Pollinator declines in Europe patterns, causes and impacts. Koos Biesmeijer. Photos Nico Verreecken, Koos Biesmeijer and

Transcription

1 Pollinator declines in Europe patterns, causes and impacts Koos Biesmeijer Photos Nico Verreecken, Koos Biesmeijer and

2 Pollinator Bee declines in Europe patterns, causes and impacts Koos Biesmeijer EU project: ALARM:

3 Bees Honeybees

4 European bees: how many species? A rough estimate: >4000 bees > 900 species in France About in the world

5 Social bees Honeybee (1 species), Apis mellifera Bumblebees ( >100 species), Bombus

6 Stem nesting bees Mason bees, Leafcutter bees

7 Ground nesting bees Mining bees (Andrena) Wasp bees (Nomada) - (brood parasites of Andrena)

8 Bees Honeybees

9 Bees = Honeybees and many more

10 Declines Are bees declining? of bee declines of bee declines

11 Are bees declining? Which bees? Where? Declines

12 Declines: managed pollinators Declines honeybees USA Yes, colony collapse disorder (CCD) Europe no CCD (as far as I know) Management problems: Varroa/virusses/etc What about honeybees in Europe over last decades? (i.e. before current reported large declines)

13 Honeybee colonies Declines Simon Potts, Stuart Roberts et al. in review Reading University, National Bee Unit, IBRA

14 Honeybee (b) Colonies colonies Declines 20% increase 20% decrease SE SF All Europe: ± 5.9% ns NO Central Europe: ± 4.9% ** WA EN BE LU DE CZ AT PL SK Peripheral Europe: +5.9 ± 9.7 ** ES IT GR Potts et al. (in press) Apidologie

15 Beekeepers Declines

16 Beekeepers Declines 20% increase 20% decrease SE SF All Europe: ± 4.6% * NO Central Europe: ± 5.1% *** WA EN Peripheral Europe: LU CZ AT SK ± 6.6 *** IT Potts et al. (in press) Apidologie

17 Honey production Declines Luc Viatour Whole Foods Market

18 Honey production Declines 50% increase 50% decrease SF All Europe: 44.8 ± 19.6% * Central Europe: 56.3 ± 34.7% ns IE FR DE CZ AT PL SK Peripheral Europe: 30.4 ± 13.2 ns IT GR Potts et al. (in press) Apidologie

19 Honeybees in Central Europe : 23% less honeybee hives 36% fewer beekeepers..but more honey production loss of small scale beekeepers improved management for honey production fewer bees for crop pollination?!

20 Wild bee declines? Declines

21 Declines Need long-term data sets First large-scale study: Biesmeijer et al Science 313: : Parallel declines in pollinators and insect-pollinated plants in the UK and the Netherlands

22 Declines Assessing change in bee diversity: Long-term datasets for UK and NL Examined 10 x 10 km landscapes compare before 1980 with after 1980 Ca. 500,000 records Bee X found in location Y on day Z

23 Thanks to all amateur recorders! BWARS Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society

24 Britain Fewer bee species in 80% of landscapes hoverflies Declines Britain bees Netherlands bees Species richness change no change >60 % decrease % decrease % decrease 20-0 % decrease 0-20 % increase % increase % increase >60 % increase

25 Declines Wild bee declines in UK and NL What about the rest of Europe?

26 Global red list Rare, endangered, extinct species Declines

27 How many bees on Global Red List? Chalicodoma pluto Wallace's Giant Bee the largest bee in the world Female = 39 mm long, wingspan 63 mm Discovered in Indonesia in 1859 by Alfred Russel Wallace. It was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1981 by Adam C. Messer. From October nd bee on list: Bombus franklini (W-USA)

28 Declines National red lists for bees Finland Sweden Ireland Britain Netherlands Germany Switzerland Slovenia

29 Declines Bees on national red lists 45% of bees threatened across EU countries Based on national red lists????????? Average: 45% of bees threatened Range: ~35% Sweden and Finland >60% Ireland and Switzerland

30 Thanks to the real experts!!! Declines Guy Soderman Bjorn Cederberg Una Fitzpatrick, Rob Paxton, Tom Murray, Mark Brown Jaan Luig Stuart Roberts, Simon Potts, Bill Kunin Virgilijus Monsevicius Tadeusz Pawlikowski Theo Peeters, Ivo Raemakers, Jeroen de Rond, Jan Smit, Chiel Jacobusse Pierre Rasmont, Alain Pauly, Denis Michez, Nico Verreecken Jack Schwenninger, Frank Burger, Mike Herrmann, Michael Kuhlmann, Volker Mauss, Arno Schanowski, Stefan Tischendorf Andreas Muller and team Andrej Gogola Aleksander Cetkovic

31 Declines Red list + expert opinion Finland Sweden Estonia Lithuania Poland Ireland Britain Netherlands Germany Belgium France Switzerland Slovenia Serbia (Bombus)

