The anthropocence in upon us

[46zilzal]

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...tinction-study

one of many

Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists say.

A study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation. The researchers say the rates of decline appear to be “consistent with a mass extinction”.

Peter Soroye, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and the study’s lead author, said: “We found that populations were disappearing in areas where the temperatures had gotten hotter. If declines continue at this pace, many of these species could vanish forever within a few decades.”


Source data https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6478/685

[davew]

I am surprised by how much climate change gets blamed for everything.

https://beeinformed.org/2016/05/10/n...es-in-2015-16/

[xtb]

I'm pretty sure that Trump is killing all the bumblebees.

[jimmyb]

It's the Tuna. The Bees should be fine though, Bumble Bees was purchased out of bankruptcy.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumble_Bee_Foods

[clicknow]

Loss of our indigenous, natural pollinators is certainly quite concerning.

Since 1/3 of one third of the food supply is pollinated by bees and kept alive that way.

Many people don't understand the difference between honey bees and bumble bees, and what their purpose is.

Nothing to see here though.

Guess Monsanto will come up with something to pollinate our food and flowers, and feed bee-eating birds and wildlife. Something that will cause more cancer and disease, most likely.

[Jeff P]

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health | Jan 10 2019
Special Issue: Honey Bee Research in the US: Current State and Solutions to Beekeeping Problems:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6358869/

[B]3. Environmental Stressors of Honey Bee Colonies
The increased toxicity and persistence of agrochemicals in the environment have been identified as one of the most interactive stressors affecting honey bee colonies [10]. Evidence for sublethal effects after pesticide exposure at the individual and colony level has been found for a number of key biological traits such as foraging behavior [11,12,13,14] and reproduction [15,16], but these effects are not always consistently noted [17]. [B]One of the growing concerns of pesticide exposure to honey bees is the potential for synergistic interactions between chemicals that have different modes of action. Ostiguy and colleagues [18] present a four-year study of pesticide residue in pollen and wax samples from trials in six regions in the United States. They report high numbers of different fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides in pollen and wax, and high variability between colonies from different regions. In addition, this study finds strong correlations between the presence of insecticides and fungicides that have different modes of action (e.g., disruption of mitosis and cell division and disruption sterol biosynthesis in membranes) highlighting the potential for synergistic effects between different types of pesticides. Wade and colleagues [19] provide experimental evidence for the synergistic lethal effects that common fungicides and insecticides, used in California almond orchards, have on developing larvae. This study finds empirical evidence for the detrimental synergistic effects of insecticides and fungicides applied in combination.

I did a Google search for the phrase 'bee population decline' (without the quotes) and came up with the above linked to study. (Fyi, the same search phrase brings up many other studies as well.)

One of the primary reasons citied for bee population decline by authors in some of the more recent scientific studies are changes in industrial agriculture.

Apparently, not only has industrial agriculture been exploding in terms of total acreage, which reduces the size of nearby natural environments where bees might find flowering plants --

But there has also been a change in the way pesticides are used.

There has been a growing trend in industrial agriculture to use combinations of pesticides with each other.

According to the studies, mounting evidence suggests that while individual pesticides being used may not be lethal to bees --

Combinations of pesticides can create synergistic effects in unexpected ways that (eventually) ARE lethal to bees.



-jp

.

[clicknow]

Originally Posted by Jeff P

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health | Jan 10 2019
Special Issue: Honey Bee Research in the US: Current State and Solutions to Beekeeping Problems:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6358869/




I did a Google search for the phrase 'bee population decline' (without the quotes) and came up with the above linked to study. (Fyi, the same search phrase brings up many other studies as well.)

One of the primary reasons citied for bee population decline by authors in some of the more recent scientific studies are changes in industrial agriculture.

Apparently, not only has industrial agriculture been exploding in terms of total acreage, which reduces the size of nearby natural environments where bees might find flowering plants --

But there has also been a change in the way pesticides are used.

There has been a growing trend in industrial agriculture to use combinations of pesticides with each other.

