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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Economic and ecological implications of geographic bias in pollinator ecology in the light of pollinator declines
Oikos, Volume 123, No. 4, Year 2014
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Description
Understanding the causes and consequences of pollinator declines is a priority in ecological research. However, across much of the globe we have a poor understanding of pollinator assemblages, population trends and the ecological and economic importance of particular pollinators, due to a marked geographic bias in research effort. Here, we show that almost half the data cited in thirteen recent meta-analyses, which ask important and diverse questions in pollination ecology, were collected in just five countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain and the USA. In contrast, the entire continent of Africa contributed only 4% of the data. We believe that the consequences of this geographic bias are severe. Foremost, pollinator assemblages (and possibly their sensitivity to ecological drivers) can greatly vary among these regions. In addition, many communities that rely on pollinators, bees in particular, for food security and wealth generation are in geographic regions where our understanding of pollination is poor. Collecting accurate information on pollinator populations in data deficient areas will allow us to identify vulnerable populations and species and so better target conservation measures. Moreover, it will help us to determine if our current understanding of pollinator losses, based on data collected in a few locations and on the species that predominate in those regions, is representative of the wide diversity of ecosystems. We propose means of collecting such data given socioeconomic constraints. © 2013 The Authors.
Authors & Co-Authors
Archer, Catharine Ruth
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Pirk, Christian W.W.
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Carvalheiro, Luísa Gigante
United Kingdom, Leeds
University of Leeds
Netherlands, Leiden
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Nicolson, Susan Wendy
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Statistics
Citations: 82
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00949.x
ISSN:
00301299
e-ISSN:
16000706
Research Areas
Food Security
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study