Declining Bee Populations and its Global Impact - Research Paper Example

? 28 September Causes and Effects of the Decline in Bee Population Causes of the Decline in Bee Population In the last decade, there has been a noticeable decline in the bee population all over the world in general and in the USA in particular. A lot of research has been conducted to identify the causes of decline in the bee population. According to (McCarthy), two of the recent scientific studies conducted in France and the UK have found that the commonly used nerve-agent pesticides may be a risk causing the decline of bee colonies. “The findings place a massive question mark over the increasingly controversial compounds, now the fastest growing family of insecticides in the world” (McCarthy). Exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticides is harmful for both the wild bumble bees and the honey bees. The compounds affect the bees by attacking their central nervous system. The quality of neonicotinoids that makes them potentially harmful for the bees is that these pesticides are systemic in nature, which is why they are consumed up by every part of the plant rather than just sitting on the plant’s surface. Like every part, the pesticides are also absorbed by the plant’s pollen as well as nectar. Accordingly, the bees ingest the pesticides as they carry the pollens despite they were not meant to be the original targets. Over the last decade, use of these compounds has caused a “colony collapse disorder” in the USA which is a condition that causes full beehive population to vanish in no time. One of the two studies was conducted by the researchers from the University of Stirling. In the year 2010, almost 30% of the total cropland in the UK was treated with pesticides. The second study was conducted by the researchers belonging to the National Institute for Agronomic Research in Avignon in France under the leadership of Mikael Henry. These researchers studied the effects of the bees’ exposure to thiamethoxam which is a neonicotinid product. As a result of their research, the team found that even sub-lethal doses of the neonicotinid product have a serious impact on the homing abilities of the bees of the level that the bees developed a two to three times higher tendency of dying as compared to the untreated bees. The French researchers said, “Non-lethal exposure... causes high mortality due to homing failure, at levels that could put a colony at risk of collapse” (The French researchers cited in Rose). Since the researches are very recent and no subsequent results have surfaced to support or contradict the findings of these studies, this stage is preliminary to develop an utmost belief in the fact that neonicotinids are harmful for the health of the bees. Nevertheless, they should be avoided until proven harmless by future research. Professor David Goulson from the University of Stirling shares his view about this matter in these words, “I personally would like to see them not being used until more research has been done. If it confirms what we’ve found, then they certainly shouldn’t be used when they’re going to be fed on by bees” (Goulson cited in Zimmer). Many biologists attribute the decline of bee population to the increase in global warming as it creates the environmental conditions suitable for the growth of such pathogens as fungi, mites, and viruses which are potentially harmful for the bee colonies. In the recent years, frequent fluctuations between the hot and cold weather have been experienced. These weather fluctuations wreak havoc on the bees since they are used to living in the patterns of consistent seasonal weather. The weather sensitive bees cannot survive in the rapidly changing environment. More research is being conducted in order to find the causes of decline of the bee population. According to Galen Dively, an entomologist from the University of Maryland, “We’re going to see a lot of money poured into this problem. What we’re looking for is some commonality which can lead us to a cause” (Dively cited in Harris). Effects of the Decline in Bee Population Honeybees have played a very important role in sustaining the crop diversity. Sustainable agriculture is hard to achieve without conserving the bees. Honeybees create different patterns of cross-pollination that in effect diversify the crops. “Somatic, reproductive and adaptive heterosis or hybrid effects that occur in plant progeny as a result of natural cross-pollination by honeybees brings about significant qualitative and quantitative changes in the economic and biological characteristics of crop plants” (Shrestha 90). There is a whole range of cultivated crops that yield neither fruits nor seeds unless their flowers are cross-pollinated by insects such as honeybees. According to (Hoopingarner and Waller), crop plants that are pollinated by bees account for at least one-third of the total food consumed by humans. Honeybees have also helped save a lot of animal and plant species from becoming extinct which is one of the ways they have protected the eco-systems against collapse. In order for an ecosystem to sustain, it is imperative that all of its elements keep functioning. Removal of just one element from the system will break the chain. Likewise, the decline of bee population has threatened the sustenance of eco-system. Bees and plants