Scientists and soldiers solve mystery of bee colony collapse

[Update: What a scientist didn’t tell the New York Times about his study on bee deaths. h/t Gail.] By KIRK JOHNSONPublished: October 6, 2010 DENVER — It has been one of the great murder mysteries of the garden: what is killing off the honeybees? Since 2006, 20 to 40 percent of the bee colonies in […]

Birds could signal mass extinction – UK extinction rate may be ten times higher than thought

(PhysOrg.com) — The first detailed measurements of current extinction rates for a specific region have shown that birds are the best group to use to track the losses. The study also reveals Britain may be losing species over ten times faster than records suggest, and the speed of loss is probably increasing: the losses from […]

40 British bird species at risk of extinction

By Michael McCarthyMonday, 4 October 2010 Forty British wild bird species need special protection to help them survive, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says today. They range from the once-familiar house sparrows of Central London to the enigmatic and mournful-sounding black-throated divers of the lochs of the Scottish Flow Country, and […]

British bumblebees are inbreeding themselves into extinction

By John PlattSep 13, 2010 05:20 PM Populations of a bumblebee species living on remote Scottish islands have a lack of genetic diversity because of many generations of inbreeding, a situation that could put the region’s bumblebees at risk of extinction, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Stirling in Scotland. […]

Climate change disrupting synchronization between flowers and bees

By Tom Spears, The Ottawa Citizen September 7, 2010 OTTAWA — Common plants in eastern Ontario from blueberries to roses to apple trees are already in danger of not being able to pollinate because of a bee shortage, new Canadian research suggests. A long-term University of Toronto study on bees and pollination shows evidence that […]

Bee decline already having dramatic effect on pollination of plants

A decline in bees and global warming are having a damaging effect on the pollination of plants, new research claims. By Richard Alleyne, Science CorrespondentPublished: 5:30AM BST 06 Sep 2010 Researchers have found that pollination levels of some plants have dropped by up to 50 per cent in the last two decades. The “pollination deficit” […]

Graph of the Day: US West Coast Butterfly Range Shifts Northward

As climate warms, many species in the United States are shifting their ranges northward and to higher elevations. The map shows the response of Edith’s checkerspot butterfly populations to a warming climate over the past 136 years in the American West. Over 70 percent of the southernmost populations (shown in yellow) have gone extinct. The […]

Australia invasion of bee-killing mite ‘inevitable’

By Debra JopsonAugust 18, 2010 It is the migrant we cannot live without. The wild European honey bee helps to create one in every three mouthfuls we eat by pollinating plants, but some of our favourite foods are at risk because of a bee-killing mite which is ”more than likely” to reach Australia, a new […]

Pesticides linked to bee decline, say environmental groups

From the Ecologist, part of the Guardian Environment NetworkFriday 6 August 2010 09.49 BST Environmental groups including the Soil Association and Buglife are making a renewed call for an end to the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which are among the most commonly used pesticides worldwide, after a new study linked them to a decline in […]

Infections link to bees decline

  By Katia MoskvitchScience reporter, BBC News  Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in honeybees could be caused by a “synergy” between groups of fungi and viruses. US researchers claim to have identified a new potential cause for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in honeybees. The disease is responsible for wiping out many beekeepers’ entire colonies over the […]

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