Page 28 - aruba-today-20190426

A28 SCIENCE
Friday 26 april 2019

Wild bee species critical to pollination on the decline

By MICHAEL CASEY large scale population sur-
Associated Press veys.”
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — “The most important use
More than a dozen wild of the data in my view is in
bee species critical to pol- providing a baseline set of
linating everything from hypotheses for groups of
blueberries to apples in species that are potentially
New England are on the declining or stable across
decline, according to a a much greater set of spe-
new study. cies than is usually exam-
Researchers from the Uni- ined, which can then be
versity of New Hampshire investigated in more detail
wanted to understand if to determine why they may
the documented declines be changing,” Lozier said
hitting honeybees and in an email interview. “This
bumblebees were also study doesn’t really deter-
taking a toll on the lesser mine the why quite yet, but
studied bee species in New gives us a reference point
Hampshire. for further study.”
So they examined 119 spe- Rehan said she hopes the
cies in the state from a study will inspire other re-
museum collection at the searchers to take a closer
college dating back 125 look at these rarely studied
years. Writing in the peer- bee species, including un-
reviewed journal Insect derstanding why they are
and Conservation Diver- declining. While the mu-
sity this month, Sandra Re- This 2018 photo provided by the University of New Hampshire shows a ground nesting bee seum collection couldn’t
han and Minna Mathias- pollinating a flower in New Hampshire. pinpoint whether possible
son concluded 14 species Associated Press causes such as urban de-
found across New England cies in decline, beside the of a diverse food supply. something we’re con- velopment or pesticides
were on the decline by as well-documented bumble Bees are critical pollinators, cerned about,” Burtt said. are behind a drop in their
much as 90 percent. Sev- bees. Because these spe- and about a third of the Jeff Lozier, a bee expert numbers, it did hint a one
eral of them are leafcutter cies are major players in human diet comes from from the University of Ala- possible cause: climate
and mining bees, which, crop pollination, it raises plants that are pollinated bama who did not take change.
unlike honeybees, nest in concerns about compro- by insects. part in the research, called The study found that half
the ground. mising the production of Greg Burtt, who owns the study “interesting” and of those bees on decline
“We know that wild bees key crops and the food Burtt’s Apple Orchard in said the findings are a criti- were now more prevalent
are greatly at risk and not supply in general.” Cabot, Vermont, said he cal step in expanding re- at higher elevations like
doing well worldwide,” Re- Bees have been on the relies heavily on wild pol- search into lesser known the White Mountains than
han, assistant professor of decline for more than a linators to produce crops. species of bees. He did, in southern areas near sea
biological sciences and the decade across the globe, The 9,000-tree orchard cov- however, caution that re- level like the coastal areas
senior author on the study, and scientists have blamed ers 10 acres and has been searchers studied only bees of New Hampshire. As they
said in a prepared state- a range of factors including around for a decade. in New Hampshire and de- shift northward, some of the
ment. “This status assess- insecticides called neonic- “Making sure that pollina- pended upon bees in a species may not have the
ment of wild bees shines otinoids, parasites, disease, tors in the area are healthy museum that were not col- access to the same kinds of
a light on the exact spe- climate change and lack and doing well is definitely lected “for the purpose of flowers and plants.q

Even light rain increases your

risk of a deadly car crash

By SETH BORENSTEIN the fatal crash risk by 27%. data. It was able to distin-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even Stevens, a data analyst guish how hard the rain or
light rain significantly in- and meteorologist at the snow was falling to come
creases your risk of a fa- North Carolina Institute for up with results showing an
In this Monday, Feb. 6, 2017 file photo, pedestrians cross a rainy tal car crash, a new study Climate Studies, and col- increase in fatal crashes
street in downtown Los Angeles. finds. The wetter the roads, leagues looked at 125,012 even in rain of less than
Associated Press the deadlier they become, fatal car crashes in the one-tenth of an inch per
with rain, snow and ice in- Lower 48 states from 2006 hour. “People slow down
creasing the risk of deadly to 2011, factoring in how when it starts to rain heav-
car crashes by 34%, ac- many cars are on the road, ily, but I think they under-
cording to a study this week to calculate the risk of a fa- appreciate the risk of light
in the Bulletin of the Ameri- tal accident. rain,” Stevens said Tuesday.
can Meteorological Soci- While other studies have With moderate rain the
ety . Light rain — “We’re used police reports and the risk of fatal car crashes
talking a drizzle, just at the nearest weather station to is 75% more than in nice
point where you might con- calculate rain and snow weather, Stevens said, and
sider taking an umbrella conditions, Stevens said his with heavy rain it’s nearly
out,” said study lead author is the first study to use more two-and-a-half times more
Scott Stevens — increased precise weather radar risky.q