[Pollinator] Bees and wildflowers decline together
Ladadams at aol.com
Ladadams at aol.com
Mon Nov 27 17:49:59 PST 2006
Bees and wildflowers decline together
Posted: 23 Nov 2006
The diversity of bees and the wildflowers that depend on them for pollination
are declining simultaneously according to new research in Britain and the
Netherlands.
While other studies have documented dwindling numbers of specific pollinating
insects, this is teh first to suggest large scale losses.
"We were shocked by the decline in plants as well as bees," said Koos
Biesmeijer, a research fellow at the University of Leeds and leading author of the
analysis published in the July 21 issue of Science. "if this pattern is
replicated elsewhere, the 'pollinator services' we take for granted could be at risk."
The researchers compiled biodiversity data from hundreds of sites in the two
countries and found that bee diversity had declined in nearly 80 per cent of
them over the past 25 years. Wild plants thar depend on bees for pollination
similarly declined, though plants that rely largely on wind and water for
pollination increased in the UK.
Researchers have estimated the worldwide value of bees as crop pollinators at
some US$92 billion. The study provides an example of how tightly knit species
can spiral into "co-extinction" - a phenomenon, scientists have suggested,
that could mean that current estimates of extinction risks have been
underestimated by as much as 50 per cent.
Source: World-Watch magazine, November-December issue. See:
www.worldwatch.org
© People & the Planet 2000 - 2006
Laurie Davies Adams
Executive Director
Coevolution Institute
423 Washington St. 5th
San Francisco, CA 94111
415 362 1137
http://www.coevolution.org/
http://www.pollinator.org/
http://www.nappc.org/
Bee Ready for National Pollinator Week: June 24-30, 2007. Contact us
for more information at www.pollinator.org
Our future flies on the wings of pollinators.
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