<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><META content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv=Content-Type></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial><FONT lang=0 color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">
<DIV>
<DIV>
<HR>
From: collasheila@gmail.com<BR>To: lda@pollinator.org<BR>Sent: 10/18/2012
6:05:58 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time<BR>Subj: Fwd: CANPOLIN News Release:
Historical Insect Collections Reveal Several Bee Species in Decline<BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px">
<DIV> </DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>For the pollinator list-serv <BR><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>---------- Forwarded message ----------<BR>From: <B class=gmail_sendername>Sarah Bates</B> <SPAN dir=ltr><<A title=mailto:sbates@uoguelph.ca href="mailto:sbates@uoguelph.ca">sbates@uoguelph.ca</A>></SPAN><BR>Date:
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 12:35 PM<BR>Subject: CANPOLIN News Release: Historical
Insect Collections Reveal Several Bee Species in Decline<BR>To: <A title=mailto:CPI-GENERAL@listserv.uoguelph.ca href="mailto:CPI-GENERAL@listserv.uoguelph.ca">CPI-GENERAL@listserv.uoguelph.ca</A><BR><BR><BR>
<DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 15pt">Secrets of
the Museum: Historical Insect Collections Reveal Several Bee Species in
Decline<U></U><U></U></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=+0><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> </SPAN>A new study of North American bumble
bees has identified 11 species in decline and recommends immediate
conservation efforts for the most endangered species.</FONT><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><U></U><U></U></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>(October 18, 2012) – Guelph, ON<U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>Countless drawers containing hundreds of thousands of bee
specimens lie in insect museums and private collections across North America,
some dating back to the 1800’s. These historical collections are a treasure
trove of information for assessing the conservation status of species,
according to a new study published in <I>Biodiversity and Conservation</I>.
<U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><BR></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>Researchers with the Canadian Pollination Initiative
(NSERC-CANPOLIN) mined numerous insect collections in Canada and the United
States looking for information on the distribution and abundance of 21 eastern
species of bumble bees. Working with their colleagues in the US, the team
found that 11 of the <I>Bombus</I> species are in decline, while another eight
species are stable or show an increase in abundance. <U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><BR></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>“It is really difficult to know if a species is in trouble
unless you have good historical data for comparison. This is the
first time data gathered from historical collections has been used to assess
the current status of Nearctic bees across their entire native range,” says
Sheila Colla, a recent PhD graduate from York University who led the
study. <U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><BR></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>The study was based on 44,797 bee specimens collected between
1864 and 2009. Researchers used both taxonomic and geographic data found
in collection records to measure the persistence and relative abundance of
each species across the full range of their distribution. Of the 11 species
found to be in decline, four are deemed “vulnerable”, six are considered
“endangered” and one is “critically endangered”.<U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><BR></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>The bees most at risk tend to share similar characteristics.
The most severely endangered species is a cuckoo bee, <I>Bombus
variabilis</I>, which lays its eggs in the nests of other bumble bees to be
raised by the host. Three other bee species in decline were also cuckoo bees.
Other bee species most at risk tend to be long-tongued species with queens
that emerge late in the season. The researchers also noted that species
with smaller historical ranges were less likely to persist.<U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><BR></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>“There is still a lot of work to be done to fully understand
the threats to bee populations, and what makes a particular species vulnerable
to decline. But in the meantime, protecting the habitat of high risk
populations should be a top priority for conservation efforts,” says Colla.
<U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><U></U><U></U> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><U></U><U></U> </P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Researchers
from the University of Ottawa, Dartmouth College, the University of
Connecticut and Yale University were additional co-authors on the study.
The project was supported with funds from the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada, a Natural Sciences Foundation DBI grant and a
state wildlife grant to the <SPAN>Peabody Museum of Natural History.
Th</SPAN>e study is contribution #58 to the Canadian Pollination Initiative
(NSERC-CANPOLIN).<U></U><U></U></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><U></U><U></U> </P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><B>Colla, S.R., F. Gadallah, L. Richardson, D. Wagner and L.
Gall. 2012.</B><A title=http://www.springerlink.com/content/mg043gx0n25847tp/ href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/mg043gx0n25847tp/" target=_blank>
Assessing declines in North American bumble bees (Bombus spp.) using museum
specimens</A><A title=http://www.springerlink.com/content/mg043gx0n25847tp/ href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/mg043gx0n25847tp/" target=_blank>.</A> <I>Biodiversity and Conservation Biology</I> (published
online: DOI 10.1007/s10531-012-0383-2)<U></U><U></U></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><U></U><U></U> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><I><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 9pt" lang=EN-US>For more information about this study, contact:
</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sheila
Colla</SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 9pt" lang=EN-US> </SPAN><FONT face="tahoma, new york, times, serif"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13px" lang=EN-US>(</SPAN><A title=mailto:collasheila@gmail.com href="mailto:collasheila@gmail.com" target=_blank><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 12px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(247,243,233)"><FONT color=#000000>collasheila@gmail.com</FONT></SPAN></A><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13px" lang=EN-US>)</SPAN></FONT><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 9pt" lang=EN-US> (</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Project Leader,
Wildlife Preservation Canada)</SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="TEXT-INDENT: 36pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 9pt" lang=EN-US><B style="FONT-STYLE: italic">For more information about
NSERC-CANPOLIN, contact:</B><I> <A title=mailto:canpolin@uoguelph.ca href="mailto:canpolin@uoguelph.ca" target=_blank>canpolin@uoguelph.ca</A>
</I>or visit<I> </I><A title=http://www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin href="http://www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin" target=_blank>www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin</A></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><BR></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; FONT-SIZE: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1350611599@aol.com" DATASIZE="35657" ID="MA1.1350611599" ></P><FONT style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'" size=3><SPAN name="x"></SPAN></FONT>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="garamond, new york, times, serif"><FONT color=#000099 face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="garamond, new york, times, serif"><FONT color=#000099 face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="garamond, new york, times, serif"><FONT color=#000099 face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="garamond, new york, times, serif"><FONT color=#000099 face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<HR>
</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="garamond, new york, times, serif"><FONT color=#000099 face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="garamond, new york, times, serif"><FONT color=#000099 face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Sarah Bates, PhD<BR>Network Manager,
NSERC-CANPOLIN<BR>School of Environmental Sciences - Bovey<BR>University of
Guelph, 50 Stone Rd East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1<BR>tel: <A title="tel:(519)824-4120 X58022" href="tel:%28519%29824-4120%20X58022" target=_blank value="+15198244120">(519)824-4120 X58022</A> fax:
<A title=tel:(519)837-0442 href="tel:%28519%29837-0442" target=_blank value="+15198370442">(519)837-0442</A></FONT><BR></FONT><FONT face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><A title=http://www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin href="http://www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin" target=_blank>www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin</A></FONT><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV><FONT style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'" size=3><SPAN name="x"></SPAN></FONT><BR></SPAN><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR><BR clear=all>
<DIV><BR></DIV>-- <BR>Sheila R. Colla, Ph.D.
<DIV>Project Leader, Wildlife Preservation Canada</DIV>
<DIV>IUCN SSC Bumblebee Specialist Group, North America Co-Coordinator</DIV>
<DIV>Website: <A title=http://www.savethebumblebees.com/ href="http://www.savethebumblebees.com/" target=_blank>www.savethebumblebees.com</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; COLOR: rgb(42,42,42)"><BR></SPAN></DIV><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>