Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems

Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems PDF Author: Rosalind James
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199717877
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
For many agricultural crops, bees play a vital role as pollinators, and this book discusses the interplay among bees, agriculture, and the environment. Although honey bees are well recognized as pollinators, managed bumble bees and solitary bees are also critical for the successful pollination of certain crops, while wild bees provide a free service. As bees liberally pass pollen from one plant to the next, they also impact the broader ecosystem, and not always to the benefit of humankind. Bees can enhance the unintentional spread of genes from genetically engineered plants, and may increase the spread of invasive weeds. Conversely, genetically engineered plants can impact pollinators, and invasive weeds can supply new sources of food for these insects. Bees' flower-visiting activities also can be exploited to help spread biological control agents that control crop pests, and they are important for native plant reproduction. Managing bees for pollination is complex and the factors that must be taken into consideration are treated here, including bee natural history, physiology, pathology, and behavior. Furthermore, transporting bees from native ranges to new areas for pollination services can be controversial, and needs to be done only after assuring that it will not disrupt various ecosystems. Even though bees are small, unobtrusive creatures, they play large roles in the ecosystem. The connection between bees and humankind also is symbolic of a broader interconnection between humans and the natural world.

Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems

Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems PDF Author: Rosalind James
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199717877
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Get Book Here

Book Description
For many agricultural crops, bees play a vital role as pollinators, and this book discusses the interplay among bees, agriculture, and the environment. Although honey bees are well recognized as pollinators, managed bumble bees and solitary bees are also critical for the successful pollination of certain crops, while wild bees provide a free service. As bees liberally pass pollen from one plant to the next, they also impact the broader ecosystem, and not always to the benefit of humankind. Bees can enhance the unintentional spread of genes from genetically engineered plants, and may increase the spread of invasive weeds. Conversely, genetically engineered plants can impact pollinators, and invasive weeds can supply new sources of food for these insects. Bees' flower-visiting activities also can be exploited to help spread biological control agents that control crop pests, and they are important for native plant reproduction. Managing bees for pollination is complex and the factors that must be taken into consideration are treated here, including bee natural history, physiology, pathology, and behavior. Furthermore, transporting bees from native ranges to new areas for pollination services can be controversial, and needs to be done only after assuring that it will not disrupt various ecosystems. Even though bees are small, unobtrusive creatures, they play large roles in the ecosystem. The connection between bees and humankind also is symbolic of a broader interconnection between humans and the natural world.

Pollination Services to Agriculture

Pollination Services to Agriculture PDF Author: Barbara Gemmill-Herren
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317445686
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
It is only recently that the immense economic value of pollination to agriculture has been appreciated. At the same time, the alarming collapse in populations of bees and other pollinators has highlighted the urgency of addressing this issue. This book focuses on the specific measures and practices that the emerging science of pollination ecology is identifying to conserve and promote animal pollinators in agroecosystems. It reviews the expanding knowledge base on pollination services, providing evidence to document the status, trends and importance of pollinators to sustainable agricultural production. It provides practical and specific measures that land managers can undertake to ensure that agroecosystems are supportive and friendly to pollinators. It draws on the Global Pollination Project, supported by UNEP/GEF and implemented by FAO and seven partner countries (Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa), which serve to provide "lessons from the field".

Status of Pollinators in North America

Status of Pollinators in North America PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309102898
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
Pollinators-insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction-are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination. This report provides evidence for the decline of some pollinator species in North America, including America's most important managed pollinator, the honey bee, as well as some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds. For most managed and wild pollinator species, however, population trends have not been assessed because populations have not been monitored over time. In addition, for wild species with demonstrated declines, it is often difficult to determine the causes or consequences of their decline. This report outlines priorities for research and monitoring that are needed to improve information on the status of pollinators and establishes a framework for conservation and restoration of pollinator species and communities.

Pollination Biology

Pollination Biology PDF Author: Dharam P. Abrol
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400719426
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 812

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Book Description
This book has a wider approach not strictly focused on crop production compared to other books that are strictly oriented towards bees, but has a generalist approach to pollination biology. It also highlights relationships between introduced and wild pollinators and consequences of such introductions on communities of wild pollinating insects. The chapters on biochemical basis of plant-pollination interaction, pollination energetics, climate change and pollinators and pollinators as bioindicators of ecosystem functioning provide a base for future insights into pollination biology. The role of honeybees and wild bees on crop pollination, value of bee pollination, planned honeybee pollination, non-bee pollinators, safety of pollinators, pollination in cages, pollination for hybrid seed production, the problem of diseases, genetically modified plants and bees, the role of bees in improving food security and livelihoods, capacity building and awareness for pollinators are also discussed.

