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  • Worldwide Loss of Bees A Growing Concern 1340 Passage and Questions

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    Bees have been disappearing around the world for some time now, and their mass disappearance continues to present new problems around the planet. Over 1 million bee colonies disappear every year, never to return. Bees are used to pollinate many crops, for instance a large portion of California's almond crop relies heavily on bee pollination.

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    Bees have been disappearing around the world for some time now, and their mass disappearance continues to present new problems around the planet. Over 1 million bee colonies disappear every year, never to return. Bees are used to pollinate many crops, for instance a large portion of California's almond crop relies heavily on bee pollination.

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    1K vizualizări5 pagini

    Worldwide Loss of Bees A Growing Concern 1340 Passage and Questions

    Încărcat de

    api-286038356
    Bees have been disappearing around the world for some time now, and their mass disappearance continues to present new problems around the planet. Over 1 million bee colonies disappear every year, never to return. Bees are used to pollinate many crops, for instance a large portion of California's almond crop relies heavily on bee pollination.

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    Worldwide Loss of Bees a Growing Concern

    Worldwide Loss of Bees a Growing Concern


    Alissa Fleck

    Whenwethinkofbees,wethinkofpesky,buzzinginsectsthatstingusandruinoutdoor
    gatherings.Wemightwonder:howbadlycanwepossiblyneedbees?Thetruthis,beesarean
    incrediblyimportantpartofourecosystemonearthnomatterhowannoyingtheymaybeto
    humans.Unfortunately,beeshavebeendisappearingaroundtheworldforsometimenow,
    andtheirmassdisappearancecontinuestopresentnewproblemsaroundtheplanet.

    AccordingtoReutersnewssource,scientificresearchershavebeentryingdesperatelyforthe
    past15yearstounderstandwhyhoneybeesaroundtheworldaredyingoffatfrighteningly
    highrates.Over1millionbeecoloniesdisappeareveryyear,nevertoreturn,Reuters
    reportersnotedin2012.

    KevinHackett,thenationalprogramleaderforthebeeandpollinationprogramattheU.S.
    DepartmentofAgriculture(USDA),calledthemassivehoneybeedisappearancethebiggest
    generalthreattoourfoodsupply.

    Howcouldsomethingsosmallbesoimportanttoushumans?Beesareusedtopollinatemany
    crops,forinstancealargeportionofCaliforniasalmondcrop,whichreliesheavilyonbee
    pollination.Beesarealsoessentialforthepollinationofappleandcitrusfruitcrops.Without
    thepollinationbybees,theseplantsareunabletoreproduceandmaydieoff.

    ThemassdeathsofhoneybeeshavebeenlinkedtosomethingknownasColonyCollapse
    Disorder(CCD)amysteriouslossofbeecolonieswithmanypotentialcausesaswellasa
    varietyofpesticides,parasites,anddiseases,allofwhichhurtbeepopulations.Otherpossible
    causesincludelanddevelopmentandchangesinagriculturalpracticesaroundtheworld.

    Therearenumerouskindsandspeciesofbees,andhoneybeesarenottheonlyones
    disappearinginlargequantities.Bumblebeescanbeaddedtothelistofpollinatorswhose
    2013 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Worldwide Loss of Bees a Growing Concern

    widespreaddisappearanceworriesscientists.Whilethedangersoflosingbees,suchasthe
    damagetoourfoodsupplies,havelongbeenknown,researchersareuncoveringevenmore
    distressinginformationaboutthelossoftheseecologicallycrucialinsects.

    AccordingtoresearcherswhopublishedtheirfindingsintheProceedingsoftheNational
    AcademyofSciencesin2013,thedisappearanceofbumblebeesoffersnewcauseforconcern:
    certainplantsarehavingdifficultiesreproducingwiththelossoftheirbumblebeepollinators,
    andareathigherriskforextinction.

    Twoscientists,whoconductedresearchontheimpactofbumblebeelossonplantreproduction,
    foundthatwhenaparticularspeciesofbumblebeewasremovedfromthepoolofpollinators,
    otherbeesdidnotcompletelytakeoverthepollinatingduties.Instead,withlesscompetition
    fromthebeeswhichhadbeenremovedfromthepool,theremainingbumblebeesflewbetween
    manydifferentplantsandwerelesslikelytobefaithfultoonekindofplant.

    Theresearchersnotedthisexperimenthaddamagingeffects.Forinstance,thelarkspur,apurple
    wildflower,requirespollinationfromitsownspeciesotherlarkspurstosurvive.Theresearchers
    foundwithfewerbumblebees,theremainingbeeswerelessfaithfultoaparticularplant,
    meaningthelarkspurwasunabletosurviveasitwouldhavebeforethelossofbumblebees.

    Thisparticularstudyhighlightstheimportanceofbeestothecontinuationof,notjustourfood
    supply,butalsoallbiodiversity,astheeffectsofthisstudydonotendwiththelarkspurplant
    alone,butpointtoamuchlargerissue.Thelarkspurisjustoneexampleofthisissue.

    In2012,theUSDAandEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)releasedajointstatement
    discussingtheissueofbeeloss,andthesearchforasolutiontothecycleofproblemscaused
    bybeesdyingoff.

    Theorganizationsconcluded:Nosinglesilverbulletwillsolvetheproblemsaffectinghoney
    beesandotherpollinators.

    Intermsofsolutions,theorganizationsproposed:Habitatenhancement...targetedpesticide
    use,improvedcolonymanagementtechniquesandimproveddiseaseandpestresistantstocks
    ofbeesarecollectivelyneededtoimprovethehealthofhoneybeecolonies.

    Itisimperativethatweincreasehoneybeesurvivalbothtomakebeekeepingprofitable,the
    statementnoted,butmoreimportantlytomeetthedemandsofU.S.agriculturefor
    pollinationandthusensureof[sic]foodsecurity.

    2013 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.

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