Kevan & B. Husband (editors). 1995.  583 pp. (Eviroquest Ltd., Canada)

Publications

Most Significant Contributions to Research and/or Practical Applications (2006-2021)

Guy Smagghe, G., O. Boecking, B. Maccagnani, M. Mänd, & P. G. Kevan. (Editors). 2020. Entomovectoring for Precision Biocontrol and Enhanced Pollination of Crops. SpringerNature Publishing, Germany. This is the first comprehensive and multiauthored book on the use of managed pollinator foraging behaviour for the delivery of biological control agents against crop pests and diseases. Chapters describe R & D in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Serbia.

Miller-Struttmann, N et al. 2015. Functional mismatch in a bumble bee pollination mutualism under climate change. Science 349: 1541 – 1544. This study uses a data set spanning 40 years to document recent changes in pollination interactions in the alpine of the Rocky Mountains.

Mirwan, H. & P. G. Kevan. 2013 – 2015. A series of papers on the learning and cognitive capacities of bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) challenged with complex tasks.  Psyche 201: 681 – 8; Animal Cognition 17:1053-61, 18: 1145-54, Insectes Sociaux 62: 365-77, Journal of Insect Behavior 28:345-57, Canadian Entolomogist 147: 586 – 591.

Sudarsan, R., C. Thompson, P.G. Kevan, & H.J. Eberl. 2012. Flow currents and ventilation in Langstroth beehives due to brood thermoregulation efforts of honeybees. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 295: 168-193. Studies effects of ventilation and air flow in beehives, an important aspect of colony health and a subject about which little is known. Mathematical modelling constructed a geometric model of a Langstroth beehive with honeybees and brood to captured key heat and mass transfer interactions among honeybees and air. Hitherto unobserved flow structures inside a living beehive elucidate how ambient temperature affects conditions experienced by honeybees, and how thermoregulatory aided flow expels byproducts of bee metabolism. The work has major implications for design improvements in beekeeping equipment.

Sheffield, C. S., P. D. N. Hebert, P. G. Kevan, & L. Packer. 2009. DNA barcoding a regional bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) fauna and its potential for ecological studies. Molecular Ecology Resources 9:196-207 constitutes a study in biodiversity using DNA barcoding, and demonstrates the applicability of the technique as it will be applied in on-going studies on Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera from the proposal study region and directly in the proposed studies.

Kapongo J.P., L. Shipp, P. G. Kevan, & J.C. Sutton. 2008. Co-vectoring of Beauveria bassiana and Clonostachys rosea by bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) for control of insect pests and suppression of grey mould in greenhouse tomato and sweet pepper. Biological Control 46:508-14 represents one of a continuing series of publications in interdisciplinary research on combining pollination and biological control (as collaboratively pioneered at Guelph) in highly managed ecosystems, and demonstrates collaborative work involving graduate students and colleagues in AAFC. Kevan has been involved in several collaborative projects (since Peng et al.1992) investigating the benefit to crops from the dual effects of managed pollination and biological control of pests (now both insect and fungal pests together). This work has resulted in several book chapters (Kevan et al. 2003, 2007, 2020), international invitations for presentations at scientific meetings and workshops (e.g. Spain 2005,2006; Serbia 2018), and the training of 6HQPs.

US National Academy of Sciences. 2007. The Status of Pollinators in North America. National Academies Press, Washington D.C., 307pp. This has been published as the outcome of the deliberations of an expert panel of scientists. Kevan served as the only Canadian member of the panel. His input ranged from plant breeding systems to honeybee pathology and general ecological principles in relation to community structure and dynamics in relation to pollination.

Taki, H., P.G. Kevan, J.S. Ascher. 2007. Landscape effects of forest loss in a pollination system. Landscape Ecology 22(10): 1575-1587 is one paper in a series on the effects of habitat loss on pollinators (and other insects) and pollination in a fragmented landscape, the Carolinian forest ofSouthern Ontario. The approaches used GIS to randomly select study sites and typify those sites in the context of the forest patch in which they were located, and in the overall landscape where the forest remnants occurred. The hexagonal transect was developed to allow generalization through GIS from site to habitat to landscape. The results indicate that pollinators are more immediately susceptible to adverse effects of habitat loss than are plants, even though pollination is adversely affected indicating potential for long-term deterioration.

Kevan, P.G.,V. Imperatriz-Fonseca, G.W. Frankie, C. O'Toole, R. Jones, and C.H. Vergara. (Eds) 2002, 2006(1st &2nd editions) Pollinating Bees: The Conservation Link Between Agriculture and Nature. Ministry of Environment, Govt of Brazil, Brasilia.313 pp. This represents the culmination of the São Paulo Declaration on Pollination and has since been followed up by the CBD-FAO International Pollinators Initiative and "São Paulo+5"meetings in 2004.Kevan’s continued involvement in these, and other, international initiatives on pollination conservation speak to the importance of Canadian expertise and representation. The publication of these two seminal books with Kevan’s central involvement, establishes his international reputation and his capacity to work with teams in complex joint projects.

