Introduction

Human beings obtain several natural resources from pollinators. Birds, beetles, butterflies, and bees are examples of small mammals that pollinate plants. This ensures that people have sufficient food supply all the time.Most plants cannot produce seeds and fruits without the pollinators. Pollinators also assist in maintaining our ecosystems by helping plants to reproduce. As a result, we get many natural resources from plants such as wood, air, water, and wind energy because of this pollinators. Most of these things are essential as they assist in sustaining life on earth. For instance, human life cannot continue on earth without water.  The ecosystem services we obtain from pollinators are fibers, plants grown for food and medicines. Estimates indicate that more than 1000 crops are cultivated for consumption. The plants must be pollinated to get the food we need.

Moreover, there is a difference between wild and managed pollinator. Unmanaged pollinators can serve a wide geographical area while controlled pollinators are restricted in their movement. Besides, wild pollinators help both the agricultural and wild systems.  As a result, even wild animals are likely to benefit from this type of pollination. Native pollinators are said to be more beneficial than the managed pollinators. It is because they serve a vast geographical region. The situation is contrary to the controlled pollinators that are used for horticultural purposes only.

Additionally, the former is more economical than the latter. The wild pollinators do not require any costs and can move all over the surroundings. However, managed pollinators may need to be enclosed somewhere like in the beehives.

Hypothesis

Pollinator decline has been experienced in most parts of America because of several factors. Some of these reasons include habitat degradation, pollution and pesticides, and climatic changes. This has eventually led to the diminishing of these pollinators.

Causal Mechanism Summaries

According to Hayes, Underwood, & Pettis (2008), the main reason that has led to the decline of pollinators is habitat degradation which threatens the existence of insects and mammals. One of the causes is the rising cases of urbanization that has forced people to migrate from rural areas to towns. This has resulted in the loss of a substantial area of the pollinators habitats. It has made the pollinators to lose their sources of food which they require for a healthy diet. Most of the habitats have been converted into farmlands which have made the pollinators to rely on protected wildlife areas for survival.

The second reason is the climatic changes that have led to the disruption of the pollinators. Scientists have discovered that seasonal variations might disrupt bee nesting behavior. Additionally, it can affect their emergency after winter. The researchers have also found out that these trends may have adverse impacts on the flowering of plants. Therefore, the pollinators like bees will lack food thus, leading to their extinction. Ultimately, global warming can restrict the movement of bumblebees. This is because they experience difficulties while moving northwards.

According to the report released by US EPA, the use of pesticides can be a hindrance to pollinators breeding success. Moreover, they can also decrease their disease resistance capabilities. Researchers suggest that exposure to pesticides can prohibit the ability of honeybees to navigate. Bumblebees might also encounter difficulties hence, making it hard for them to reproduce. The primary goal of using pesticides is to kill unwanted pests. However, they may end up killing useful insects like bees.

Statistics from the researchers indicate that animals pollinate close to 88% of the globe’s flowering plant species. Besides, scientists estimate that 60% of crop species and 35% of crop production depend on animal pollinators. Therefore, the food value that depends on these pollinators is around US$14.6 billion. This figure indicates that the world cannot survive without this species.

Research findings

According to the report released by US EPA, Pollinators decline can result in a decrease in the reproduction of several flowering plants. It can lead to the extinction of the rare species and plants if no action is taken to control the situation. Human beings will suffer because of decreasing crop yields. Therefore, many individuals might starve because of the lack of sufficient food. The reduction in pollinators will reduce the production of grains and other crops such as fruits, oils, vegetables and coffee that humans need for consumption. Finally, it can have an adverse economic impact on the farmers. Most of the individuals living in rural areas depend on agriculture to earn a living. It means that the decrease in pollinators will reduce their incomes. It can expose them to suffering as they may not be able to meet their needs. One of the ways of decreasing the adverse effects on pollinators is by reducing rural, urban migration which leads to the destruction of animal habitats.

Conclusion

Each factor that leads to pollinator decline has its importance. For instance, habitat loss for animals gives people a place to settle. Also, climate change can assist in reducing winter deaths. Many individuals lose their lives during cold seasons. Lastly, the use of pesticides helps to kill unwanted plants and insects that might adversely affect plants. This will eventually increase crop yields in the future.

Work Cited

Great pollinator project: http://greatpollinatorproject.org/conservation/major-threats-to-pollinators

Hayes Jr, J., Underwood, R. M., & Pettis, J. (2008). A survey of honey bee colony losses in the US, fall 2007 to spring 2008. PloS one, 3(12), e4071.

Pollinator Protection | US EPA. (2018, June 8). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection

What You Can Do to Protect Honey Bees and Other Pollinators | US EPA. (2018, August 22). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/what-you-can-do-protect-honey-bees-and-other-pollinators

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