Climate change and an increase in disturbed bee habitats from expanding agriculture and development in northeastern North America over the last 30 years are likely responsible for a 94 per cent loss of plant-pollinator networks, researchers found.
The paper, “Wild bee declines linked to plant-pollinator network changes and plant species introductions,” was published in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity.
Sandra Rehan, an associate professor in York University's Faculty of Science, and grad student Minna Mathiasson of the University of New Hampshire, looked at plant-pollinator networks from 125 years ago through present day. The networks are comprised of wild bees and the native plants they historically rely on, although most of those have now been disrupted.
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