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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI'r really upset-
I don't know who sprayed what, but I have not seen any other pollinators (Beside one Sulfur and one monarch ) in TWO WEEKS!
CFL
Think. Again.
(16,627 posts)Polinator decline is merely a bellwether for overall species diversity decline, which in turn creates broken systems throughout our planet's ecology, eventually leading to a complete system stoppage.
Here's a good short article on a paper focused on the importance of the abundance of biodiversity that we are losing:
Princeton research shows how the decline in pollinators can ripple across ecosystems
https://www.princeton.edu/news/2022/08/08/how-decline-pollinators-ripples-across-entire-ecosystems
As pollinators like honeybees and butterflies decline worldwide, their loss is rippling out across entire ecosystems, report a Princeton-led team of researchers in the journal Nature. They found that when plants have to compete to woo pollinators, it poses a significant threat to biodiversity.
Our study identifies an unexpected and insidious way in which the loss of some species in an ecological network can trigger the loss of still others, said senior author Jonathan Levine, a Princeton University professor and the chair of ecology and evolutionary biology. It suggests that ongoing pollinator decline may unravel the very fabric that keeps plant diversity stable.
He and his colleagues found that a reduced number and variety of pollinators changes the competitive playing field in favor of plants that are better at competing for pollinators. This can in turn negatively affect the organisms that depend on whatever plants are lost. These ripple effects could be devastating for ecosystem health.
-snip-
Link to the original paper:
Competition for pollinators destabilizes plant coexistence
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04973-x
Conjuay
(1,957 posts)I have several native plants that always show activity (snow square stem for one) and there is zero bug activity around it.
While I understand that there is a general decline, I am seeing zero activity.
I'm really upset and extremely concerned.
Think. Again.
(16,627 posts)...I suspect the ecological breakdown is going to happen like that, many chaotic, unexpected occurences that don't seem to tie together, happening sporadically but at an increasing rate.
codfisherman
(89 posts)Between the borage, calendula, comfrey, yarrow, dill, fennel, sweet williams, and the carrots, parsnips, turnips, cabbage, and brocolli I let flower; I have a very busy pollinator yard. Even with three outdoor cats, my yard has maybe 20 resident bird species, plus lotsa lizards, frogs, toads, and garden snakes. Build it and they will come.