Out of sync: Ecologists report climate change affecting bee, plant life
cycles

Date:
August 19, 2020
Source:
Utah State University
Summary:
Reporting on the first community-wide assessment of 67 bee species
of the Colorado Rockies, ecologists say 'phenological mismatch,'
changing timing of life cycles between bees and flowers, caused by
climate change, has the potential to disrupt a mutually beneficial
relationship.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Bees and flowers seem inseparable harbingers of spring, but what
happens when pollinators emerge later than their sources of nectar
and pollen? Reporting on the first community-wide assessment of 67 bee
species of the Colorado Rockies, ecologists Michael Stemkovski of Utah
State University and Rebecca Irwin of North Carolina State University say "phenological mismatch," changing timing of life cycles between bees
and flowers, caused by climate change, has the potential to disrupt a
mutually beneficial relationship.


==========================================================================
"We analyzed time-series abundance data collected at 18 sites around
the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in the Elk Mountains of
western Colorado during a nine-year, National Science Foundation-funded
bee monitoring project," says Stemkovski, doctoral student in USU's
Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center.

He and Irwin, senior author, along with colleagues from RMBL, University
of Texas at Austin, Imperial College London, University of Manitoba,
USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit at USU, Central Texas
Melittological Institute, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Texas A&M University, Florida State University and University of Maryland, published findings
in the August 19, 2020 issue of Ecology Letters.

"We find bee emergence timing is advancing with snowmelt timing, but bee phenology -- timing of emergence, peak abundance and senescence -- is
less sensitive than flower phenology," says Irwin, professor of applied
ecology at NCSU. "Given global concerns about pollinator declines,
the research provides important insight into the potential for reduced synchrony between flowers and their pollinators under climate change."
Previous studies focused primarily on temperature, Stemkovski says,
but this study probed the effects of topography and bee species traits,
as well.

"Elevation played a large role in when bees start foraging, as well as
the bees' functional traits, such as whether bees nested below or above
ground, and the life stage in which they overwintered," he says. "We found
all of these factors predicted bee emergence, but the most important
factor was snowmelt timing." If bees begin foraging later than spring
plants reach their flowering peak, consequences could be reduced abundance
of pollinators, from limited sustenance, and reduced abundance of plants,
from limited pollination.

"In the short-term, we expect mutualist species to suffer fitness losses," Stemkovski says. "In the long-term, bees and plants may be able to adapt
and reestablish some synchrony, unless climate change outpaces the rate
of adaptation."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Utah_State_University. Original
written by Mary-Ann Muffoletto. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Michael Stemkovski, William D. Pearse, Sean R. Griffin, Gabriella L.

Pardee, Jason Gibbs, Terry Griswold, John L. Neff, Ryan Oram,
Molly G.

Rightmyer, Cory S. Sheffield, Karen Wright, Brian D. Inouye,
David W.

Inouye, Rebecca E. Irwin. Bee phenology is predicted by climatic
variation and functional traits. Ecology Letters, 2020 DOI:
10.1111/ ele.13538 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200819084959.htm

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