BIOLOGY CURRENT EVENTS # 1-54 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Who wrote " Leicester study investigates pollution effect on bees " Amy Phipps Who investigated a possible link between air pollution and the declining population of bees? Researches at the University of Leicester What did the study of air pollution look at? black carbon pollution effected the balance of bacteria in bees' guts What did the study on black carbon pollution find? It found there was a significant change in beneficial bacteria that are vital to their health Who warned this could have detrimental effects on lots of different ecosystems Dr Hannah Sampson A study in ____ found a ____ of British wild bees populations were in decline. 2019, 1/3 ( third ) What is Dr Hannah Sampson part of at the university? Who leads this group? Dr Sampson, part of the university's air pollution bacteria team led by Prof Julie Morrissey What did Julie Morrissey say.... We know that pollution is a massive issue globally and we know that bee decline seems to be increasing over the last few years. Maybe they're linked, as bees are constantly exposed to these pollution particulates in the air What does the bees have delicate? a gut microbiome, it has co-evolved with bee species over millions of years What did researchers at the University of Leicester investigate? if this bacteria was effected by air pollution, they tested live bees before and after exposure to black carbon pollution What was found after the research at the University of Leicester? A significant change was found in the abundance of two beneficial bacteria that are vital to the health of the bee gut microbiome ( the collection of microbes inside their bodies ) What did Dr Sampson grow? an important bacteria called Snodgrassella alvi to test in the same way What was found after Dr Sampson's research on Snodgrassella alvi? She found exposure to black carbon changed the structure and formation of the bacteria's biofilm What did Dr. Sampson say concluding the research on bees? More research needs to take place as air pollution is having a much greater impact than we think. Air pollution affects microbial communities. Changes to these important communities could have detrimental effects on lots of different ecosystems that affect bees and also directly affect humans. Who wrote " Car pollution stops bees finding flowers - researchers " David Gregory-Kumar Who investigated the effect of car pollution on bees finding flowers? University of Birmingham What did the University of Birmingham investigate? Pollution from cars is destroying the ability of bees to find flowers How does car pollution affect a bees ability to find flowers? Higher levels of ozone reduce the distance a flowers scent spreads and in turn attracts fewer bees. A studies in the field found the number of visits being made to flowers by bees fell by half because of pollution Who was the Professor in the University of Birmingham experiment? Prof Christian Pfrang What did researchers in University of Birmingham conduct an experiment in? a huge wind tunnel What is the team at the University of Birmingham comprised of? UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the Universities of Birmingham, Reading, Surrey and Southern Queensland What did the team at the University of Birmingham stimulate? scent given off by a flower and measured how far it travelled in various levels of pollution What did the University of Birmingham discover after conducting their experiment? As the ozone levels increase, the spread of the plume collapses as the ozone interferes with the chemistry of the scent from the flower What did Prof Pfrang say? Our study provides robust evidence that the changes due to ground-level ozone on floral scent cause pollinators to struggle to carry out their crucial role in the natural environment, also with implications for food security. The straightforward solution is to reduce pollution, to reduce levels of air pollutant such as ozones and diesel exhaust What do bees use to identify plants? What are these parts designed to do? volatile organic compounds (VOCs), designed to lead pollinators to the flower without filling the air completely and overwhelming them What was found about the bees VOC the chemistry is vulnerable to disruption from pollution, much more than what was originally thought Who wrote " Bees: Many British pollinating insects in decline, study shows " Helen Briggs What did the study in Britain focus on? A third of British wild bees and hoverflies are in decline, according to a new study. Are there winners and losers in amoung wild bees? yes biodiversity is being lost What do scientists warn the loss of nature could do? create problems in years to come, including the ability to grow food crops What did the study in Britain look at? trends in 353 wild bees and hoverflies in Scotland, England and Wales over 33 years from 1980 What was found from the studies in Britain? third of species experienced declines in terms of areas where they were found, while about 10% became more abundant, including bees that pollinate flowering crops, such as oil seed rape While some pollination is carried out by honeybees in hives, much of the pollination of food crops and wild plants is carried out by.... wild relatives and other insects, especially hoverflies Who said " while the increase in key crop pollinators is "good news", species have declined overall. It would be risky to rely on this group to support the long-term food security for our country," he said. If anything happens to them in the future, there will be fewer other species to step up and fulfil the essential role of crop pollination. Dr Gary Powney of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) in Wallingford, Oxfordshire What were the main losses conducted of? rarer specialized species Who are the losers in the environment? solitary bees, which live in burrows in the ground, and upland bees, living on mountains and moorlands Who are the winners in the environment? 22 of the most important crop pollinators What did Dr Lynn Dicks of the University of East Anglia say Every square kilometre in the UK has lost an average of 11 species of bee and hoverfly, between 1980 and 2013, according to the new analysis