Patterns of widespread decline in North American bumble bees.
By Cameron et al.
Full Text
Cameron et al. (2011) quantified dramatic range-wide population declines in
B. occidentalis, B. pensylvanicus, B. affinis, and
B. terricola that have occurred over the last few decades.
Abstract (part):
Here, we report results of a 3-y interdisciplinary study of changing distributions, population genetic structure, and levels of pathogen infection in bumble bee populations across the United States. We compare current and historical distributions of eight species, compiling a database of >73,000 museum records for comparison with data from intensive nationwide surveys of >16,000 specimens. We show that the relative abundances of four species have declined by up to 96% and that their surveyed geographic ranges have contracted by 23–87%, some within the last 20 y.
Cameron, S.A., J.D. Lozier, J.P. Strange, J.B. Koch, N. Cordes, L.F. Solter, and T.L. Griswold. 2011. Patterns of widespread decline in North American bumble bees. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 108: 662-667.