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<DIV><EM>From 7thSpace</EM></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4> Newly Compiled Online Bee Checklist
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<DIV>In time for National Pollinator Week, June 22 through June 28, biologists
have completed an online effort to compile a world checklist of bees. They have
identified nearly 19,500 bee species worldwide, about 2,000 more than previously
estimated. There is a current crisis known as “colony collapse disorder,” an
unexplained phenomenon that is wiping out colonies of honey bees throughout the
United States. This has highlighted the need for more information about bee
species and their interactions with the plants they pollinate. <BR><BR>“At a
time when biological diversity is suspected to be declining at an alarming rate,
it is important to have a solid baseline from which to measure future trends,”
said Michael Ruggiero, senior scientist for the Integrated Taxonomic Information
System at the National Museum of Natural History, who led the recently completed
project. “This is very exciting because bees are critical for pollinating
flowering plants, including most non-cereal food crops.” <BR><BR>“Honey bees are
the most economically important pollinators and are currently in the news
because of colony collapse disorder,” said John S. Ascher, a collaborator on the
project from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. “Only about 500
bee species produce honey. Most species, however, do not produce honey or live
in hives, yet they are crucial pollinators of crops and native plants.”
<BR><BR>Taxonomy is the science of species classification. The bee checklist
includes currently accepted scientific names, synonyms and common names; a
current, complete and authoritative taxonomic checklist is key to linking all
information about species. The scientific name acts as the common denominator to
connect like information. Taxonomic information is not fixed and throughout time
biologists reclassify species as a result of new discoveries or new research.
<BR><BR>“The bee checklist acts as a taxonomic ‘Rosetta Stone’ that will enhance
communication, information exchange and data repatriation about bees. The
completed checklist is a first step in modeling and forecasting future
population trends,” said Ruggiero. <BR><BR>Compiling the checklist has taken
more than five years and the efforts of leading bee taxonomists on six
continents. The checklist, coordinated by the staff of the Integrated Taxonomic
Information System, a public–private partnership hosted at the National Museum
of Natural History, is available at <A class=mystyle href="http://www.itis.gov/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#000000><U>www.itis.gov</U>.</FONT></A> Major
supporters of the project were the Global Biodiversity Information Facility,
based in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is dedicated to making global biodiversity
data accessible anywhere in the world, and the U.S.-based National Biological
Information Infrastructure, a broad, collaborative program to provide increased
access to data and information on the nation’s biological resources.
<BR><BR>Important scientific contributors to the World Bee Checklist project
include John S. Ascher, American Museum of Natural History, United States;
Connal Eardley, Plant Protection Research Institute, South Africa; Terry
Griswold, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Gabriel Melo, Federal University of
Parana, Brazil; David Nicolson, U.S. Geological Survey; David Remsen, Global
Biodiversity Information Facility, Denmark; Andrew Polaszek, Natural History
Museum, United Kingdom; Osamu Tadauchi, University of Kyushu, Japan; Ken Walker,
Museum Victoria, Australia; Natapot Warrit, Smithsonian Institution, United
States; and Paul Williams, Natural History Museum, United Kingdom.
<BR><BR><BR>Media only: <BR>Kelly Carnes <BR>(202) 633-2950 <BR><BR>Media Web
site: <BR>newsdesk.si.edu <BR><BR><BR>Published on: 2008-06-11<BR><BR></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT" size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">Laurie Davies Adams<BR>Executive Director<BR><B>Pollinator
Partnership </B><BR>423 Washington Street, 5th floor<BR>San Francisco, CA
94111<BR>415-362-1137</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face="Gill Sans MT"
color=#0000ff size=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="14"><B><A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></B></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></B><BR><A
href="http://www.nappc.org/">www.nappc.org</A><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
face="Gill Sans MT" color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="12"><B><I>National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2008. <BR>Beecome
involved at <A
href="http://www.pollinator.org/">www.pollinator.org</A></I></FONT></B></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. <A title="http://citysbest.aol.com?ncid=aolacg00050000000102" href="http://citysbest.aol.com?ncid=aolacg00050000000102" target="_blank">City's Best 2008</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>