Climate change impacting relationship between bees and flowers

While some may want to write off climate change as a myth, there are real world concerns that bear further consideration including a current development involving bees and flowers.

The findings of ecologists Michael Stemkovski of Utah State University and Rebecca Irwin of North Carolina State University completed a community assessment of 67 bee species and have discovered a phenological mismatch, the National Science Foundation (NSF) reported. The changing of the life cycles has led to far-reaching concerns it could have a disruptive impact on the relationship between the two.

The current study focused not only on temperature but topography and bee species traits. It was learned if bees began foraging later than flowers reached their peak, it threw off the natural relationship between the two.

"As climate change progresses, this comprehensive study has important implications for the persistence of both flowering plants and their pollinators," Diana Pilson, a program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology, said in the NSF press release.