Global S&T Development Trend Analysis Platform of Resources and Environment
Bee Kind: Imperial scientists’ efforts to protect pollinators | |
admin | |
2021-05-20 | |
发布年 | 2021 |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | 英国 |
领域 | 资源环境 |
正文(英文) | Bees are in decline because of intensive farming, pesticide prevalence and climate change – but human welfare depends on them If you were to guess which animals are worth hundreds of billions of pounds to the agricultural industry, the humble bee and its fellow insect pollinators may not be your first thought. But that is the estimated value of these tiny creatures, according to Dr Richard Gill, a Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London and leading expert on bees and other insects. Sadly, humans are putting them at risk, along with the sustainability of our future food supply. “Bees are of major global importance, not only to wild flowers but, also to crops. So, trying to protect species is of ecological and economic significance,” Dr Gill says. The EU estimated that pollination services offered by insects, particularly bees, were worth 153 billion Euros or £131 billion – a tenth of the value of world agriculture – a decade ago. Meanwhile the US Food and Drink Administration has suggested the value of crops replying on pollinators, including bees, could be as much as US$577 billion, or £410 billion, a year. Bees are so essential to our existence that four years ago the United Nations decided that every year 20 May would become World Bee Day. To mark the event this year, Dr Gill tells us why bees are at risk, what we can do to protect them and about his team’s latest research into a species that our lives literally depend on. The importance of Bee-ing A UN report brings together findings highlighting that 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Distressingly the UN report also shows that almost 35% of invertebrate pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, face extinction globally because of human activities. Likewise, 17% of vertebrate pollinators, including bats and hummingbirds, are under threat. If this trend continues, nutritious crops, including fruits, nuts and many vegetables, most of which require pollination, will need to be substituted by crops like rice, corn and potatoes, which are either self-pollinated or pollinated by the wind. The consequence will be imbalanced diets. So, Dr Gill explains, protecting pollinators is essential to preserving our global food supply and cultivating in a sustainable manner. Bee aware: Dr Gill’s tips for safeguarding bees
Bee factual Bees are among the hardest working creatures on the planet. A honeybee foraging trip can be up to 6 miles, and they make many tens of trips a day. They carry pollen from one flower to another, which is important for the reproduction of the plant. Pollinated plants produce more fruit and seeds. Three in four crops worldwide that produce fruit or seeds for human consumption or use depend partially on pollinators, including bees. There are 25,000 bee species worldwide and 250 bee species in the UK – 25% are social bees, the rest are solitary or parasitic bees. Bees also have cultural significance and have inspired operatic composers. They also symbolise industriousness and teamwork and have democratic societies with roles for the Queen and workers. Be Vigilant: what government and industry need to do We need international funding for research to fill the large gaps in our insect pollinator datasets. For instance, getting data to understand past responses to environmental changes and human actions, allows us to better predict about future responses,” says Dr Gill who was invited to speak at a Parliamentary event last year on insect decline about new technologies to achieve this, and who has been studying more than 20,000 museum bee and butterfly specimens to help fill such gaps. He explains that the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has many gaps in its records for bees and other insects: “At least half of the bee species we know about are data deficient. Dr Gill is also an adviser to the X:Polli:Nation citizen science project. Meanwhile, Dr Gill stresses that applications of pesticides in agriculture should be done in an informed manner. Targeted applications in particular places and times in the season can increase the control of destructive pests and avoid accidentally killing off valuable pollinators. He stresses: “While big crop losses can be devastating for farmers and the use of pesticides does contribute to the security of our food supply, we must always ask whether prophylactic and ubiquitous use of pesticides is necessarily required and, if possible, avoided across the landscape.” Bee biodiverse It is not just bees that are under threat. Since 1970 there has been an average 60% decline in animal populations and more than a million species are believed to be on the verge of extinction, according to a recent feature published by Imperial College London. Dr Will Pearse, a senior lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, explains: "We are at the beginning of a mass extinction event. What we're in danger of losing is not just the species themselves, but also the services that they provide us." The Red List of species published by the IUCN estimates that 28% of species are threatened with extinction and the current rate of biodiversity loss is 1,000 times higher than the historical rate. Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, says: “This is an important year for international environmental commitments – China is hosting the United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) in the autumn, followed by the Glasgow Climate change conference in November. “The UNCBD meeting should see countries commit at the highest level to protecting biodiversity and species in all of its forms, whilst the Glasgow negotiations will focus specifically on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change, and adapting to a changing climate. It is important that approaches to tackle climate change, which often require or make use of land or nature – are fully joined up with the preservation of complex ecosystems. In all cases, these commitments should not loose slight of some of these smallest, and most important creatures.” The forthcoming Environment Bill is expected to contain a legally binding target to halt the decline of nature and wildlife by 2030. Bee focused: Imperial’s latest research on bees – and butterflies
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来源平台 | Imperial College London |
文献类型 | 新闻 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/328610 |
专题 | 资源环境科学 |
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