Threats to an ecosystem service : pressures on pollinators
Vanbergen, Adam J.; Baude, Mathilde; Biesmeijer, Jacobus C.; Britton, Nicholas F.; Brown, Mark J.F.; Brown, Mike; Bryden, John; Budge, Giles E.; Bull, James C.; Carvell, Claire; Challinor, Andrew J.; Connolly, Christopher N.; Evans, David J.; Feil, Edward J.; Garratt, Mike P.; Greco, Mark K.; Heard, Matthew S.; Jansen, Vincent A.A.; Keeling, Matt J.; Kunin, William E.; Marris, Gay C; Memmott, Jane; Murray, James T.; Nicolson, Sue W.; Osborne, Juliet L.; Paxton, Robert J.; Pirk, Christian Walter Werner; Polce, Chiara; Potts, Simon G.; Priest, Nicholas K.; Raine, Nigel E.; Roberts, Stuart; Ryabov, Eugene V.; Shafir, Sharoni; Simpson, Stephen J.; Stevenson, Philip C.; Stone, Graham N.; Termansen, Mette; Wright, Geraldine A.
Date:
2013
Abstract:
Insect pollinators of crops and wild plants are under threat globally and their decline or loss could have profound
economic and environmental consequences. Here, we argue that multiple anthropogenic pressures – including
land-use intensification, climate change, and the spread of alien species and diseases – are primarily responsible
for insect-pollinator declines. We show that a complex interplay between pressures (eg lack of food sources, diseases,
and pesticides) and biological processes (eg species dispersal and interactions) at a range of scales (from
genes to ecosystems) underpins the general decline in insect-pollinator populations. Interdisciplinary research on
the nature and impacts of these interactions will be needed if human food security and ecosystem function are to
be preserved. We highlight key areas that require research focus and outline some practical steps to alleviate the
pressures on pollinators and the pollination services they deliver to wild and crop plants.
