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Widespread losses of pollinating insects in Britain

Powney, Gary D.; Carvell, Claire; Edwards, Mike; Morris, Roger K.A.; Roy, Helen E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6050-679X; Woodcock, Ben A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0300-9951; Isaac, Nick J.B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4869-8052. 2019 Widespread losses of pollinating insects in Britain. Nature Communications, 10, 1018. 6, pp. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08974-9

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Abstract/Summary

Pollination is a critical ecosystem service underpinning the productivity of agricultural systems across the world. Wild insect populations provide a substantial contribution to the productivity of many crops and seed set of wild flowers. However, large-scale evidence on species-specific trends among wild pollinators are lacking. Here we show substantial inter-specific variation in pollinator trends, based on occupancy models for 353 wild bee and hoverfly species in Great Britain between 1980 and 2013. Furthermore, we estimate a net loss of over 2.7 million occupied 1 km2 grid cells across all species. Declines in pollinator evenness suggest that losses were concentrated in rare species. In addition, losses linked to specific habitats were identified, with a 55% decline among species associated with uplands. This contrasts with dominant crop pollinators, which increased by 12%, potentially in response agri-environment measures. The general declines highlight a fundamental deterioration in both wider biodiversity and non-crop pollination services.

Item Type: Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08974-9
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas: Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN: 2041-1723
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.: Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords: biodiversity, ecological modelling, ecosystem services, macroecology
NORA Subject Terms: Ecology and Environment
Agriculture and Soil Science
Data and Information
Date made live: 28 Mar 2019 12:08 +0 (UTC)
URI: https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/522697

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