Nearly one in 10 wild bee species face extinction in Europe while the status of more than half remains unknown – IUCN report

19 March 2015 (IUCN) – The first-ever assessment of all European wild bee species shows that 9.2% are threatened with extinction, while 5.2% are considered likely to be threatened in the near future. A total of 56.7% of the species are classified as Data Deficient, as lack of experts, data and funding has made it […]

Graph of the Day: Decline of pollinator species, 1988-2012

10 February 2015 (Conservation Letters) – Red List Indices for (a) pollinating and non-pollinating bird species; (b) pollinating and non-pollinating mammal species; and (c) aggregated pollinating and non-pollinating birds and mammals. An RLI value of 1 equates to all species being Least Concern; an RLI value of 0 equates to all species being Extinct. Improvements […]

Pollinators in decline around the world – ‘Pollinating species will become extinct and we will lose key, irreplaceable species in our ecosystems’

By Matt Walker4 March 2015 (BBC News) – Around the world, animals that pollinate flowering plants are in decline. An increasing number of pollinating mammal and bird species are moving towards extinction, according to the first study of its kind. Other, so far unpublished studies, also suggest that pollinating insect species are also heading towards […]

Monarch butterfly population still perilously low, new survey finds

By Jeremy Hance28 January 2015 (mongabay.com) – The world’s migrating monarch butterfly population has bounced back slightly from its record low last year, but the new numbers are still the second smallest on record. According to WWF-Mexico and the Mexican government, butterflies covered 2.79 acres (1.13 hectares) in nine colonies this year in the Mexican […]

Global appetite for resources pushing species to the brink of extinction – ‘These recent extinctions could have been avoided through better habitat protection’

17 November 2014 (IUCN) – Pacific Bluefin Tuna, Chinese Pufferfish, American Eel, Chinese Cobra, and an Australian butterfly are threatened with extinction. Fishing, logging, mining, agriculture and other activities to satisfy our growing appetite for resources are threatening the survival of the Pacific Bluefin Tuna, Chinese Pufferfish, American Eel and Chinese Cobra, while the destruction […]

World wildlife populations halved in 40 years – ‘The scale of biodiversity loss and damage to the very ecosystems that are essential to our existence is alarming’

By Roger Harrabin30 September 2014 (BBC News) – The global loss of species is even worse than previously thought, the London Zoological Society (ZSL) says in its new Living Planet Index [pdf]. The report suggests populations have halved in 40 years, as new methodology gives more alarming results than in a report two years ago. […]

Stanford Biologist warns Earth’s 6th mass extinction in progress

18 September 2014 (The Mind Unleashed) – Those who keep taking our biodiversity for granted: dumping corporate waste, spraying copious amounts of herbicides and pesticides, contaminating our water with […] industrial chemicals while generally ignoring the environment at large, have another thing coming. According to a Stanford biology professor, Rodolfo Dirzo, the earth has begun […]

After 90 percent decline, Federal protection sought for monarch butterfly – ‘The widespread decline of monarchs is driven by the massive spraying of herbicides on genetically engineered crops’

Contact:  Tierra Curry, Center for Biological Diversity, (928) 522-3681Abigail Seiler, Center for Food Safety, (443) 854-4368 Lincoln Brower, Sweet Briar College, (434) 277-5065Sarina Jepsen, Xerces Society, (971) 244-3727 26 August 2014 WASHINGTON (CBD) – The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety as co-lead petitioners joined by the Xerces Society and renowned monarch […]

Annual survey: ‘Beekeepers say losses remain higher than the level that they consider to be sustainable’

USDA Announces Fall Summit on Bee Nutrition and Forage; Launches “Bee Watch” Website to Broadcast Bee Activity and Increase Public Awareness of the Role of Pollinators in Crop Production WASHINGTON, May 15, 2014 – A yearly survey of beekeepers, released today, shows fewer colony losses occurred in the United States over the winter of 2013-2014 […]

Bee crisis could cost billions in lost agricultural production across Australia, Senate inquiry hears –‘No bees, no food’

By TORY SHEPHERD16 April 2014 (The Advertiser) – Feral bees have been all but wiped out in South Australia, putting the state’s agricultural industry at risk. The state now depends on about 60 beekeepers for domestic bees to pollinate crops after the feral population was hit hard by the Bangor and Ngarkat bushfires, among others. […]

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