As the planet warms and droughts grow longer and more frequent, as predicted by climate scientists, bees are likely to find fewer flowers to get nectar.

When researchers at the University of Exeter and the University of Manchester analyzed the impact of droughts on flower blooms, they found drought conditions halved the number of flowers available to pollinators.

"The plants we examined responded to drought in various ways, from producing fewer flowers to producing flowers that contained no nectar," Exeter ecologist Ben Phillips said in a news release. "But overall there was a very clear reduction in the number of flowers that were available -- and obviously this means less food for flower-visiting insects such as bees."

As a wealth of research has shown, bees are facing a deadly combination of threats, including exposure to pesticides, invasive species and disease.

Bees provide essential ecological services, including the pollination of crops and native plants. They also provide food for a variety of birds and mammals.

Scientists tracked three flower varieties in a meadow -- vetchling, common sainfoin and selfheal. The team of researchers used transparent rain shields to replicate severe drought conditions.

"The level of drought that we looked at was calculated to be a rare event, but with climate change such droughts are expected to become much more common," said lead researcher Ellen Fry, an ecologist at the University of Manchester.

One recent study found climate change could leave as much as a quarter of the planet's landmass in permanent drought.

While the most recent experiment was conducted on chalk grasslands, an ecosystem found in Europe, researchers believe their findings -- published Friday in the journal Global Change Biology -- are broadly applicable.

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Dead tress across Mongolian lava field offer clues to past droughts
Tucson AZ (SPX) Mar 19, 2018
The extreme wet and dry periods Mongolia has experienced in the late 20th and early 21st centuries are rare but not unprecedented and future droughts may be no worse, according to an international research team that includes a University of Arizona scientist. The research team developed a climate record stretching 2,060 years into Mongolia's past by using the natural archive of weather conditions stored in the annual rings of Siberian pines. The 10 researchers then combined that information on pas ... read more