[Pollinator] FYI-NA Bee Extinction Study

Thu Mar 2 15:26:47 PST 2017

Thank you, Sam, for addressing the use/ misuse of data in reports such as these.
There is similar unreliability and over-interpretation in recently distributed "reports" of the use of glyphosate (and unrelated fungicides) as "antibiotics threatening human health". 
Barry Thompson

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On Thursday, March 2, 2017, Droege, Sam <sdroege at usgs.gov> wrote:

Just a quick note to everyone.  Be very careful here.  The media report is extremely misleading:

"More than 700 of the 4,000 native bee species in North America and Hawaii are believed to be inching toward extinction due to increased pesticide use leading to habitat loss, a scientific study showed on Wednesday.

The Center for Biological Diversity's report concluded that of the 1,437 native bee species for which there was sufficient data to evaluate, about 749 of them were declining. Some 347 of the species, which play a vital role in plant pollination, are imperiled and at risk of extinction, the study found."

None of these statements would bear up under scrutiny and these figures should never be cited as is.  The report:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/native_pollinators/pdfs/Pollinators_in_Peril.pdf

Uses Heritage/NatureServe Ranking Schemes and a not well documented process of looking at Historic records to make statements about threatened, endangered, and declining species without clear definitions of those terms and how the data were derived.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/native_pollinators/pdfs/native_bees_index.pdf

There are statistical, taxonomic, and natural history problems here and they are not addressed in the report.  A quick review of the list of species show claims of declining species that I know well and cannot think of any evidence of declines.

Its is safer to say that we have very few skilled people currently collecting and looking for rare and uncommon bees and that appearances of decline may be both a combination of habitat loss or it may be that we just aren't looking.  

I don't argue that many uncommon bees are declining, they must, as habitats and floral resources dwindle, but I don't see good evidence here that we have the data to make those claims.

In any case the report, as presented, is very problematic hopefully a more complete report with more details will come out.  Or perhaps there is a website with those details that I am unaware.

sam

 Sam Droege  sdroege at usgs.gov                    
w 301-497-5840 h 301-390-7759 fax 301-497-5624
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov

"Earth laughs in flowers."
                -Ralph Waldo Emerson

On Thu, Mar 2, 2017 at 12:28 AM, Tom Van Arsdall <tva at pollinator.org> wrote:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/hundreds-of-north-american-bee-species-face-extinction-study/ar-AAnGP3P

Tom

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