Bees have been endangered for decades now, and the chart above depicts just how much the number of bee hives in the Unites States has declined since the mid 1900s. What is still in question is the roots of the bee population problem. Some scientists are questioning whether global climate change has anything to do with the endangerment. The article I read talked about how much the bees were affected by this problem. “Climate change can influence consumer populations both directly, by affecting survival and reproduction, and indirectly, by altering resources. However, little is known about the relative importance of direct and indirect effects, particularly for species important to ecosystem functioning, like pollinators.” Although some research shows that it does in fact have to do with climate change, the direct foundations are still uncertain. Based on this chart, I decided to calculate a the percentage change to get a more accurate percentage on just how much the population of bees has changed.
The percent change from 2000 to 2006 is about 6%.
I am very curious as to why the honey bee population has continued to decline since the 1990s. Global climate change could very well play a large part in the decline, but that could easily be due to human activities. It is very alarming seeing such a vital role in our ecosystem decline so drastically, and we as a society should work towards helping honey bees make a comeback.
Going off of Nick’s comment, I think it may be important to think of other factors such as human activity as a whole that have also impacted the bee population. As our human population growth occurs, naturally other species would decline in population. Sustainability comes with such a wide range of aspects that it is hard to figure out exactly what the cause may be. As you discussed, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions must have a lasting effect on the bee population, shown throughout your graph.
To be honest, I never really knew that bees were endangered. Because a bee is not an animal, and it is an insect, I think people, such as myself, forget about the consequences of human activity on their habitat. Climate change is a real and serious problem, and something we have looked at in a variety of ways throughout this course. I liked this post because it shows a side to climate change, and human development that we don’t necessarily think about. It emphasizes the fact that climate change has an impact on everything and everyone at all levels of an ecosystem.
The graph you present is very alarming to me because it shows the honey bee population declining at a fairly steady rate. I too did not know that honeybees were endangered and it is concerning that many others probably do not as well. Bees are essential to our ecosystem and it is important that we take critical steps in saving them because before we know it, they could become extinct.