DieWinters are getting warmer, ocean temperatures are rising and now bumblebees are dying. That's according to a new study that found one of the world's most efficient pollinators is at risk of extinction due to climate change.
University of Ottawa researchers studied 66 bumblebee species in North America and Europe and found that rising temperatures and rainfall also increase the species' risk of extinction. The likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in a single location has decreased by an average of 30% within a human generation, according to the researchers.
Peter Soroye, an Ottawa graduate student and one of the study's authors, tweeted about the research, saying: "In 25 years, the likelihood of finding a bumblebee species has fallen by an average of 46% in North America and 17% in Europe."
The team also found that climate change affects bees' chances of colonizing new areas. They discovered that the largest declines in bumblebee populations occurred where “climate change pushed species beyond what they had ever had to tolerate before.” These areas are shown in dark red dots on a data map that does not include population data based on habitat loss and pesticides.
The decline in bumblebee populations could also mean problems for agriculture. Bumblebees are vital to the world's ecosystem and are known to pollinate wildflowers and nightshades such as tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and blueberries. They are able to tolerate cooler weather than othersimportant pollinators such as honey beescannot withstand effectively.
Despite the grim results, Soroye said her research can help plan for a better future for different species.
“We have seen many places where things are going badly, but we have also seen some “bright spots” where things are going well despite climate change. If we focus on these places, we may be able to draw conclusions that we can apply to halt declines elsewhere,” he wrote.
The full report was published in thePublished in the journal Science.
