Download or read book World Bee Day 2022 Pollinators in Urban Environments written by Guaraci Duran Cordeiro and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-01-26 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Bee Day takes place on the 20th of May, commemorating the date on which we acknowledge the influence of the most popular pollinator species, bees, in plant diversity and our society. The aim of this Research Topic is to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators in urban areas, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development. It is in this spirit that Frontiers is launching a new article collection to coincide with this UN day. This occasion not only offers an opportunity to acknowledge the sustainable approach that is protecting wildlife in any form in urban areas, but also to consider the importance of bees in our ecosystem and their positive impact on human society. This Frontiers in Sustainable Cities Research Topic aims to address Urban Greening and Resource Management-specific dimensions of this UN day, highlighting the importance of having healthy green areas and all-level decision-making and considering how pollinators interact with many levels of our society. Topics may include, but are by no means limited to: - Technology and practices for urban greening and pollinator populations - Urban solutions for declining bee populations - Influence of community gardens on pollinator populations - Increases of the awareness of the importance of pollinators in local community gardens and urban greening - Policy making to protect pollinators in urban areas - Facilitating urban management of natural resources for the benefit of pollinator populations - Harnessing SDGs for urban pollinators population - Citizen science to monitor pollinators - Pollination service in urban areas - Effects of environmental contaminants, climate warning and light on pollinators - Plant pollinator networks in cities and urban areas
Download or read book FACTORS INFLUENCING BEE COMMUNITIES AND POLLINATION SERVICES ACROSS AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT written by Justin D. Burdine and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current declines in the abundance and diversity of bees and other pollinators has created uncertainty in their ability to reliably deliver pollination services. Recent studies examining urban bee communities show that bees respond to urbanization-mediated changes in land-use and environmental conditions. This includes increases in thermal and desiccation threats via urban heat island (UHI) effects that have not been well explored in bees. But it is unclear whether or how urbanization-related changes to pollinators influence pollination services. In this dissertation, I surveyed urban gardens and city parks across the metropolitan region of Toledo, Ohio (USA). First, I examined thermal and desiccation tolerances and safety margins for three bee species: silky striped sweat bees (Agapostemon sericeus), western honey bees (Apis mellifera), and common eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). Second, I examined how urbanization and local habitat characteristics (herbaceous cover, floral abundance and color, tree abundance, canopy cover, soil moisture, gardens size) influenced bee communities (abundance, diversity, composition) and pollination services (visitation frequency). Third, I examined how bee species with specific functional traits and combinations of traits (functional guilds) were influenced by urbanization. The findings from this dissertation suggest that bees have differential sensitivities to urbanization, and managing for diverse bee communities in urban environments may require mitigating changes in temperature and water and increasing floral resource availability.
Download or read book Protecting Pollinators written by Jodi Helmer and published by . This book was released on 2019-04-18 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We should thank a pollinator at every meal. These diminutive creatures fertilize a third of the crops we eat. Yet half of the 200,000 species of pollinators are threatened. Birds, bats, insects, and many other pollinators are disappearing, putting our entire food supply in jeopardy. Protecting Pollinators breaks down the latest science on environmental threats and takes readers inside the most promising conservation efforts. Efforts range from cities creating butterfly highways to citizen scientists monitoring migration. Along with inspiring stories of revival and lessons from failed projects, readers will find practical tips to get involved. And they will be reminded of the magic of pollinators--the iconic monarchs, dainty hummingbirds, and homely bats alike who bring food to our tables.
Download or read book Impacts of an Urbanization Gradient on Pollination Services to a Bee Pollinated Plant written by Cory Barker and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The vast majority of flowering plants rely on pollinators for outcrossed reproduction. Unfortunately, many species of pollinators are in decline. Pollinators face a number of challenges, including shifting land use, climate change and pesticides. In addition, pollinator habitat may be altered or eliminated through urbanization. Fragmented urban landscapes may lengthen the distances among foraging patches, limit resources in a given patch, and reduce the availability of pollinator nesting sites. Here, I examine the effects of urbanization on pollination services by addressing the following questions: (1) Does bee species richness and/or abundance change along an urbanization gradient?; (2) Does the pollen limitation of a focal species vary along the same gradient?; (3) Do plants with a mixed mating system produce more selfed seeds in more urban environments? Using the percentage of impervious land cover in the space immediately surrounding the site as a proxy for site urbanization, 15 study sites were set up across the city of Ottawa to span a range from minimal percent impervious surface (mostly green space) to mostly impervious surface (little green space) at a range of spatial scales. At each site I set up an array of 20 potted Impatiens capensis plants as well as six pan traps in order to collect data on pollen limitation, seed production, and the number of selfed progeny, in addition to information about local pollinator species richness and abundance. Plants in the arrays were randomly assigned to either a hand or open pollination treatment in order to assess the level of pollen limitation. Surprisingly, pollinator species richness and abundance were not correlated with urbanization. Pollen limitation declined with urbanization, however, so did overall seed set, making it difficult to detangle the effects of resource limitation and hand pollination treatments. The number of selfed seeds produced by a plant was also significantly correlated with site urbanization. Further investigation is required to better understand the dynamics of pollination services in urban environments. I recommend that future studies explore how the presence of individual bee species in rural and urban habitats could be influencing pollen limitation and selfing in I. capensis.
