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Pressure On Pollinators
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Book Synopsis Floral Mimicry by : Steven D. Johnson
Download or read book Floral Mimicry written by Steven D. Johnson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mimicry is a classic example of adaptation through natural selection. The traditional focus of mimicry research has been on defence in animals, but there is now also a highly-developed and rapidly-growing body of research on floral mimicry in plants. This has coincided with a revolution in genomic tools, making it possible to explore which genetic and developmental processes underlie the sometimes astonishing changes that give rise to floral mimicry. Being literally rooted to one spot, plants have to cajole animals into acting as couriers for their pollen. Floral mimicry encompasses a set of evolutionary strategies whereby plants imitate the food sources, oviposition sites, or mating partners of animals in order to exploit them as pollinators. This first definitive book on floral mimicry discusses the functions of visual, olfactory, and tactile signals, integrating them into a broader theory of organismal mimicry that will help guide future research in the field. It addresses the fundamental question of whether the evolutionary and ecological principles that were developed for protective mimicry in animals can also be applied to floral mimicry in plants. The book also deals with the functions of floral rewardlessness, a condition which often serves as a precursor to the evolution of mimicry in plant lineages. The authors pay particular attention to the increasing body of research on chemical cues: their molecular basis, their role in cognitive misclassification of flowers by pollinators, and their implications for plant speciation. Comprehensive in scope and conceptual in focus, Floral Mimicry is primarily aimed at senior undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in plant science and evolutionary biology.
Book Synopsis Status of Pollinators in North America by : National Research Council
Download or read book Status of Pollinators in North America written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-05-13 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pollinators-insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction-are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination. This report provides evidence for the decline of some pollinator species in North America, including America's most important managed pollinator, the honey bee, as well as some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds. For most managed and wild pollinator species, however, population trends have not been assessed because populations have not been monitored over time. In addition, for wild species with demonstrated declines, it is often difficult to determine the causes or consequences of their decline. This report outlines priorities for research and monitoring that are needed to improve information on the status of pollinators and establishes a framework for conservation and restoration of pollinator species and communities.
Book Synopsis Attracting Native Pollinators by : The Xerces Society
Download or read book Attracting Native Pollinators written by The Xerces Society and published by Storey Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2011-02-28 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the recent decline of the European honey bee, it is more important than ever to encourage the activity of other native pollinators to keep your flowers beautiful and your grains and produce plentiful. In Attracting Native Pollinators, you’ll find ideas for building nesting structures and creating a welcoming habitat for an array of diverse pollinators that includes not only bees, but butterflies, moths, and more. Take action and protect North America’s food supply for the future, while at the same time enjoying a happily bustling landscape.
Book Synopsis The Solitary Bees by : Bryan N. Danforth
Download or read book The Solitary Bees written by Bryan N. Danforth and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-27 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most up-to-date and authoritative resource on the biology and evolution of solitary bees While social bees such as honey bees and bumble bees are familiar to most people, they comprise less than 10 percent of all bee species in the world. The vast majority of bees lead solitary lives, surviving without the help of a hive and using their own resources to fend off danger and protect their offspring. This book draws on new research to provide a comprehensive and authoritative overview of solitary bee biology, offering an unparalleled look at these remarkable insects. The Solitary Bees uses a modern phylogenetic framework to shed new light on the life histories and evolution of solitary bees. It explains the foraging behavior of solitary bees, their development, and competitive mating tactics. The book describes how they construct complex nests using an amazing variety of substrates and materials, and how solitary bees have co-opted beneficial mites, nematodes, and fungi to provide safe environments for their brood. It looks at how they have evolved intimate partnerships with flowering plants and examines their associations with predators, parasites, microbes, and other bees. This up-to-date synthesis of solitary bee biology is an essential resource for students and researchers, one that paves the way for future scholarship on the subject. Beautifully illustrated throughout, The Solitary Bees also documents the critical role solitary bees play as crop pollinators, and raises awareness of the dire threats they face, from habitat loss and climate change to pesticides, pathogens, parasites, and invasive species.