32 Declines Status of European bees Average: 47% of bees threatened In European countries about half of wild bees threatened or declining

33 Are winners and losers similar bees? i.e. are we losing functional types of bees? Trait database for European bees Stuart Roberts (Reading) >2500 spp of bees Taxonomy Biology and ecology Distribution Conservation status

34 Habitat specialist vs generalists habitat specialists more threatened than generalists Specialists Use 1 major habitat type Generalists Use >2 major habitat types Red list Opinion Decline Tend to decline No change Tend to increase Increase p<0.05 p<0.1 p>0.1 p<0.1 p<0.05

35 Pollen specialists vs generalists pollen specialists more threatened than generalists OLIGOLECTIC 1 plant taxon as pollen source POLYLECTIC Many plant taxa as pollen source Red list Opinion Decline Tend to decline No change Tend to increase Increase p<0.05 p<0.1 p>0.1 p<0.1 p<0.05

36 Brood parasites vs normal bees Brood parasites more threatened than other bees Red list Opinion Decline Tend to decline No change Tend to increase Increase p<0.05 p<0.1 p>0.1 p<0.1 p<0.05

37 Single vs more generations / year 1 generation/year more threatened than 2 or more Univoltine: 1 generation/year Bi/multivoltine: >1 generation/year Red list Opinion Decline Tend to decline No change Tend to increase Increase p<0.05 p<0.1 p>0.1 p<0.1 p<0.05

38 Which bees are threatened? Decline Tend to decline No change Tend to increase Increase Habitat specialists Diet specialists Cleptoparasites Univoltines Declines

39 Declines Are bees declining? Honeybees in Central Europe, wild bees in UK/NL ~ 50% of wild bees is threatened in EU countries Specialists are more threatened than generalists of bee declines Honeybees listen to other talks at Apimondia!! Wild bees listen to me! of bee declines

40 Declines European bees: causes for declines? What are the main threats? -Evidence for local threats -Pesticides poisoning cases -Habitat loss and fragmentation -Disease (?) -Invasive species -No national level analysis expert opinion

41 Declines Threats: Expert opinion IUCN list of threats adapted to bees: Major categories: Habitat loss/degradation Invasive species Pollution Climate change Natural disasters Changes in native species dynamics Intrinsic factors e.g. change in host or food source e.g. low densities, restricted range

42 Declines Threats: Expert opinion IUCN list of threats adapted to bees Ask experts to assess threats for all listed bees Indicate confidence in assessment Indicate basis of assessment (qualitative/quantitative data)

43 of pollinator shifts Declines i.e. reasons for being currently threatened / red listed Based on expert opinion from 12 EU countries Intrinsic factors: rarity, low densities Species dynamics: loss of food plant or host diseases Pollution Habitat loss / degradation Climate change

44 Declines Habitat loss categories Agriculture intensification Agriculture: change in management Legume loss Agriculture abandonment Infrastructure development Urban activities Forestry operations, increasing plantations Mining activities Fires (man-made) Proportion of species

45 Declines Are bees declining? Honeybees in Central Europe, wild bees in UK/NL ~ 50% of wild bees is threatened in EU countries Specialists are more threatened than generalists of bee declines Wild bee declines most often due to: Habitat loss, agricultural intensification Most vulnerable are rare species and specialists Climate change likely to affect bees in the future!! of bee declines Talk by Stuart Roberts on Friday

46 Declines of bee declines Ecological impacts change in wild plant pollination change in community structure e.g. advantage for wind pollinators? Economic impacts Crop pollination (and honey production) Next talk: Bernard Vaissiere

47 Declines UK NL Impact on UK and NL wild plants: Cross-pollinated plants Bees Wind/Water We don t know what is first: Bee decline Plant decline Parallel declines in bees and plants dependent on bees Or Plant decline Bee decline Biesmeijer et al. 2006, Science 313:

48 Declines Are bees declining? Honeybees in Central Europe, wild bees in UK/NL ~ 50% of wild bees is threatened in EU countries Specialists are more threatened than generalists of bee declines Wild bee declines most often due to: Habitat loss, agricultural intensification Most vulnerable are rare species and specialists of bee declines Bee and wild plant declines are linked Loss of crop production $ $ (next talk)

49 What can we do about it? Improve habitat for pollinators: Agri-environment schemes, organic farming, gardening

50 What can we do about it? Improve habitat for pollinators: Agri-environment schemes, organic farming Improve management of pollinators Honeybees, bumblebees, mason bees

51 What can we do about it? Improve habitat for pollinators: Agri-environment schemes, organic farming Improve management of pollinators Honeybees, bumblebees, mason bees Improve understanding of species needs and interaction mechanisms - Links between plants and pollinators - Interaction between honeybees and wild pollinators - Know which bees are good for which crops

52 A chain reaction Knautia arvensis Andrena hattorfiana Nomada armata

53 Thank you!