Bees on decline threaten pollination, food security

TORONTO, ON - GHN News - Bees are declining in numbers.  Why is that important?  It means
pollination is also on the decline, and likely due to climate change,
according to scientists from the University of Toronto.

  “Bee numbers may have declined at our research site, but we suspect that

a climate-driven mismatch between the times when flowers open and when
bees emerge from hibernation is a more important factor,” says James
Thomson, a scientist with U of T’s Department of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology.


Thomson’s did a study over 17 years, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado,
is one of the longest studies of its kind on pollination.  His results
show the decline in bees has occurred significantly and progressively
during that period.  The results of his study will be published in the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
on September 6.


“Early in the year, when bumble bee queens are still hibernating, the
fruiting rates are especially low,” Thomson says.  “This is sobering
because it suggests that pollination is vulnerable even in a relatively
pristine environment that is free of pesticides and human disturbance
but still subject to climate change.”


Thomson initiated his research project during the 1980's when he bought
land in a remote area, built a log cabin and set about learning the
habits of bees among the glacier lilies.