Ecological pollinator conservation: How do we keep our native bee diversity humming?
Pollinators are declining at an unprecedented rate worldwide due to human-induced rapid environmental change. These declines pose a significant threat to our food supply and consequently, there has been major focus on the development and implementation of conservation strategies aimed to increase pollinator abundance in agricultural areas. However, the ecological needs of 98% of wild pollinator species are not considered in such strategies because they do not play a major role in crop pollination. Without these ‘keystone’ wild pollinator species, we would lose most of our native flowering plants and the animals that use them for food, shelter and nesting sites, eventually causing ecosystems to collapse. Please join Dr. Robert J. Gegear for a discussion on what you can do to help preserve our native pollinator diversity and assess the ecological ‘friendliness’ of pollinator habitat at any spatial scale.
Dr. Robert J. Gegear is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology and Biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the Director of the New England Bee-cology Project. Dr. Gegear’s current research focuses on pollinator neuroecology and conservation, with particular focus on bumblebees native to Massachusetts.
This free program is presented by the Carlisle Conservation Foundation and the Gleason Public Library.