Only hardier species can adapt to global warming
Story submitted by Eric Worrall
Another claim that its worse than we thought – this time warmer temperatures are killing the bees.
According to Scott Groom, PhD student at Flinders University, mathematical modelling has connected changes in bee populations over the past 20,000 years across the South Pacific region, and exceptionally large declines in bee populations, with changes in temperature.
Groom says that prior to the ice age when temperatures rose, many bee species migrated to cooler areas, with only one hardy species able to adapt to the warmer temperature.
“They’re almost canaries in the coal mine, you can see that they’re going to be the first sort of species to be impacted by changes in climate,” Groom said.
The study, “Parallel responses of bees to Pleistocene climate change in three isolated archipelagos of the southwestern Pacific” can be found at the link below.
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1785/20133293.abstract
Abstract
The impacts of glacial cycles on the geographical distribution and size of populations have been explored for numerous terrestrial and marine taxa. However, most studies have focused on high latitudes, with only a few focused on the response of biota to the last glacial maximum (LGM) in equatorial regions. Here, we examine how population sizes of key bee fauna in the southwest Pacific archipelagos of Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa have fluctuated over the Quaternary. We show that all three island faunas suffered massive population declines, roughly corresponding in time to the LGM, followed by rapid expansion post-LGM. Our data therefore suggest that Pleistocene climate change has had major impacts across a very broad tropical region. While other studies indicate widespread Holarctic effects of the LGM, our data suggest a much wider range of latitudes, extending to the tropics, where these climate change repercussions were important. As key pollinators, the inferred changes in these bee faunas may have been critical in the development of the diverse Pacific island flora. The magnitude of these responses indicates future climate change scenarios may have alarming consequences for Pacific island systems involving pollinator-dependent plant communities and agricultural crops.
I don’t have access to the full text, so I don’t know whether other possible causes of population crashes, such as bee killing Varroa mites, were considered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa .
Varroa mites were originally discovered in Asia, but have since spread worldwide. Some bees are resistant to Varroa mites, because they have evolved hygiene behaviour, which removes and kills the mites.
We enjoy an incredible diversity of life on planet earth. Over millennia the climate has varied by +/- 5 degrees or more. I can only conclude that wildlife adapts and evolves to meet changing conditions – so why the fuss??
“Here’s hoping it wipes out those killer bees. The author of this article was likely pushing that story a few years ago.”
The ones that came from Africa?
Now where have I heard about these global warming canaries? This PHD student has a lot to learn.
Hold onto your hats.
Well they can’t be talking about honeybees – a cold winter can wreak havoc, as the this winter did to mine and many other michigan apiaries.
The abstract has keyword “Lasioglossum” and halictine bees, the sweat bees, so I’m assuming that they are referring to smaller non-social “native” pollinators.
Interesting that this report has nothing to do with our current CO2 “emergency” – just that bee populations change as the climate changes. Well duh. So does everything.
So does that mean a Bee tax is on the cards?
I guess using “mathematical modelling” obviates the need to actually talk to beekeepers.
Jimbo….here in UK we’ve closed our coalmines…canarys are endangered here as a result…damn this climate change.
“We show that all three island faunas suffered massive population declines, roughly corresponding in time to the LGM, followed by rapid expansion post-LGM.”
This isn’t about any current crashes. THE BEES ARE DOING JUST FINE NOW.
“The magnitude of these responses indicates future climate change scenarios may have alarming consequences for Pacific island systems involving pollinator-dependent plant communities and agricultural crops.”
So based on more computer models of what they think happened in the past, they think that the populations could crash.
Did I mention that based on the short abstract, this study has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF THE BEES ON THE ISLANDS?
TROPILAELAPS mite, varroa mites, and tracheal mites are all far more threatening to bees. As well as nosema, collony collapse, pesticides…oh and JAPANESE HORNETS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ1eAM8CChc
That’s quite the flock of canaries Jimbo. Thanks.
These sorts of studies are the inevitable result of perverse economic incentives. If you’re a scientist and want to do a study on bees (and get paid for it), simply add a climate change angle and, presto, instant funding!
Well the bees round here love the warmth and sunshine.
