THE WORLD NEEDS MORE BEES
In San Diego, where honey bees are not native, they are responsible for 75 percent of pollinator visits to native plants, the highest honey bee dominance in the set of networks examined for any continental site in the introduced range of the honey bee.
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Written by Neeha Kakanuru - Grade 10
BEES
Bees are one of the most important keystone species on our planet. They polinate plants, provide food for animals who eat the plants, procide food for the animals who eat the plants, and provide food for the animals who eat the animals who eat the animals who eat the plants, and so on! For example, if bees did not exist to pollinate grass, praire dogs would lose their food source, and wolves wouldn't have any elk to eat since the elk would've also died off because they didnt have any food. Other organims that would be affected by the extinction of bees include: otters, beavers, elephants, bears, moutain lions, starfish, alligators, and wolves. These are all also keystone species that rely on bees.
A study by the Natural Reserve System by biologists at the University of San Diego discovered that from 80 plant-pollinator interaction networks, the honey bee was the single most frequent visitor to flowers of naturally occurring plants worldwide. Honey bees were recorded in 89 percent of the pollination networks in the honey bee’s native range and in 61 percent in regions where honey bees have been introduced by humans. The study revealed that one out of eight interactions between a non-agricultural plant and a pollinator was carried out by the honey bee. The honey bee’s global importance is further emphasized when considering that it is but one of tens of thousands of pollinating species in the world, including wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies, moths and other bee species. Honey bees are native to Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe and have become naturalized in ecosystems around the world as a result of intentional transport by humans. While feral honey bee populations may be healthy in many parts of the world, the researchers note that the health of managed honey bee colonies is threatened by a host of factors including habitat loss, pesticides, pathogens, parasites and climate change. The world needs more bees!
This is because bees have the unique role of introducing cross-pollination into an ecosystem. Cross-pollination is the pollination of a flower or plant with pollen from another flower or plant. Cross-pollination helps maintain the genetic diversity of the plant community in an ecosystem. This increases the biodiversity of an ecosystem, which is crucial to the overall ecosystem health. Bees directly induce cross-pollination by gathering pollen from one flower to another as they gather nectar. They exchange pollen with other bees and distribute this pollen to other plants, leading to cross-pollination. This shows that bees have a direct impact on the biodiversity and the overall health of an ecosystem, showing how significant their role is in the environment.