share a mutually beneficial ecological link. Bees and other pollinators that include but are not limited to flies, butterflies, moths, bats, birds, and beetles have amazingly intricate relationships with as many as 250,000 species of the flowering plants (Meeuse). Plant species experience more genetic variability with the cross-pollination done by honeybees as compared to that caused by self-pollination. The genetic diversity thus induced enables the plant species to increase in variety as well as adaptation to different habitats and environments. Cross-pollinated seeds have more survival potential because of the addition of the genetic interchanges to the plants’ adaptation to the changing habitats. Decline of the bee population is a potential risk factor for the agriculture all over the globe since the bees happen to be the prime source of pollination of a vast majority of the crops. “The value of bees' pollination services has been estimated at ?200m per year just in Britain. The global annual value of pollination has been estimated at ?128bn annually.” (McCarthy). Decline in the bee population raises many challenges for the global food industry since bees have immense importance in sustaining the ecosystems. Bumble bees play a very important role in the pollination of crops and thus serve as the vital elements of the ecosystems. Certain countries like Italy and France have imposed bans on the use of new pesticides for agricultural purposes because of the ascertained threat caused by these pesticides to the bees, but the practice continues on legal grounds both in the UK and the USA. Owing to the discovery of extremely harmful effects of the use of pesticides on the health of bees, “there is an urgent need to develop alternatives to the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops wherever possible” (Whitehorn et al. 352). Decline in the bee population directly results into shortage of original honey. Honey is consumed as an ingredient in both the main courses and desserts as a very important as well as delicious source of nutrition. Honey is a very important food item that is consumed with the meals both to enhance their taste and make them nutritionally healthier. Honey is also used as an antiseptic because of antiseptic qualities. It is a very good substitute of regular caster sugar and is thus used in the desserts and sweet-dishes. Decline in the bee population brings along with it decline in the global production of honey. To match the supply with demand without letting the demand go down, more sugar is mixed into the available volume of honey to make up for the loss, and hence the quality goes down. Food is just one of the many aspects in which honey is used. Growth of bee population is very important for the global markets since honeybee is the main pollinator of a lot of crops that include but are not limited to apples, blueberries, almonds, cucumbers, cherries, watermelon, cranberries, and cantaloupes. Disappearance of the honeybee means lack of means to carry the pollen grains from one plant to another. As a result of this, there will be scarcity of fruits and plant-foods. Decrease in their supply will cause their price to increase. “The pollination service provided by insect pollinators, bees mainly, was €153 billion (euros) in 2005 for the main crops that feed the world. This figure amounted to 9.5% of the total value of the world agricultural food production” (“Why saving the”). There is a very simple explanation of why decline of bee population is a threat for the global market; decline of the bee population causes lesser crops to be pollinated, which results in lesser crop yield, and consequently lesser food for both trade and consumption. Enormity of the threats imposed to the health and economy by the decline of the bee population imparts the need to take objective measures to protect the bees. Works Cited: Harris, James. “Dear EarthTalk: What is causing the dramatic decline in honeybee populations in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years, and what is being done about it?” 2012. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. . Hoopingarner, R. A. and Waller, G. D. Crop pollination. In: Graham J. (ed.). The Hive and the Honeybee: Dadant and Sons. Hamilton, Illinois, pp1043-1082 (Revised edition). 1992. McCarthy, Michael. “New pesticides linked to bee population collapse.” The Independent. 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 27 Sep. 2012. . Meeuse, B. J. D. The story of pollination. New York, Ronald Press, 1961. Print. Rose, Valerie Jean. “Part 2: Bee Aware.” 13 July 2012. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. . Shrestha, Jagadish B. “Honeybees: The Pollinator Sustaining Crop Diversity.” The Journal of Agriculture and Environment. Vol. 9. June 2008. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. Whitehorn, Penelope R; O’Connor, Stephanie; Wackers, Felix L; and Goulson, Dave. “Neonicotinoid Pesticide Reduces Bumble Bee Colony Growth and Queen Production.” Science. Vol. 336. 2012. Web. 27 Sep. 2012. . “Why saving the bees is so important for our world.” 5 Oct. 2011. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. . Zimmer, Carl. “2 Studies Point to Common Pesticide as a Culprit in Declining Bee Colonies.” The New York Times. 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Sep. 2012. . Read More