The papers and books listed above and below exemplify my research as it relates especially to pollination, including community structure, symbioses and mutualists, conservation and interdisciplinary, applied and collaborative R & D, some are singled out because they deal with practical issues and potential R, D & I.

 

Over 350 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and many popular articles. Especially Relevant & Synthetic Publications

  • Kevan, P. G. & H. G. Baker. 1983. Insects as flower visitors and pollinators. Annual Review of Entomology 28:  407 -453
  • Roussy, A-M. and P.G. Kevan. 2000. How accessible are receptive megastrobili to pollen?  The example of Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana). American Journal of Botany 87: 215-220.
  • Kevan, P.G. 1999. Pollinators as bioindicators of the state of the environment: species, activity and diversity. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 74: 373-393.
  • Greco, C.F. and P.G. Kevan. 1999. Polyethism in foraging in a polymorphic predator, Enoplognatha ovata (Araneae: Theridiidae): A case for balance. Canadian Entomologist 131: 259-268.
  • Kevan, P. G., V. Imperatriz-Fonseca, G. W. Frankie, C. O'Toole, R. Jones, and C.H. Vergara. (Eds) 2002, 2006 (1st and 2nd editions) Pollinating Bees: The Conservation Link Between Agriculture and Nature. Ministry of the Environment, Govt of Brazil, Brasilia. 313 pp.
  • Dafni, A., P. G. Kevan, and B. C. Husband (Editors). 2005. Practical Pollination Biology. Enviroquest Ltd., Cambridge, ON. 590 pp. This book reflects the expertise of the assembled team of more than 30 internationally acclaimed scientists
  • U.S. National Academy of Sciences. 2007. The Status of Pollinators in North America. National Academies Press, Washington D.C., 307pp.
  • Taki, H., P. G. Kevan, J. S. Ascher. 2007. Landscape effects of forest loss in a pollination system. Landscape Ecology 22: 1575-1587.
  • Kevan, P. G., J. Sutton & L. Shipp. 2007.  Pollinators as vectors of biocontrol agents – The B52 story. In: C, Vincent, M. S. Goettel & G. Lazarovits (Editors).  Biological Control: A Global Perspective.  CABInternational, Wallingford, Oxford, UK. pp. 319 - 327.
  • Kevan, P.G. & V.A. Wojcik. 2007. Pollinator Services. In: D. I. Jarvis, C. Paddoch & H. D. Cooper (Editors) Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems. Columbia University Press. pp. 200 -223.
  • Kevan, P. G., J. P. Kapango, M. S. Al-mazra’awi & L. Shipp. 2008. Honey bees, bumble bees, and biocontrol: New alliances between old friends.  In: R. R. James & T. L. Pitts-Singer (Editors) Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.  pp. 65 -79.
  • Sheffield, C. S., P. D. N. Hebert, P. G. Kevan, & L. Packer. 2009. DNA barcoding a regional bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) fauna and its potential for ecological studies. Molecular Ecology Resources 9: 196-207.
  • Kevan, P. G. & R. Menzel. 2012. The plight of pollination and the interface of neurobiology, ecology and food security. The Environmentalist 32: 300-310
  • Mirwan, H. and P. Kevan. 2013 – 2015 (see above)
  • Woodcock, T. S., Pekkola, L. J.,Dawson, C., Gadallah, F. L. & Kevan, P. G. 2014. Development of a pollination service measurement (PSM) method using potted plant phytometry. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment 186: 5041-57.
  • Smagghe, G., O. Boecking, B. Maccagnani, M. Mänd, & P. G. Kevan. (Editors). 2020. Entomovectoring for Precision Biocontrol and Enhanced Pollination of Crops. SpringerNature Publishing, Germany. This is the first comprehensive and multiauthored book on the use of managed pollinator foraging behaviour for the delivery of biological control agents against crop pests and diseases. Chapter 2 by Kevan et al. entitled “Ecological Intensification: Managing Biocomplexity and Biodiversity in Agriculture Through Pollinators, Pollination and Deploying Biocontrol Agents against Crop and Pollinator Diseases, Pests and Parasites” is a comprehensive review of the technology. Other chapters describe R & D developed in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Serbia.

Synergistic Activities

  1. International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) member of Executive Committee
  2. President of the International Commission for Plant Pollinator Relations; Vice-Chairman of North American Pollination Protection Campaign
  3. Editorial Board of several Scientific Journals
  4. Reviewer for numerous journals in Ecology, Entomology, Botany, Zoology, Evolution,     Polar biology, Aerobiology, general Science (Science, Nature, PNAS).
  5. Invited Author for Books/Symposia and Committees and Panels North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, National Academy of Sciences USA, City of Guelph Pollination Park, Canadian Pollinator Protection Initiative, Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturalists, International Commission for Plant Pollinator Relations, Convention on Biological Diversity, Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services.
  6. Extramural teaching of advanced courses for Universidad Autonoma de Mexico; James Cook University (Townsville, Australia); Universidade Federal da Bahia (Salvador, Brazil), University of the Arctic and Churchill Northern Studies Centre, St. Louis University, Universidade Federal do Ceará (Fortaleza, Brazil), Missouri Botanical Garden (2010 & 2012), and Universidade São Paulo (2014).