Download or read book Pollinators and Pollination written by Jeff Ollerton and published by Pelagic Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2021-01-18 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique and personal insight into the ecology and evolution of pollinators, their relationships with flowers, and their conservation in a rapidly changing world. The pollination of flowers by insects, birds and other animals is a fundamentally important ecological function that supports both the natural world and human society. Without pollinators to facilitate the sexual reproduction of plants, the world would be a biologically poorer place in which to live, there would be an impact on food security, and human health would suffer. Written by one of the world’s leading pollination ecologists, this book provides an introduction to what pollinators are, how their interactions with flowers have evolved, and the fundamental ecology of these relationships. It explores the pollination of wild and agricultural plants in a variety of habitats and contexts, including urban, rural and agricultural environments. The author also provides practical advice on how individuals and organisations can study, and support, pollinators. As well as covering the natural history of pollinators and flowers, the author discusses their cultural importance, and the ways in which pollinator conservation has been portrayed from a political perspective. The book draws on field work experiences in South America, Africa, Australia, the Canary Islands and the UK. For over 30 years the author has spent his career researching how plants and pollinators evolve relationships, how these interactions function ecologically, their importance for society, and how we can conserve them in a rapidly changing world. This book offers a unique and personal insight into the science of pollinators and pollination, aimed at anyone who is interested in understanding these fascinating and crucial ecological interactions.
Download or read book Bad Beekeeping written by Ron Miksha and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A million pounds of honey. Produced by a billion bees! This memoir reconstructs the life of a young man from Pennsylvania as he drops into the bald prairie badlands of southern Saskatchewan. He buys a honey ranch and keeps the bees that make the honey. But he also spends winters in Florida swamps, nurse-maid to ten thousand dainty queen bees. From the dusty Canadian prairie to the thick palmetto swamps of the American south, the reader meets with simple folks who shape the protagonist's character - including a Cree rancher with three sons playing NHL hockey, a Hutterite preacher who yearns to roam the globe, a reclusive bee-eating homesteader, and a grey-headed widow who grows grapefruit, plays a nasty game of scrabble, and lives with four vicious dogs. Encompassing a ten-year period, this true story evolves from the earnest inexperience of the young man as he learns an art and builds a business. Carefully researched natural biology runs counterpoint to human social activities. Bee craft serves as the setting for expositions that contrast American and Canadian lifestyles, while exemplifying the harsh reality of a man working with and against the physical environment.
Download or read book The Tears of Re written by Gene Kritsky and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-08 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Egyptian mythology, when the ancient Egyptian sun god Re cried, his tears turned into honey bees upon touching the ground. For this reason, the honey bee was sacrosanct in ancient Egyptian culture. From the art depicting bees on temple walls to the usage of beeswax as a healing ointment, the honey bee was a pervasive cultural motif in ancient Egypt because of its connection to the sun god Re. Gene Kritsky delivers a concise introduction of the relationship between the honey bee and ancient Egyptian culture, through the lenses of linguistics, archeology, religion, health, and economics. Kritsky delves into ancient Egypt's multifaceted society, and traces the importance of the honey bee in everything from death rituals to trade. In doing so, Kritsky brings new evidence to light of how advanced and fascinating the ancient Egyptians were. This richly illustrated work appeals to a broad range of interests. For archeology lovers, Kritsky delves into the archeological evidence of Egyptian beekeeping and discusses newly discovered tombs, as well as evidence of manmade hives. Linguists will be fascinated by Kritsky's discussion of the first documented written evidence of the honeybee hieroglyph. And anyone interested in ancient Egypt or ancient cultures in general will be intrigued by Kritsky's treatment of the first documented beekeepers. This book provides a unique social commentary of a community so far removed from modern humans chronologically speaking, and yet so fascinating because of the stunning advances their society made. Beekeeping is the latest evidence of how ahead of their times the Egyptians were, and the ensuing narrative is as captivating as every other aspect of ancient Egyptian culture.
