Stung by success: Intensive farming may suppress pollin...( natural community said Kremen. O...)

One interesting finding, said Kremen, was that the mix of native bees providing the pollination was very different in the two years of the study. In one year, a few strong pollinators accounted for most of it, while in the other, many species contributed.

"That says something about the need for long-term studies and also argues for the need to maintain diversity," said Kremen.

The research fits into a broader question that Kremen and others are studying regarding the relation between biodiversity and what ecologists call "ecosystem services," the economic benefits that natural systems provide to people but that are not normally accounted for in the marketplace. Scientists need carefully collected data to quantify the value of biodiversity, Kremen said.

Stanford University ecologist Gretchen Daily, an authority on ecosystem services, praised Kremen's study for highlighting society's dependence on nature. "Her work shows how risky many current farming practices are and how conservation investments in habitat for pollinators could help insure farmers and society against economic losses," Daily said.

Kremen is now working on follow-up studies to determine what parts of the natural landscape are critical for native bees and what parts of the man-made agricultural landscape also may support native bees.

"Ultimately, we should be able to come up with a plan for restoring this natural service across the agro-natural landscape," she said.

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Contact: sschultz@princeton.edu
sschultz@princeton.edu
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Princeton University
9-Dec-2002