Book Synopsis Managing Alternative Pollinators by : Eric Mader
Download or read book Managing Alternative Pollinators written by Eric Mader and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Examines the history of the British fire service from 1800-1980, embracing certain key themes of modern British history: the impact of industrial change on urban development, the effect of disaster on political reform, the growth of the state, and the relationship between masculinity and trade unionism in creating a professional identity"--Provided by publisher.
Book Synopsis Cognitive Ecology of Pollination by : Lars Chittka
Download or read book Cognitive Ecology of Pollination written by Lars Chittka and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-08-22 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Important breakthroughs have recently been made in our understanding of the cognitive and sensory abilities of pollinators, such as how pollinators perceive, memorize, and react to floral signals and rewards; how they work flowers, move among inflorescences, and transport pollen. These new findings have obvious implications for the evolution of floral display and diversity, but most existing publications are scattered across a wide range of journals in very different research traditions. This book brings together outstanding scholars from many different fields of pollination biology, integrating the work of neuroethologists and evolutionary ecologists to present a multidisciplinary approach.
Book Synopsis Environmental Impact of Genetically Modified Crops by : Natalie Ferry
Download or read book Environmental Impact of Genetically Modified Crops written by Natalie Ferry and published by CABI. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The genetic modification of crops continues to be the subject of intense debate, and opinions are often strongly polarised. Environmental Impact of Genetically Modified Crops addresses the major concerns of scientists, policy makers, environmental lobby groups and the general public regarding this controversial issue, from an editorially neutral standpoint. While the main focus is on environmental impact, food safety issues, for both humans and animals are also considered. The book concludes with a discussion on the future of agricultural biotechnology in the context of sustainability, natural resource management and future global population and food supply.
Book Synopsis In Defense of Plants by : Matt Candeias
Download or read book In Defense of Plants written by Matt Candeias and published by Mango Media Inc.. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light “Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard #1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & Essays In his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill. The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, have sex, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms. In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: • Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism • Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms • Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.
Book Synopsis Pressure on Pollinators by : Kayla Mundy-Heisz
Download or read book Pressure on Pollinators written by Kayla Mundy-Heisz and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) pollinate a variety of wild floras and agricultural crops. However, some species are in decline due to a variety of interacting stressors: climate change, habitat loss and degradation, parasites and disease, and pesticides. Pesticides, particularly the neonicotinoids, a group of systemic insecticides, have been implicated in declines of European bumblebee species, but the effects of systemic insecticides are less clear for many North American species. One aim of this thesis was to determine the relative acute oral toxicity of systemic insecticides on Bombus impatiens (Cresson, 1863) workers in comparison to honey bee workers (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758). Thiamethoxam was observed to be the most acutely toxic, followed by sulfoxaflor, flupyradifurone, and cyantraniliprole. A secondary aim was to determine if thiamethoxam fed to wild B. impatiens and Bombus bimaculatus (Cresson, 1864) queens for 14 days would result in any changes in the queen's ability to establish and maintain a colony for reproduction. However, many queens died during the experiment, preventing statistical analysis of the surviving colonies' outputs. In an ancillary aim to record parasite prevalence in queens, conopid larva and tracheal mites were not as commonly detected as nematodes and external mites. A third aim was to determine the usage of conventionally managed farm field margins by bumblebee queens. More bumblebee queens were observed foraging in farm field margins than in the paired natural areas, although more bumblebee queens were observed nest searching in the natural areas. A fourth aim was to compare the bumblebee species captured with different sampling techniques. Active (targeted netting) and passive (Blue Vane Traps, BVTs) sampling were completed in conventionally managed farms and paired natural areas. There were no differences in species richness caught between the two sampling techniques, however, when comparing sampling technique and site combinations, significantly greater species richness was found in passively sampled natural areas. In contrast, a significantly greater abundance of bumblebees was caught with active sampling in natural areas than in farms, but there was no difference between the sties when sampling with BVTs.
