Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation
2015
Kleijn, David | Winfree, Rachael | Bartomeus, Ignasi | Carvalheira, Luisa G. | Henry, Mickaël | Isaacs, Rufus | Klein, Alexandra-Maria | Kremen, Claire | M'Gonigle, Leithen | Rader, Romina | Ricketts, Taylor H. | Williams, Neal M. | Adamson, Nancy Lee | Ascher, John S. | Baldi, Andras | Batáry, Péter | Benjamin, Faye | Biesmeijer, Jacobus C. | Blitzer, Eleanor J. | Bommarco, Riccardo | Brand, Mariëtte R. | Bretagnolle, Vincent | Button, Lindsey | Cariveau, Daniel P. | Chifflet, Rémy | Colville, Jonathan F. | Danforth, Bryan N. | Elle, Elizabeth | Garratt, Michael P.D. | Herzog, Felix | Holzschuh, Andrea | Howlett, Brad G. | Jauker, Frank | Jha, Shalene | Knop, Eva | Krewenka, Kristin | Le Feon, Violette | Mandelik, Yael | May, Emily A. | Park, Mia G. | Pisanty, Gideon | Reemer, Menno | Riedinger, Verena | Rollin, Orianne | Rundlöf, Maj | Sardiñas, Hillary S. | Scheper, Jeroen | Sciligo, Amber R. | Smith, Henrik G. | Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf | Thorp, Robbin | Tscharntke, Teja | Verhulst, Jort | Viana, Blandina F. | Vaissière, Bernard | Veldtman, Ruan | Westphal, Catrin | Potts, Simon G. | Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR) | Resource Ecology Group ; Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR) | Rutgers University [Camden] ; Rutgers University System (Rutgers) | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas [España] = Spanish National Research Council [Spain] (CSIC) | School of Biology ; University of Leeds | Department of Terrestrial Zoology ; Naturalis Biodiversity Center [Leiden] | Abeilles et environnement (AE) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) | Department of Entomology ; University of Arkansas [Fayetteville] | Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg = University of Freiburg | Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management ; University of California (UC) | School of Environmental and Rural Science ; University of New England (UNE) | University of Vermont [Burlington] | University of California [Davis] (UC Davis) ; University of California (UC) | PO Box 20653 ; Partenaires INRAE | Department of Biological Sciences ; National University of Singapore (NUS) | MTA Centre for Ecological Research [Tihany] ; Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) | Georg-August-University of Göttingen = Georg-August-Universität Göttingen | Department of Entomology ; Michigan State University [East Lansing] ; Michigan State University System-Michigan State University System | Department of Ecology ; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences = Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) | Kirstenbosch Research Center ; National Botanical Institute | Stellenbosch University | South African Cultural History Museum of Cape Town | Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Department of Biological Sciences ; Dartmouth College [Hanover] | Plateforme Regionale d'Innovation "Agriculture Biologique et Périurbaine Durable" ; Partenaires INRAE | University of Reading (UOR) | Agroscope | Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter ; Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg = University of Würzburg [Würsburg, Germany] (JMU) | Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand (HortResearch) | Department of Animal Ecology ; Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen = Justus Liebig University (JLU) | University of Texas at Austin [Austin] | Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE) | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) | Naturalis Biodiversity Center [Leiden] | Institut de l'abeille (ITSAP) | Department of Biology ; Northern Arizona University [Flagstaff] | Center for Ecosystem Studies ; Partenaires INRAE | Skane University Hospital [Lund] | Department of Entomology and Nematology ; University of California [Davis] (UC Davis) ; University of California (UC)-University of California (UC) | Biology Institute ; University of Arizona
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many are easily enhanced by simple conservation measures, suggesting that cost-effective management strategies to promote crop pollination should target a different set of species than management strategies to promote threatened bees. Conserving the biological diversity of bees therefore requires more than just ecosystem-service-based arguments.
Show more [+] Less [-]Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Institut national de la recherche agronomique