Download or read book Pollinating Through Art written by Alexandria Harris and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The decline of pollinators and their habitats is a pressing issue worldwide. Over the past 30 years, beekeepers worldwide have recorded unusually high bee population losses (Oldroyd, 2007). Due to this decline, there is a need to increase pollinator habitats in urban areas; however, due to road infrastructure, manicured lawns, and urban development, there is little space to be utilized as restorative pollinator habitats (Sikora et al, 2020; Vaughan and Black, 2008). While colony collapse disorder in European honey bees has been explored widely in recent years, there is little research on how public art installations could address native bees and other pollinator declines in urban areas (Berenbaum, 2014). By examining creative ways to combine pollinator habitat and public art, this study aims to address the decline in native bees and other pollinators and their habitats by considering pollinator art in an ecological context through research-based design. The pollinator art created for this study integrates native plants and site context factors into hypothetical public art installations within Southeast Brush Creek, a high-vacancy area in Kansas City, Missouri. By designing functional art installations at different scales, for a typology of sites, this study examines: 1) How entomology research contributes to the form and materiality of public art as habitat. 2) How public art can revitalize pollinator habitats in urban settings. 3)How knowledge of native bees can inform the design of pollinator art for bee health and ease of maintenance. A literature review was used to develop an evidence-based framework that informs the designs of pollinator public art that could be incorporated into specific sites in the Brush Creek neighborhood in Kansas City, MO. The findings of this study offer insight into how research can creatively inform design solutions and be translated into public art that functions as a pollinator habitat. Pollinator art is an artistic tool that has the power to change the fabric of urban areas in a positive manner. This study contributes to the existing literature on the restoration and conservation of pollinator habitats with a broader outcome that highlights the potential implementation of pollinator art in a typology of urban settings.
Download or read book The Forgotten Pollinators written by Stephen L. Buchmann and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-06-22 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consider this: Without interaction between animals and flowering plants, the seeds and fruits that make up nearly eighty percent of the human diet would not exist. In The Forgotten Pollinators, Stephen L. Buchmann, one of the world's leading authorities on bees and pollination, and Gary Paul Nabhan, award-winning writer and renowned crop ecologist, explore the vital but little-appreciated relationship between plants and the animals they depend on for reproduction -- bees, beetles, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, bats, and countless other animals, some widely recognized and other almost unknown. Scenes from around the globe -- examining island flora and fauna on the Galapagos, counting bees in the Panamanian rain forest, witnessing an ancient honey-hunting ritual in Malaysia -- bring to life the hidden relationships between plants and animals, and demonstrate the ways in which human society affects and is affected by those relationships. Buchmann and Nabhan combine vignettes from the field with expository discussions of ecology, botany, and crop science to present a lively and fascinating account of the ecological and cultural context of plant-pollinator relationships. More than any other natural process, plant-pollinator relationships offer vivid examples of the connections between endangered species and threatened habitats. The authors explain how human-induced changes in pollinator populations -- caused by overuse of chemical pesticides, unbridled development, and conversion of natural areas into monocultural cropland-can have a ripple effect on disparate species, ultimately leading to a "cascade of linked extinctions."
Download or read book FAO Investment Centre Annual review 2020 written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2021-06-25 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The FAO Investment Centre provides a wide range of support services to help countries make more and better investments in food and agriculture. This review looks back at the work the Centre carried out with its partners in 2020. Despite a challenging year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre’s global team supported investment-related policy and sector studies to increase policy dialogue and contributed to the design, technical assistance, supervision or evaluation of investment projects in 120 countries. The Centre increasingly linked both its policy work with investment support to scale up impact. And it promoted greater knowledge sharing and innovation, while also helping to strengthen the capacity of people and institutions to make better investment decisions. The Centre continues to remain relevant by adapting its skills and expertise to keep pace with a constantly evolving investment landscape and fast-changing world and by advocating for more sustainable agri-food systems.
Download or read book Status of Pollinators in North America written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-05-13 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pollinators-insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction-are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination. This report provides evidence for the decline of some pollinator species in North America, including America's most important managed pollinator, the honey bee, as well as some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds. For most managed and wild pollinator species, however, population trends have not been assessed because populations have not been monitored over time. In addition, for wild species with demonstrated declines, it is often difficult to determine the causes or consequences of their decline. This report outlines priorities for research and monitoring that are needed to improve information on the status of pollinators and establishes a framework for conservation and restoration of pollinator species and communities.