Book Synopsis Pollinators and Pollination by : Jeff Ollerton
Download or read book Pollinators and Pollination written by Jeff Ollerton and published by Pelagic Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2021-01-18 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique and personal insight into the ecology and evolution of pollinators, their relationships with flowers, and their conservation in a rapidly changing world. The pollination of flowers by insects, birds and other animals is a fundamentally important ecological function that supports both the natural world and human society. Without pollinators to facilitate the sexual reproduction of plants, the world would be a biologically poorer place in which to live, there would be an impact on food security, and human health would suffer. Written by one of the world’s leading pollination ecologists, this book provides an introduction to what pollinators are, how their interactions with flowers have evolved, and the fundamental ecology of these relationships. It explores the pollination of wild and agricultural plants in a variety of habitats and contexts, including urban, rural and agricultural environments. The author also provides practical advice on how individuals and organisations can study, and support, pollinators. As well as covering the natural history of pollinators and flowers, the author discusses their cultural importance, and the ways in which pollinator conservation has been portrayed from a political perspective. The book draws on field work experiences in South America, Africa, Australia, the Canary Islands and the UK. For over 30 years the author has spent his career researching how plants and pollinators evolve relationships, how these interactions function ecologically, their importance for society, and how we can conserve them in a rapidly changing world. This book offers a unique and personal insight into the science of pollinators and pollination, aimed at anyone who is interested in understanding these fascinating and crucial ecological interactions.
Book Synopsis Where Honeybees Thrive by : Heather Swan
Download or read book Where Honeybees Thrive written by Heather Swan and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colony Collapse Disorder, ubiquitous pesticide use, industrial agriculture, habitat reduction—these are just a few of the issues causing unprecedented trauma in honeybee populations worldwide. In this artfully illustrated book, Heather Swan embarks on a narrative voyage to discover solutions to—and understand the sources of—the plight of honeybees. Through a lyrical combination of creative nonfiction and visual imagery, Where Honeybees Thrive tells the stories of the beekeepers, farmers, artists, entomologists, ecologists, and other advocates working to stem the damage and reverse course for this critical pollinator. Using her own quest for understanding as a starting point, Swan highlights the innovative projects and strategies these groups employ. Her mosaic approach to engaging with the environment not only reveals the incredibly complex political ecology in which bees live—which includes human and nonhuman actors alike—but also suggests ways of comprehending and tackling a host of other conflicts between postindustrial society and the natural world. Each chapter closes with an illustrative full-color gallery of bee-related artwork. A luminous journey from the worlds of honey producers, urban farmers, and mead makers of the United States to those of beekeepers of Sichuan, China, and researchers in southern Africa, Where Honeybees Thrive traces the global web of efforts to secure a sustainable future for honeybees—and ourselves.
Book Synopsis Ecological Risk Assessment for Chlorpyrifos in Terrestrial and Aquatic Systems in the United States by : John P. Giesy
Download or read book Ecological Risk Assessment for Chlorpyrifos in Terrestrial and Aquatic Systems in the United States written by John P. Giesy and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.
Book Synopsis Coevolution of Animals and Plants by : Lawrence E. Gilbert
Download or read book Coevolution of Animals and Plants written by Lawrence E. Gilbert and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 1980-06 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has long been recognized that plants and animals profoundly affect one another’s characteristics during the course of evolution. However, the importance of coevolution as a dynamic process involving such diverse factors as chemical communication, population structure and dynamics, energetics, and the evolution, structure, and functioning of ecosystems has been widely recognized for a comparatively short time. Coevolution represents a point of view about the structure of nature that only began to be fully explored in the late twentieth century. The papers presented here herald its emergence as an important and promising field of biological research. Coevolution of Animals and Plants is the first book to focus on the dynamic aspects of animal-plant coevolution. It covers, as broadly as possible, all the ways in which plants interact with animals. Thus, it includes discussions of leaf-feeding animals and their impact on plant evolution as well as of predator-prey relationships involving the seeds of angiosperms. Several papers deal with the most familiar aspect of mutualistic plant-animal interactions—pollination relationships. The interactions of orchids and bees, ants and plants, and butterflies and plants are discussed. One article provides a fascinating example of more indirect relationships centered around the role of carotenoids, which are produced by plants but play a fundamental part in the visual systems of both plants and animals. Coevolution of Animals and Plants provides a general conceptual framework for studies on animal-plant interaction. The papers are written from a theoretical, rather than a speculative, standpoint, stressing patterns that can be applied in a broader sense to relationships within ecosystems. Contributors to the volume include Paul Feeny, Miriam Rothschild, Christopher Smith, Brian Hocking, Lawrence Gilbert, Calaway Dodson, Herbert Baker, Bernd Heinrich, Doyle McKey, and Gordon Frankie.