According to the studies, mounting evidence suggests that while individual pesticides being used may not be lethal to bees --

Combinations of pesticides can create synergistic effects in unexpected ways that (eventually) ARE lethal to bees.



-jp

.

Yes, thank you.....basically what I just said by invoking Monsanto, et. al.

You should see some of the neighbors in suburban neighborhoods I've lived in, spraying the crap out of everything..... cuz god forbid a dandelion should live in their yard somewhere.

[davew]

Originally Posted by clicknow

Yes, thank you.....basically what I just said by invoking Monsanto, et. al.

You should see some of the neighbors in suburban neighborhoods I've lived in, spraying the crap out of everything..... cuz god forbid a dandelion should live in their yard somewhere.

come on, stay on topic … 46zilzal started the thread saying climate change is killing the bees, unless you agree it is another scientist BS idea

[lamboguy]

the animals were storing acorns in the late fall like never before. so i thought it was going to be a long hard winter. fooled me and the animals. but what generally happens after such a warm winter is that in the summer time we get an abundance of mosquito's. lets see how this plays out.

[hcap]

Originally Posted by davew

come on, stay on topic … 46zilzal started the thread saying climate change is killing the bees, unless you agree it is another scientist BS idea

You are trying to set up a false dichotomy. 46zilzal said the Anthropocence" in upon us.

The term "An·thro·po·cene"

adjective: Anthropocene

relating to or denoting the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.
"we've become a major force of nature in this new Anthropocene epoch"

Human activity is responsible for both climate change and increased spraying of pesticides.

Your false dichotomy is not that it is not either, but both

[davew]

hcap, then 46 should have led with this link

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...tinction-study

[hcap]

Originally Posted by davew

hcap, then 46 should have led with this link

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...tinction-study

Have you read both articles?

The second is basically the same as the first. and has this as a sub-tittle.

"Populations disappearing in areas where temperatures are getting hotter, scientists say"


Duh!!

[46zilzal]

Whatever the cause(s), the OVERWHELMING of natural checks and balances in a FINITE environment and the UNCHECKED human population growth with all of its attendant pollution, WILL, in the end, poison a significant portion of the population in plants and animals all over the globe.

Upsetting the normally stable pant and animal life cycles from the coordinated functionally effective state that evolved over thousands of years (migrating bird populations stopping to coordinate at the time when larvae come out of their transformations and keeping them in check, for example).

These alternations have been observable for a long time now and are getting more and more out of sync.

many examples listed here: https://phys.org/news/2015-01-climat...g-animals.html
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2015/0...s-and-animals/
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...tains-wildlife

No one is making this up: ecological balances are getting more and more unstable

[46zilzal]

Colony collapse disorder.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder

quote: "Several possible causes for CCD have been proposed, but no single proposal has gained widespread acceptance among the scientific community. Suggested causes include pesticides; infections with various pathogens, especially those transmitted by Varroa and Acarapis mites; malnutrition; genetic factors; immunodeficiencies; loss of habitat; changing beekeeping practices; or a combination of factors. A large amount of speculation has surrounded the contributions of the neonicotinoid family of pesticides to CCD, but many collapsing apiaries show no trace of neonicotinoids."

Why is it so hard to discover a causal relationship that MAN'S presence is negatively affecting where he lives? EVERY OTHER ANIMAL ON THE PLANET has suffered similar losses in all the years I have studied it..It was beginning to be noticed when I was an undergraduate Zoology student LONG ago. and was especially prominent in the various toxicological studies the other graduate students were following in my graduate school days. One fellow was studying Polychloronated biphenyls and their widespread distribution and toxicity was amazing...These were one of the first toxicological chemicals that showed concentration in the bodies of animals over time.


quote: PCBs are taken up by small organisms and fish in water. They are also taken up by other animals that eat these aquatic animals as food. PCBs accumulate in fish and marine mammals, reaching levels that may be many thousands of times higher than in water.

from https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=140&tid=26

[woodtoo]

Agra-chemical use should be lessened extremely.

Only President Trump has the cajones to do this so bring it to his attention if you want real action.