Brussels; 20 April 2015

What are the main threats to European bees?

Stuart Roberts Visiting Research Fellow, University of Reading, UK

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Identified Threats to European Bees

Brussels; 20 April 2015

3

Identified threats to European wild bees

• Lack of available expertise • Changing agricultural practices and

increased farming • Urban and infrastructure development

(including expanding recreational development) affect habitats negatively

• Climate change is another important driver of increased extinction risk for many species of wild bees

• The increased frequency and intensity of fires in the Mediterranean Basin

Nigel Jones

Grainne Farrington

Brussels; 20 April 2015

Nigel Jones

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Shortage of available expertise

www.chesterchronicle.co.uk

• Alpha-taxonomists • Para-taxonomists Presentation by Dr. Denis Michez

Stuart Roberts Ellen Lambourn

Brussels; 20 April 2015

5

Changing agricultural practices This includes all aspects of intensification such as: • Increased Nitrogen deposition • Removal of hedgerows • Drainage • Application of pesticides and

herbicides • Shifting harvesting patterns • New crops • Inappropriate stocking densities • Many species are affected (eg

Melitta tricincta).

Deepa Senapathi

Brussels; 20 April 2015

Nico Vereecken

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Urban and infrastructure development • Expansion of towns and cities • Rail and road development • Port infrastructure expansion • Widespread development of tourist

and leisure infrastructure • Coastal resorts • Golf courses • Ski facilities

• Species affected include Osmia balearica and O. uncicornis

2006 1811

Bernhard Jacobi

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey

Brussels; 20 April 2015

www.unique-almeria.com

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Changing Climate • Particularly important for bumblebees (eg

Bombus polaris). • Alpine and Boreal species will be

particularly affected as the area of suitable climate decreases (eg Osmia steinmanni).

• Climate change is also likely to affect sea levels, and strictly coastal species with restricted ranges (eg Colletes halophilus and Osmia maritima) will come under pressure.

Krister Hall Nico Vereecken S. Lithner

Brussels; 20 April 2015 Climatic Risk and Distribution Atlas of European Bumblebees, Rasmont et al; 2015

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Fire • There is an increased frequency and

intensity of fires in the Mediterranean biome

• Threatens many bee species, including a whole suite (many of which are Data Deficient) associated with the typical dry phryganic shrublands (eg Dufourea wolfi).

Karen Nicols

Karen Nicols

Brussels; 20 April 2015

NASA imageC

Nikitas Kotsiaris / EPA

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Summary • Threats vary between species and

between regions • They may also vary over different time

scales • Beware of assuming that factors

affecting honeybees affect other species or, worse, all species

• Multifactorial

• There is no single smoking gun

Stuart Roberts

Brussels; 20 April 2015

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A collaborative effort by:

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Acknowledgements

• Funders • Project coordinators: Simon Potts, Koos Biesmeijer (STEP); Ana Nieto

(IUCN) • Bee assessors * • Reviewers and national champions Petr Bogusch*, Maria Bouga, Ralph Buechler, Eliza Cauia, David Baldock, Björn Cederberg*, Cecilia Costa, Karl Crailsheim, Holger Dathe*, Pilar De la Rúa, Thibaut De Meulemeester*, Manuel Dehon, Alexandre Dewulf, Paolo Fontana, David Genoud, Peter Kozmus, Per Kryger, Michael Kuhlmann*, Patrick Lhomme, Marina Meixner, Denis Michez*, Peter Neumann, Francisco Javier Ortiz-Sánchez*, Alain Pauly*, Robert Paxton, Theodora Petanidou, Alice Pinto, Christophe Praz, Marino Quaranta*, Vladimir Radchenko*, Pierre Rasmont*, Stuart Roberts*, Erwin Scheuchl, Adrian Siceanu, Jan Smit*, Jakub Straka*, Maximilian Schwarz, Michael Terzo*, Bogdan Tomozii*, Paul Williams

Brussels; 20 April 2015

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www.iucnredlist.org

Thank you