The Life and Times of the North American Honey Bee:
In the United States alone, Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) pollinate more than 90 crops, and their agricultural value as commercial pollinators has been estimated to be over $15 billion [1, 3]. There are two major categories of Honey Bee populations in the US, those in managed hives, which have become important resources for data collection about declining Honey Bee populations, and feral (or, wild) Honey Bee populations. Thought to have originated from Western Europe, the American Honey Bee has been present in the US since at least 1622 [3]. Honey Bees are important pollinators the world over, and without the service that they provide (fertilizing flowering plants by carrying pollen to them), numerous plant species, and the industries which depend upon these plants, would be far less likely to thrive.
North American Honey Bee populations have been subject to great decline in recent years. The major problem facing these crucial creatures has been Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). There are many factors believed to contribute to CCD, some related to climate change and some not so much. Most prominent among these factors are increased use of particular pesticides, radiation from widespread use of cell phones and wireless electronics, new parasites and pathogens, and the shifting of the spring season earlier and earlier [1, 4]. Spring shifting may result in trophic mismatching between honeybees and their targets for pollination, changing "nectar flow" patterns, which will be discussed further in this blog, as well as producing untold species and agricultural effects.
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| (Figure 1 explanation: Colony Collapse Disorder,
Nectar Flow Patterns, and Phenological Changes (all underlined in red)
are the key climate-related issues which affect Honey Bee populations. Population data for bar graph is from Source [1])
As evidenced by the above figure, climate change is not by any means the biggest thing that Honey Bees have to worry about these days. Still, it is undeniable that climate change has serious potential to affect Honey Bees (and other Bee species) in numerous ways.
Click through the tabs at the top of the page to explore this topic further! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As you work through the blog, please keep in mind:
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I really enjoyed the introduction and your original figure! Other than that, there isn't much more I can comment on. I think you have a good start and my only suggestion would be to cite your facts and to maybe create separate tabs for human influences and environmental influences since there seems to be two very distinct causes for the decrease in Honey Bee populations.
ReplyDeleteThe introduction is well-organized in a way that one can preview what kinds of discussion regarding the climatic impacts on the American honeybees will be on this website. However, the sentences should be clarified with commas, since it is difficult to understand while reading. I see one discussion topic "Trophic mismatch", which is a good one to discuss about, but you should clarify on what your second discussion topic is on the introduction. Lastly, the original figure looks very aesthetic and neat!! Good job.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you explained the history of Honeybee in the U.S. But I think that you should be more specific in relationship between Honeybee decline and climate change while explaining CCD in more details. I suggest that your original figure will be more appropriate on you other pages that explains more about climate change factors that influence CCD and honeybee decline. Your figure looks well-organized and informative.
ReplyDeleteIf the rest of your blog matches your introduction you will "bee" in great shape. You did a wonderful job of both telling me why it matters and setting the table for what i will read. I do hope you have more tabs planned as your original figure hints at too many issues to cover in just one section. I look forward to the finished product.
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