Is there only one bee species that can survive in hot climates? African bees came from hot, humid climates but seem to have few problems with less humid climates. However, they aren’t well adapted to the cold and I’m pretty sure we’ve seen studies that say more global warming will further the spread of Africanized bees.
I live in Las Vegas and at every farmer’s market there are many booths selling local honey from bees here in the Mojave desert. So clearly bees can live in hot, dry climates as well.
Once again we’ve discovered there’s academia and the wonderful models they love to create and then there is the real, physical world will works on an entirely different set of rules.
Canaries WTF…Nurse, NURSE – pass the AK47 quick
Bees…time to dig up the old monks I think? Here in UK they suffer alright, likely from not enough over winter feed. And that frost thing at the right time to catch them out. Add in the odd disease.
Since we via the EU have f*cked up farming so much, nobody cares it seems. Or sort of cares.
Old Bombus seems to do alright here.
As a beekeeper I call this pretty much hogwash. We all know our bees will prefer warmer summers and milder winters. Bees are, or have been, a pretty hardy bunch. Colony collapse disorder is happening worldwide ( but most prevalent in the continental US ).
There are a number of reasons for this and they are all compounded by each other. Sure there is a parasite problem, but your normal healthy colony can usually fight this off. However the use of more and more varied pesticides and fungicides is reducing the bees ability to fight disease and infestation. An auto immune deficiency if you will. ( Pettis et al Crop Pollination Exposes Honey Bees to Pesticides Which Alters Their Susceptibility to the Gut Pathogen Nosema ceranae )
People like Doug Proctor should be careful what they wish for. $30Bn of US agricultural economy relies upon the pollination of bees. Without them things like the California almond crop would collapse in short order. The irony is that it’s the very practices of this agriculture are killing off the colonies that it relies upon for its very existence.
A warmer climate is the least of the bees worries and would probably be one less stress upon them. There is a very great danger that we are going to lose the majority of colonies in the short term future. 60% of commercial US colonies have already died in the last decade or so.
Bees dying is just more evidence that the climate is warming, and that man is doing it with CO2. The greater the disaster, the stronger the proof. That’s Post Modern Science.
I guess we can say that Jimbo was clearly giving the warmists the bird.
When I read “mathematical modelling” my BS meter pegged. Did this paper come from one of those DIY paper generators?
Jimbo, you should have just listed what ISN”T a canary in the coal mine, would have been a much shorter list for sure!
i must be reading this backward from everyone else. The study says:
We show that all three island faunas suffered massive population declines, roughly corresponding in time to the LGM, followed by rapid expansion post-LGM.
In other words:
Cold = less bees
Warm = more bees
??
Reminds me of a chilly spring day in Italy’s Cinque Terre some 25 years ago. My friend and I were hiking along the shore, and the footpath was covered with bees, you just could not help stomping on them. Apparently, they had left their hives in the morning, when it had been warmer, and as the thermometer fell below some critical temperature, they could not move their wings fast enough any more to stay in the air and thus dropped to the ground.
That must have been an extreme weather event, brought about by global warming.
This paper is an example of the terrible impacts of dimming: Climate obsession has dimmed the intelligence of the authors, editors and peer reviewers. They are now dullards who are incapable of critical thinking, and in their dimness are only able to repeat the mantra, “worse than we thought”.
As a beekeeper myself, this article seems way off-base. Bees are native to warm environments, and the bee species most favored by beekeepers come from warm Mediterranean environments. These species are stressed by cold winters – one of the reasons that Russian bees are becoming popular in North America even though they are less honey-productive.
Given the difficulty collecting data about current bee populations it seems inconceivable we could extrapolate anything useful about the Pliestocene!
I think a much more immediate threat to bees is the suspected impact of neonicotinoid pesticides.
davidmhoffer says:
With apologies for stealing someone else’s joke:
Tiljander, baby, Tiljander. You haven’t heard? Down is the new up.
Jimbo,
Be fair now, there are many species of canary….
Luuurve your work by the way…
Little known fact …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping_in_the_United_States
Econtalk had an interesting episode on bees, beekeeping and Coase …
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/12/wally_thurman_o.html