Download or read book A Guide for Pollinator friendly Cities written by and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thriving wild pollinator populations are a prerequisite for healthy, resilient green spaces and urban ecosystems. They provide vital pollination services. Seventy five per cent of the world's main food crops and 85% of wild plants rely on pollinating insects. Aside from the benefits to agriculture and the environment, multiple sectors in society benefit directly or indirectly from the services of pollinators - sectors such as public health or industry. They underpin the stability of pollinator services over time and ensure plant diversity. However, numerous scientific studies indicate that populations of wild pollinators (i.e. bees, hoverflies, moths, butterflies and beetles) have declined significantly across Europe over the last few decades. These trends call for urgent conservation action. This guidance supports the EU Pollinators Initiative, adopted by the Commission in 2018 as the first-ever EU coordinated action on pollinators. The Initiative sets strategic objectives and a set of actions to be taken by the EU and its Member States to address the decline of pollinators in the EU and contribute to global conservation efforts. This guidance contributes to Action 6, which aims to improve pollinator habitats in urban areas and the wider landscape. Cities and towns can be a major refuge for many insect pollinators, providing foraging and nesting sites, larval food plants and nectar that may be less available on intensively managed farmland. Thus, they have an important role to play. Local authorities (including politicians and policy makers) and local authority practitioners (planners, landscape architects, land managers, contractors, developers and gardeners) are well equipped to drive forward wild pollinator conservation.
Download or read book Planting for Honeybees written by Sarah Wyndham-Lewis and published by Quadrille Publishing. This book was released on 2018-03-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of the 25,000 known species of bee worldwide, only seven species are honeybees. Bees and plants have a sophisticated and delicate symbiosis. In recent years, the shrinking of green spaces has endangered the honeybee. Now Planting for Honeybees shows you how you can help these delightful pollinators to flourish by creating a garden as habitat for them. No matter how small or large your space – from a window ledge in the city to a country garden – Sarah Wyndham Lewis offers practical advice on which plants to grow and when and where to plant them. Charmingly illustrated with delicate drawings, this a jewel of a guide to treasure.
Download or read book The Humane Gardener written by Nancy Lawson and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.
Download or read book Conserving Urban Pollinators written by Katherine J. Turo and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This next generation DNA sequencing technique enabled me to quantify which plant species bees foraged on throughout the process of nest provisioning. Pollen metabarcoding revealed that urban spontaneous vegetation from the Fabacaeae family was frequently foraged on, but foraging preferences were mediated by bee’s taxonomic identity and native status. Moreover, we identified that greater landscape connectivity and presence of a large greenspace patch were associated with bee diet diversification and enhanced native bee reproductive success in trap nests. Collectively, my dissertation’s findings will help transform urban bee conservation efforts into conservation outcomes, thereby addressing global bee decline and securing future pollination services. I consistently identified that greenspace configuration influences urban bee success and that presence of a large greenspace patch is critical for bee richness, nesting productivity, and access to diverse foraging opportunities. This suggests that legacy cities are prime urban conservation targets due to their high abundance of vacant land which could accommodate such large greenspace patches. Finally, since native and alien plant species were both valuable forage for urban pollinators, future conservation endeavors should consider creating new native wildflower habitat and adopting management practices which tolerate flowering weeds. It is my hope that these evidence-based recommendations and my appeal for increased partnership with city residents will facilitate more effective, socially responsible urban pollinator conservation.
Download or read book Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients written by Aaron T. Dossey and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2016-06-23 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients: Production, Processing and Food Applications describes how insects can be mass produced and incorporated into our food supply at an industrial and cost-effective scale, providing valuable guidance on how to build the insect-based agriculture and the food and biomaterial industry. Editor Aaron Dossey, a pioneer in the processing of insects for human consumption, brings together a team of international experts who effectively summarize the current state-of-the-art, providing helpful recommendations on which readers can build companies, products, and research programs. Researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, policymakers, and anyone interested in insect mass production and the industrial use of insects will benefit from the content in this comprehensive reference. The book contains all the information a basic practitioner in the field needs, making this a useful resource for those writing a grant, a research or review article, a press article, or news clip, or for those deciding how to enter the world of insect based food ingredients. Details the current state and future direction of insects as a sustainable source of protein, food, feed, medicine, and other useful biomaterials Provides valuable guidance that is useful to anyone interested in utilizing insects as food ingredients Presents insects as an alternative protein/nutrient source that is ideal for food companies, nutritionists, entomologists, food entrepreneurs, and athletes, etc. Summarizes the current state-of-the-art, providing helpful recommendations on building companies, products, and research programs Ideal reference for researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, policymakers, and anyone interested in insect mass production and the industrial use of insects Outlines the challenges and opportunities within this emerging industry
Download or read book Pollinator Conservation Handbook written by Matthew Shepherd and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Pollinator Conservation Handbook is an indispensable resource for gardeners, farmers, and managers of parks, recreational areas, and wild lands. It will guide you through the steps for creating and improving habitat for insect pollinators, including selecting and planting forage flowers, providing nesting and egg-laying sites, and caring for your pollinator habitat over time. The Handbook also contains an extensive resources section and ideas for educational activities." --Amazon.