Ashley Tamayo; Jacob Barrera; Jocelyn Ortega
The BBC journal uses comparisons from intensive nationwide studies to show the decline of major species. Four species have declined up to 96% while geographic ranges contracted by 23-87%. It was also seen that declining population is related to the high levels of Nosema bombi. North America is facing high levels of pathogen prevalence. In continuation, bumble bees are being driven primarily by habitat loss and declines in floral abundance and diversity resulting from agricultural intensification. The decline of Bumble Bees in North America are due to the accidental introduction of a non-native parasite from Europe, a result of global trade in domesticated bumble bee colonies. The suggestions to stop the decline in bumble bees are to have tight regulations in commercial bumble bee use and targeted use of environmentally compared schemes used to enhance the floristic diversity in landscapes. These declines in bumble bees have caused farmers to pollinate crops by hand such as China; however, for some crops it is not possible for farmers to pollinate it by hand. To prevent the decline, we need to reduce pesticides and diseases.
CONCLUSIONS:
From the data collected, it is apparent that the United States needs to further their preventative measures towards the bumble bee decline. Evidence shows that the increasing bumble bee decline over recent years can have negative impacts on the economy causing a loss of income, loss of free pollinators, and the loss of vegetation. The bumble bees play an important role and are vital for life to continue smoothly through agriculture and the economy. Vegetation prices will increase, their will be a major economic loss in the united states, along with species of plant life going extinct. If this is an occurring problem within the United States, we can hypothesize that if other countries continue this trend, in theory a global disaster could result.
DISCUSSION:
Current research on the expected economic loss in the United States due to bumble bee population decline was lacking. Further research is needed in the following areas: global bumble bee population, individual parasite research, global economic loss due to bumble bee population decline, as well as preventive measures to prevent bumble bee declines. This additional research can further shed light on the connection between the economy and the bumble bee decline.
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