Traps that empty into clock-driven trays document the pollen gathering activities of the bees. Sensors follow the ability of the bees to stabilize temperature and humidity conditions in the brood nest. Garon Smith , the project's chemist, inspecting his air pumps. Volatile chemicals are sampled by pumping air through small glass columns packed with graphitized carbon and two different molecular sieve materials. The columns are attached by brass ferrules to small copper tubes inserted into the pollen trap, entrance vestibule, brood nest, and honey storage boxes of the hive.
Additional columns sample ambient air outside the hive.
Weather conditions also are continuously monitored with an electronic weather station. Some of the weather probes are contained in the birdhouse above Garon's shoulder. All of the electronically gathered data is fed into a bank of portable computers housed in an aluminum toolbox. ANNs are a form of artificial intelligence well-suited to identifying patterns in large data streams. Real-time monitoring followed by controlled field and laboratory assays enables us to discriminate and link stressors with observed responses.