( nd capable of pollinating the same flow...)Wild bees and the flowers they pollinate are disappearing together

nd capable of pollinating the same flower species. However, this is not the case. The research found for both bees and hoverflies, the "winners" and "losers" were consistently different; insects which pollinate a limited range of flower species or which have specialised habitat needs were most often lost. Overall, a small number of common generalist pollinators are replacing a larger number of rarer specialist species.

Stuart Roberts from the University of Reading pointed out: "In Britain, pollinator species that were relatively rare in the past have tended to become rarer still, while the commoner species have become even more plentiful. Even in insects, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."

There have been parallel shifts in the plant world, with the plants that depend on pollination by bees disappearing too.

Dr Bill Kunin, coordinator of the project at the University of Leeds explained: "We looked at plant changes as an afterthought, and were surprised to see how strong the trends were. When we contacted our Dutch colleagues, we found out that they had begun spotting similar shifts in their wildflowers as well."

In Britain, where bee diversity has fallen and hoverflies have at best held steady, there have been declines in 70% of the wildflowers that require insects for pollination. However, wind-pollinated or self-pollinating plants have held constant or increased.

The pattern is slightly different in the Netherlands, where bees have declined on average but hoverfly diversity has increased. In that country there has been a decline in plants that specifically require bees for pollination, but not in plants that can make use of other insect pollinators. Thus the plant declines closely mirror those of the pollinators.

This difference between the countries suggests the declines in pollinators and plants are causally linked. Researcher Dr Ralf Ohlemüller from the University of York explained: "
'"/>

Source:University of Leeds

Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Bumblebees copy one another when contending with unfamiliar flowers
2. AIDS drug from sunflowers
3. Genetic snooze button governs timing of spring flowers
4. How did bilaterally symmetric flowers evolve from radially symmetric ones?
5. Himalayan forests disappearing
6. Over a century after disappearing, wild elk return to Ontario
7. Tundra disappearing at rapid rate
8. Tandem transcripts team together
9. MIT device draws cells close -- but not too close -- together
10. New molecular pathway could reveal how cells stick together