Doyle Rice reported in today’s USAToday that, “Climate change contributed to drastic declines in the population and diversity of bumblebees across North America and Europe, according to a long-term study of more than 60 bee species published [on Feb. 6th] in the journal Science.
“Researchers discovered bumblebees are disappearing at rates ‘consistent with a mass extinction.’
“The scientists said North America’s bumblebee populations fell by 46% during the two time periods the study used – from 1901 to 1974 and from 2000 to 2014.”
Mr. Rice stated that, “The study found that in the course of a single human generation, the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in a given place has declined by an average of more than 30%.”
The USAToday article added that, “In an accompanying perspective article in Science, Jonathan Bridle and Alexandra van Rensburg of the University of Bristol wrote, ‘The new study adds to a growing body of evidence for alarming, widespread losses of biodiversity and for rates of global change that now exceed the critical limits of ecosystem resilience.'”