Book Synopsis Pollinator Gardening for the South by : Danesha Seth Carley
Download or read book Pollinator Gardening for the South written by Danesha Seth Carley and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2021-02-06 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This step-by-step guide will answer all of your questions about how to create beautiful gardens designed to welcome beneficial pollinators across the South. Combining up-to-date scientific information with artful design strategies, Danesha Seth Carley and Anne M. Spafford teach gardeners of all levels to plan, plant, and maintain successful pollinator gardens at home and in shared community sites. Everyday gardeners, along with farmers, scientists, and policy makers, share serious concerns about ongoing declines in bee and other pollinator populations, and here Spafford and Carley deliver great news: every thoughtfully designed garden, no matter how small, can play a huge role in providing the habitat, nourishment, and nesting places so needed by pollinators. This book explains all you need to be a pollinator champion. *Covers USDA hardiness zones 6, 7, 8, and 9, including twelve southern states *Explains what makes pollinators happy—bees, for sure, and many others, great and small *Brings science and art together in gardens of all types, including urban, food, container, community, school, and large-scale gardens *Provides step-by-step instructions for choosing locations, preparing soil and garden beds, selecting the best plants, considering seasonality in your garden design, managing your garden throughout the year, and much more *Richly illustrated with photographs, design plans, and handy charts and lists
Book Synopsis The Ornaments of Life by : Theodore H. Fleming
Download or read book The Ornaments of Life written by Theodore H. Fleming and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-10-03 with total page 615 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The average kilometer of tropical rainforest is teeming with life; it contains thousands of species of plants and animals. As The Ornaments of Life reveals, many of the most colorful and eye-catching rainforest inhabitants—toucans, monkeys, leaf-nosed bats, and hummingbirds to name a few—are an important component of the infrastructure that supports life in the forest. These fruit-and-nectar eating birds and mammals pollinate the flowers and disperse the seeds of hundreds of tropical plants, and unlike temperate communities, much of this greenery relies exclusively on animals for reproduction. Synthesizing recent research by ecologists and evolutionary biologists, Theodore H. Fleming and W. John Kress demonstrate the tremendous functional and evolutionary importance of these tropical pollinators and frugivores. They shed light on how these mutually symbiotic relationships evolved and lay out the current conservation status of these essential species. In order to illustrate the striking beauty of these “ornaments” of the rainforest, the authors have included a series of breathtaking color plates and full-color graphs and diagrams.
Book Synopsis Climate Variation and Pathogen Pressure Impact the Ecology and Evolution of Bees in Agroecosystems by : Laura Jones
Download or read book Climate Variation and Pathogen Pressure Impact the Ecology and Evolution of Bees in Agroecosystems written by Laura Jones and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fluctuations in temperature greatly influence species' distributions and ecological interactions. Climate change does not only challenge the physiological limits of species via changes in temperature regimes, but can also increase exposure to novel infectious diseases by restructuring community composition. These risks are amplified in agroecosystems, where many aspects of the landscape are heavily modified. Humans rely on the services provided by species in these agricultural landscapes, including insect pollinators, who may be vulnerable to the risks posed by climate change. The overarching goal of my dissertation is to assess the roles of climate and landscape composition on the thermal tolerance and pathogen transmission dynamics of bees in agroecosystems. I explore these relationships among pollinators that visit Cucurbita (e.g., squash and pumpkin) crops. In chapter 1, I hypothesized that species have greater cold tolerance at higher latitudes and elevations due to adaptation or phenotypic plasticity in response to temperature, and have higher heat tolerance at sites with local extreme temperatures and high relative humidity. I investigated the impacts of climate on the thermal tolerance of one species, the squash bee Eucera (Peponapis) pruinosa. Additionally, I assessed a suite of mitochondrial genes for polymorphisms given the known association between mitochondrial sequence variation and differences in cold acclimation. This species recently expanded its geographic range northward from Mexico and the southwestern United States to the province of Québec over the past ~2-3 kya, tracking the human cultivation of its host plants in the genus Cucurbita. I compared the thermal limits between populations in the xeric region of their ancestral range and in two temperate regions within their recently expanded range. I did not find evidence of adaptation in mitochondrial