Guiding Questions
Think about the following questions while you read the text:
What animals are pollinators?
How do pollinators help/benefit the environment?
What is the difference between a vertebrate and an invertebrate?
A new report warns that animals responsible for pollinating plants are in danger. That could mean big problems for the world’s food supply.
By Heather Price-Wright, with AP reporting
March 14, 2016
There are about 20,000 species of pollinators on Earth. They include bees, butterflies, moths, bats, and birds. They are important to the world’s food supply. Pollinators help fertilize more than 75% of the world’s edible crops. But a new report from the United Nations says these vital critters are in trouble.
The report draws from about 3,000 scientific studies. It concludes that two-fifths of invertebrate pollinators are in danger of becoming extinct. These include bees and butterflies. One out of every six vertebrate pollinators, like bats and birds, is also facing extinction.
The scientists who wrote the U.N. report offer many reasons for pollinators’ dire situation. Changing agricultural practices play a role. Pesticide use is also a factor. So are habitat loss, disease, and climate change. In the U.S., large-scale growth of single crops is a main culprit. Too much land is given over to just one crop. Pollinators that rely on wild plants and require biodiversity in their diets suffer.
Global warming can hurt pollinators in several ways. One problem is that a change in climate can affect when flowers bloom. They may bloom too early. Their timing can then get out of sync with pollinators’ habits. This threatens the survival of both plant and animal.
Pesticides, too, hurt pollinators. Insecticides can harm or kill bees and other insects. it can also limit their ability to reproduce. And herbicides can wipe out the wild plants many pollinators rely on for food.
Solutions Close to Home
Researchers say there is some good news. People can help protect these creatures. Some problems, like global warming, require cooperation between nations. But local groups and even individuals can make a difference for pollinators. For example, residents of some parts of Britain are being encouraged to grow wildflowers in their yards. This is intended to lure bees back. “There are relatively simple … [ways to turn] the trend around for native pollinators,” says David Inouye of the University of Maryland. He worked on the U.N. report.
The study recommends relying more on sustainable indigenous farming practices. “These practices include traditional farming systems [and] maintenance of diverse landscapes and gardens,” the report states. Rather than planting the same crop on the same land every season, farmers can rotate them. Dividing large pieces of land into smaller plots of different crops could also help.
Averting a Crisis
People around the world must step in soon to help pollinators. If they don't, the consequences could be extreme. Without these creatures, much of our food would become difficult or impossible to grow. “Everything falls apart if you take pollinators out of the game,” says Dennis vanEngelsdorp. He is a University of Maryland bee expert.
Whole Foods created this photo to show how much produce would disappear from regular supermarkets if pollinators went extinct.
“There are going to be increasing consequences,” agrees the report’s lead author, Simon Potts. He is the director of the Centre for Agri-Environmental Research at the University of Reading, in England.
The problem is also an economic one. Crops that rely on pollinators account for between $235 billion and $577 billion in revenue, globally. And those numbers are only going to get bigger. The report notes that in the last 50 years, the amount of agricultural production that depends on pollinators has increased 300%. Most people on Earth rely on some pollinator-supported crop for food. “If we want to say we can feed the world in 2050, pollinators are going to be part of that,” vanEngelsdorp says.
Vocabulary
Word | Definition |
biodiversity | noun: the existence of many different species of plants and animals in an environment |
extinct | adjective: when all members in an animal group have died |
indigenous | adjective: produced or occurring naturally in, or native to, a particular place |
invertebrate | adjective: lacking a backbone |
pollinator | noun: an animal that helps plants reproduce by moving pollen from one plant to another |
revenue | noun: money made by businesses |
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