Ecology: Status of Britain’s wild pollinating insects assessed
Nature Communications
March 27, 2019

An assessment of changes in the areas of Britain occupied by wild pollinator bee and hoverfly species between 1980 and 2013 is presented in Nature Communications. The study reports that a third of the species experienced declines. However, key bee species responsible for crop pollination increased.
Pollinator loss is a widespread concern with implications for food production and threats to pollinators include habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. However, large-scale estimates of changes in the distributions of pollinating insects have been lacking.
Gary Powney and colleagues combined data for 353 wild bee and hoverfly species with modelling approaches to estimate the proportion of 1 km2 grid cells occupied by these pollinators between 1980 and 2013. The authors found there was a net loss of 11 species (4 bees and 7 hoverflies) on average per cell over the time period. They also identified a 55% decline in species inhabiting uplands. However, a 12% increase in common crop pollinator species, such as Bombus terrestris, was observed.
The authors suggest that farmland environmental policies may be aiding common crop pollinators, although pollinating insects from outside agriculture remain under threat. They argue that further effort is needed to develop new management approaches that restore habitat and food resources for pollinators across the wider landscape.
doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08974-9
Research highlights
-
Jan 21
Climate change: Lake heatwaves likely to increase by 2100Nature
-
Jan 21
Neuroscience: Cognitive decline eased by boosting macrophage metabolismNature
-
Jan 21
Sociology: Hiring discrimination against individuals from minority ethnic groups in SwitzerlandNature
-
Jan 19
Neuroscience: Non-invasive, personalized brain stimulation may reduce obsessive–compulsive behavioursNature Medicine
-
Jan 15
Environment: Seagrass meadows may facilitate marine plastic removal from the seaScientific Reports
-
Jan 15
Planetary Science: Mercury may have shrunk less than previously thoughtCommunications Earth&Environment