genes, but I found that the lower thermal limit (ranging from -6.4 °C to 10.4 °C) of E. pruinosa correlated with latitude and was strongly predicted by annual mean temperature. Thus, adaptation or plasticity in cold tolerance may have enabled the rapid northward range expansion of E. pruinosa across North America. In contrast, E. pruinosa heat tolerance was variable across populations, and the effects of temperature and relative humidity were sex-specific. Overall, the average upper thermal limit of E. pruinosa in this study (53.1°C ± 3.7 °C) provides an ample thermal safety margin compared to the highest temperatures recorded within the sampled range. In chapter 2, I hypothesized that populations persisting in warmer environments would have higher heat tolerance, however smaller body size or pathogen infection may reduce heat tolerance. I investigated the roles of body mass, microclimate, and pathogen infection on heat tolerance and its population-level variance among E. pruinosa in Pennsylvania (USA). I assessed how these relationships differed between sexes given the larger size and ground-nesting behavior of female E. pruinosa. I predicted that populations of E. pruinosa are more heat tolerant at warmer sites, but that female heat tolerance is better predicted by soil texture than air temperature given their ground nesting behavior. Additionally, I predicted that parasite infection would reduce heat tolerance. I compared the upper thermal limit of male and female squash bees between 14 populations, characterized microclimate, and assessed pathogen infection by three common groups--trypanosomes, microsporidians, and bacteria. I found that heat tolerance increased with body mass, and males show twice the increase in heat tolerance per milligram body mass compared to females. I did not find evidence that microclimate predicted heat tolerance, but found that the population-level standard deviation in the upper thermal limit decreases by 0.72 °C with every 1 °C increase in maximum temperature. One parasite group that is associated with sublethal symptoms in bees, trypanosomes, was negatively associated with heat tolerance in females. This work demonstrates that heat tolerance is highly variable, and exemplifies the need to evaluate trade-offs between infection and thermal tolerance. In chapters 3 and 4, I investigated the roles of host diet breadth and pathogen host-use efficiency in pathogen transmission dynamics. To test the hypothesis that host diet specialization increases pathogen prevalence and intensity, I investigated pathogen sharing dynamics in a simple multi-host community composed of a diet specialist--the squash bee E. pruinosa--and two diet generalists--the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). I quantified infection levels of viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotic pathogens to determine if they are able to replicate within the host they are found in or are instead passively picked up. I found that most pathogens are detected in bee hosts but do not show high titer levels, particularly viruses, suggesting low susceptibility. In contrast with previous work in pollinator communities, my investigations have revealed that landscape has a small effect on pathogen dynamics in multi-host communities. I found that the most abundant host species in this system is the diet specialist, E. pruinosa, and that this species drives the prevalence and intensity of pathogens detected across communities. This work provides critical insight into the roles of landscape and the ecology of hosts and pathogens on the pathogen transmission dynamics among bees in agroecosystems. In summary, my work has revealed that host-pathogen dynamics and the impacts of climate on bee thermal limits are highly context-dependent. I found that bee heat tolerance is highly variable and poorly explained by climate data, which suggests that heat stress may be hard to detect or predict for solitary bees. In addition, pathogen sharing dynamics were largely driven by the diet specialists who held the highest pathogen titers, which may indicate that these native bees are more vulnerable to frequent and intense infections. This work exemplifies the need to evaluate climate impacts on both bee and pathogen fitness to predict pathogen pressure in bee communities under future climate scenarios.
Book Synopsis 100 Plants to Feed the Bees by : The Xerces Society
Download or read book 100 Plants to Feed the Bees written by The Xerces Society and published by Storey Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-29 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The international bee crisis is threatening our global food supply, but this user-friendly field guide shows what you can do to help protect our pollinators. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation offers browsable profiles of 100 common flowers, herbs, shrubs, and trees that support bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. The recommendations are simple: pick the right plants for pollinators, protect them from pesticides, and provide abundant blooms throughout the growing season by mixing perennials with herbs and annuals! 100 Plants to Feed the Bees will empower homeowners, landscapers, apartment dwellers — anyone with a scrap of yard or a window box — to protect our pollinators.
