[MCN] The city as a refuge for insect pollinators

[Lance Olsen]

Conservation Biology  February 2017

The city as a refuge for insect pollinators
Damon M. Hall et al

Abstract Open Access
  [bold emphasis added]
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12840/abstract

Research on urban insect pollinators is changing 
views on the biological value and ecological 
importance of cities. The abundance and diversity 
of native bee species in urban landscapes that 
are absent in nearby rural lands evidence the 
biological value and ecological importance of 
cities and have implications for biodiversity 
conservation. Lagging behind this revised image 
of the city are urban conservation programs that 
historically have invested in education and 
outreach rather than programs designed to achieve 
high-priority species conservation results. We 
synthesized research on urban bee species 
diversity and abundance to determine how urban 
conservation could be repositioned to better 
align with new views on the ecological importance 
of urban landscapes. Due to insect pollinators' 
relatively small functional requirements-habitat 
range, life cycle, and nesting behavior-relative 
to larger mammals, we argue that pollinators put 
high-priority and high-impact urban conservation 
within reach. In a rapidly urbanizing world, 
transforming how environmental managers view the 
city can improve citizen engagement and 
contribute to the development of more sustainable 
urbanization.
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"Direct effects of climatic warming can be 
understood through fatal decrements in an 
organism's performance in growth, reproduction, 
foraging, immune competence, behaviors and 
competitiveness. Performance in animals is 
supported by aerobic scope, the increase in 
oxygen consumption rate from resting to maximal 
(9). Performance falls below its optimum during 
cooling and warming. At both upper and lower 
pejus temperatures, performance decrements result 
as the limiting capacity for oxygen supply causes 
hypoxemia. Beyond low and high critical 
temperatures, only a passive, anaerobic existence 
is possible."

Portner and Farrell. Physiology and Climate Change. Science  October 31 2008
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"We are living on the surface of this planet Š 
and with its climate and atmosphere. It has 
always been the task of mankind to find the right 
answer to the problem these conditions set us, 
and even today we cannot think that we have found 
a sufficient answer." (p. 131)

Alfred Adler, quoted in The Individual Psychology 
of Alfred Adler, Heinz L. and Rowena R. 
Ansbacher, eds. 1956. Basic Books








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