What If There Were No Bees?

What If There Were No Bees? PDF Author: Suzanne Slade
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 1404860193
Category : Agricultural ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 14

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Book Description
Talks about each habitat and shows what would happen if the food chain was broken.

Protecting Pollinators

Protecting Pollinators PDF Author: Jodi Helmer
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 161091936X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
We should thank a pollinator at every meal. These diminutive creatures fertilize a third of the crops we eat. Yet half of the 200,000 species of pollinators are threatened. Birds, bats, insects, and many other pollinators are disappearing, putting our entire food supply in jeopardy. In North America and Europe, bee populations have already plummeted by more than a third and the population of butterflies has declined 31 percent. Protecting Pollinators explores why the statistics have become so dire and how they can be reversed. Jodi Helmer breaks down the latest science on environmental threats and takes readers inside the most promising conservation initiatives. Efforts include famers reducing pesticides, cities creating butterfly highways, volunteers ripping up invasive plants, gardeners planting native flowers, and citizen scientists monitoring migration. Along with inspiring stories of revival and lessons from failed projects, readers will find practical tips to get involved. They will also be reminded of the magic of pollinators—not only the iconic monarch and dainty hummingbird, but the drab hawk moth and homely bats that are just as essential. Without pollinators, the world would be a duller, blander place. Helmer shows how we can make sure they are always fluttering, soaring, and buzzing around us.

Farming for Bees

Farming for Bees PDF Author: Mace Vaughan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780974447513
Category : Bee culture
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description


Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients

Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients PDF Author: Aaron T. Dossey
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128028920
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients: Production, Processing and Food Applications describes how insects can be mass produced and incorporated into our food supply at an industrial and cost-effective scale, providing valuable guidance on how to build the insect-based agriculture and the food and biomaterial industry. Editor Aaron Dossey, a pioneer in the processing of insects for human consumption, brings together a team of international experts who effectively summarize the current state-of-the-art, providing helpful recommendations on which readers can build companies, products, and research programs. Researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, policymakers, and anyone interested in insect mass production and the industrial use of insects will benefit from the content in this comprehensive reference. The book contains all the information a basic practitioner in the field needs, making this a useful resource for those writing a grant, a research or review article, a press article, or news clip, or for those deciding how to enter the world of insect based food ingredients. - Details the current state and future direction of insects as a sustainable source of protein, food, feed, medicine, and other useful biomaterials - Provides valuable guidance that is useful to anyone interested in utilizing insects as food ingredients - Presents insects as an alternative protein/nutrient source that is ideal for food companies, nutritionists, entomologists, food entrepreneurs, and athletes, etc. - Summarizes the current state-of-the-art, providing helpful recommendations on building companies, products, and research programs - Ideal reference for researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, policymakers, and anyone interested in insect mass production and the industrial use of insects - Outlines the challenges and opportunities within this emerging industry

Solitary Bees

Solitary Bees PDF Author: Breno M. Freitas
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bees
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description


Pollinators and Pollination

Pollinators and Pollination PDF Author: Jeff Ollerton
Publisher: Pelagic Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1784272299
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
A unique and personal insight into the ecology and evolution of pollinators, their relationships with flowers, and their conservation in a rapidly changing world. The pollination of flowers by insects, birds and other animals is a fundamentally important ecological function that supports both the natural world and human society. Without pollinators to facilitate the sexual reproduction of plants, the world would be a biologically poorer place in which to live, there would be an impact on food security, and human health would suffer. Written by one of the world’s leading pollination ecologists, this book provides an introduction to what pollinators are, how their interactions with flowers have evolved, and the fundamental ecology of these relationships. It explores the pollination of wild and agricultural plants in a variety of habitats and contexts, including urban, rural and agricultural environments. The author also provides practical advice on how individuals and organisations can study, and support, pollinators. As well as covering the natural history of pollinators and flowers, the author discusses their cultural importance, and the ways in which pollinator conservation has been portrayed from a political perspective. The book draws on field work experiences in South America, Africa, Australia, the Canary Islands and the UK. For over 30 years the author has spent his career researching how plants and pollinators evolve relationships, how these interactions function ecologically, their importance for society, and how we can conserve them in a rapidly changing world. This book offers a unique and personal insight into the science of pollinators and pollination, aimed at anyone who is interested in understanding these fascinating and crucial ecological interactions.