The local wild bee pollinators were shown to have evolved specific coping
mechanisms for a variable local environment on a year-by-year basis, but a
prolonged succession of poor seasonal conditions could prove to be too much for
localized mechanisms. The Colorado area saw warmer and drier years in the past few
decades, which correlated with midsummer floral scarcity, while some plant species
have suffered a series of poor flowering years due to spring frost damage. This
combination of poor plant conditions over a longer period of time due to climate
change may prove to be a much broader threat to the pollinator-plant relationship
than just their life cycle asynchrony [75].
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) took a
broader approach and surveyed available research in 2011. They found a small
number of studies that investigated how increased temperatures might instigate
temporal mismatching between plants and pollinators. For example, a 2005 study
centered on the Iberian Peninsula researched seasonal life cycle responses of plants
and pollinators in relation to increased temperatures, finding a potential
desynchronization between them. A 2009 study found that both Apis mellifera
honey bees and Pieris rapae butterflies advanced their activity timing in response
to warmer temperatures while their main floral resources did not, producing a
temporal mismatch between pollinator and plant. A Japanese 2004 study found
that early-flowering plants would flower earlier in a warm spring, but bumblebee
queen emergence was not affected by spring temperatures. A 2007 study on the
effects of increasing temperature on a plant-pollinator network showed that seasonal
cycle shifts reduced floral resources for 17% to 50% of pollinator species. These
studies indicate that temperature-based temporal mismatches between pollinator and
plant do occur, but vary by species and region [24].
Out of the probable stressors upon pollinator health, climate change itself and its
complex ecological effects are still nebulous, but extant research suggests it should
not be ignored as a variable that can affect agriculture and our own food supply in the
long term.
4.3 Effects of Pollinator Decline (Bee Loss)
Though variations of the inaccurately attributed quote “If the bee disappears from the
surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live” have appeared
in mass media when news about the declining bee population periodically resurface,
the actual projected effects of pollinator loss are more protracted and complex [76].
There are numerous studies of specific crop improvements thanks to pollinator
activity, but calculations for estimated impact of loss upon agriculture can differ
substantially depending on the methods and data used. It is important to note that
most of the studies focused upon attempted analysis of pollinator decline effects
must extrapolate to some extent; much like climate change science, such information
is intended for preventative use before negative impact becomes irreversible.
Reports agree that both ecosystems and agriculture will be negatively impacted as
28
C. Li
mechanisms for a variable local environment on a year-by-year basis, but a
prolonged succession of poor seasonal conditions could prove to be too much for
localized mechanisms. The Colorado area saw warmer and drier years in the past few
decades, which correlated with midsummer floral scarcity, while some plant species
have suffered a series of poor flowering years due to spring frost damage. This
combination of poor plant conditions over a longer period of time due to climate
change may prove to be a much broader threat to the pollinator-plant relationship
than just their life cycle asynchrony [75].
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) took a
broader approach and surveyed available research in 2011. They found a small
number of studies that investigated how increased temperatures might instigate
temporal mismatching between plants and pollinators. For example, a 2005 study
centered on the Iberian Peninsula researched seasonal life cycle responses of plants
and pollinators in relation to increased temperatures, finding a potential
desynchronization between them. A 2009 study found that both Apis mellifera
honey bees and Pieris rapae butterflies advanced their activity timing in response
to warmer temperatures while their main floral resources did not, producing a
temporal mismatch between pollinator and plant. A Japanese 2004 study found
that early-flowering plants would flower earlier in a warm spring, but bumblebee
queen emergence was not affected by spring temperatures. A 2007 study on the
effects of increasing temperature on a plant-pollinator network showed that seasonal
cycle shifts reduced floral resources for 17% to 50% of pollinator species. These
studies indicate that temperature-based temporal mismatches between pollinator and
plant do occur, but vary by species and region [24].
Out of the probable stressors upon pollinator health, climate change itself and its
complex ecological effects are still nebulous, but extant research suggests it should
not be ignored as a variable that can affect agriculture and our own food supply in the
long term.
4.3 Effects of Pollinator Decline (Bee Loss)
Though variations of the inaccurately attributed quote “If the bee disappears from the
surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live” have appeared
in mass media when news about the declining bee population periodically resurface,
the actual projected effects of pollinator loss are more protracted and complex [76].
There are numerous studies of specific crop improvements thanks to pollinator
activity, but calculations for estimated impact of loss upon agriculture can differ
substantially depending on the methods and data used. It is important to note that
most of the studies focused upon attempted analysis of pollinator decline effects
must extrapolate to some extent; much like climate change science, such information
is intended for preventative use before negative impact becomes irreversible.
Reports agree that both ecosystems and agriculture will be negatively impacted as
28
C. Li