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Climate Change Is Shrinking Bumblebee Ranges in North America and Europe
http://www.aaas.org/news/climate-change-shrinking-bumblebee-ranges-north-america-and-europe[font face=Serif][font size=5]Climate Change Is Shrinking Bumblebee Ranges in North America and Europe[/font]
[font size=4]The bees' ranges are shrinking at their southern edges and not expanding northward, as expected from the movements of other species.[/font]
9 July 2015 | Natasha D. Pinol | Meagan Phelan
[font size=3]While the geographic ranges of many animals are expanding toward the poles in response to warming temperatures, the ranges of North American and European bumblebee species are shrinking, a new study published in the 10 July issue of the journal Science shows.
Not only are bumblebee populations completely disappearing from the southernmost and hottest parts of their ranges, they are also failing to migrate north as would be expected as a result of climate change.
"We stopped dead in our tracks when we observed this because the observation that species are expanding their ranges northward is so common now," said the study's lead author Jeremy Kerr, a professor in the department of biology at the University of Ottawa. "We hope this work will stimulate others to look for more than just positive evidence that species are doing what everyone expects."
Kerr's findings reveal the vulnerability of bumblebees, which play key roles in agriculture, to a warming world — hinting these species may experience more rapid climate-related decline than others.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4]The bees' ranges are shrinking at their southern edges and not expanding northward, as expected from the movements of other species.[/font]
9 July 2015 | Natasha D. Pinol | Meagan Phelan
[font size=3]While the geographic ranges of many animals are expanding toward the poles in response to warming temperatures, the ranges of North American and European bumblebee species are shrinking, a new study published in the 10 July issue of the journal Science shows.
Not only are bumblebee populations completely disappearing from the southernmost and hottest parts of their ranges, they are also failing to migrate north as would be expected as a result of climate change.
"We stopped dead in our tracks when we observed this because the observation that species are expanding their ranges northward is so common now," said the study's lead author Jeremy Kerr, a professor in the department of biology at the University of Ottawa. "We hope this work will stimulate others to look for more than just positive evidence that species are doing what everyone expects."
Kerr's findings reveal the vulnerability of bumblebees, which play key roles in agriculture, to a warming world — hinting these species may experience more rapid climate-related decline than others.
…[/font][/font]
