Climate Change: It’s a Buzzkill for Bumblebees, Study Finds
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/06/climate/bumblebees-extreme-heat-weather.html
Source: By Kendra Pierre-Louis and Nadja Popovich, The New York Times.
Excerpt: Behold the humble bumblebee. Hot temperatures linked to climate change, especially extremes like heat waves, are contributing to the decline of these fuzzy and portly creatures, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science [https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6478/685]. Researchers found that bumblebee populations had recently declined by 46 percent in North America and by 17 percent across Europe when compared to a base period of 1901 to 1974. The biggest declines were in areas where temperatures spiked well beyond the historical range, which raises concerns that climate change could increase the risk of extinction for bees, which are already threatened by pesticide use and habitat loss. ...Bumblebees are one piece of the ecological networks threatened by climate change. “Bumblebees contribute to pollination services for a bunch of different plants, among them are things like tomatoes in greenhouses, but also a whole lot of other species in open-air agriculture,” Dr. Kerr said.....
Source: By Kendra Pierre-Louis and Nadja Popovich, The New York Times.
Excerpt: Behold the humble bumblebee. Hot temperatures linked to climate change, especially extremes like heat waves, are contributing to the decline of these fuzzy and portly creatures, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science [https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6478/685]. Researchers found that bumblebee populations had recently declined by 46 percent in North America and by 17 percent across Europe when compared to a base period of 1901 to 1974. The biggest declines were in areas where temperatures spiked well beyond the historical range, which raises concerns that climate change could increase the risk of extinction for bees, which are already threatened by pesticide use and habitat loss. ...Bumblebees are one piece of the ecological networks threatened by climate change. “Bumblebees contribute to pollination services for a bunch of different plants, among them are things like tomatoes in greenhouses, but also a whole lot of other species in open-air agriculture,” Dr. Kerr said.....