Small bees better at coping with warming, bumblebees struggle

PARIS: Climate change could lead to more small-bodied bees but fewer bumblebees, according to research published on Wednesday, warning of potential "cascading" effects on plant pollination and across whole ecosystems.

Scientists in the United States trapped and studied more than 20,000 bees over eight years in an area of the Rocky Mountains to find out how different types of bees reacted to changing climatic conditions.

The authors said that while environmental conditions varied from year to year, the sub-alpine region from which they took samples is "particularly vulnerable to climate change", with generally warming spring temperatures and earlier snow melt.

They found that comb-building cavity nesters and larger bodied bees declined in abundance as temperatures increased, while smaller, soil-nesting bees increased. "Our research suggests that climate-induced changes in temperature, snowpack and summer precipitation may drastically reshape bee communities," the authors said.

Researchers said the findings suggest a reduction of bigger bees, including in the families of bumblebee, leafcutters and mason bees, with higher temperatures. Declines were particularly marked for bumblebees, which the researchers said suggests "this group is more threatened under climate warming than other bees in our system".