氣候變化導(dǎo)致世界各地的蜜蜂消失

氣候變化導(dǎo)致世界各地的蜜蜂消失

You might not pay much mind to a bumblebee if you see one as you go about your day. They rarely have any interest in humans and are typically content to clumsily flutter between flowers and do their own thing. But if you think you’ve been seeing less of them lately, that’s because they’re disappearing at an incredibly alarming rate.

如果你在日常生活中看到一只大黃蜂，你可能不會太在意。它們很少對人類感興趣，通常滿足于笨拙地在花叢中飛舞，做自己的事情。但如果你認(rèn)為你最近看到的越來越少，那是因為它們正以驚人的速度消失。

New research published in Science suggests that climate change is causing bumblebees across North America and Europe to disappear at a rate far greater than had previously been feared. The insects, which are vital pollinators and a crucial cog in the wheel that drives the world as we know it, are in trouble.

發(fā)表在《科學(xué)》(Science)雜志上的一項新研究表明，氣候變化正導(dǎo)致北美和歐洲大黃蜂的消失，其消失速度遠(yuǎn)超人們此前的擔(dān)憂。昆蟲是重要的傳粉者，是驅(qū)動我們所知的世界的輪子上的一個重要齒輪。

As BBC reports, the research draws a bold link between the progress of climate change and the rapid change in the number of bumblebees in Europe and North America.

據(jù)BBC報道，這項研究大膽地將氣候變化的進(jìn)展與歐洲和北美大黃蜂數(shù)量的快速變化聯(lián)系起來。

The researchers compared bumblebee surveys and studies dating as far back as 1901 with more recent research up to 2014. What they discovered was that while bumblebee populations appeared stable for a long time, a huge drop in the numbers began in the year 2000 and continued through to the most recent data available. In fact, the population is estimated to have dropped by over 30 percent compared to what it was in 1974 and prior.

研究人員將1901年的大黃蜂調(diào)查和研究與2014年的最新研究進(jìn)行了比較。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，雖然大黃蜂的數(shù)量在很長一段時間內(nèi)都保持穩(wěn)定，但從2000年開始，大黃蜂的數(shù)量開始大幅下降，并一直持續(xù)到最近的數(shù)據(jù)。事實上，據(jù)估計，與1974年及之前相比，人口下降了30%以上。

“The new study adds to a growing body of evidence for alarming, widespread losses of biodiversity and for rates of global change that now exceed the critical limits of ecosystem resilience,” the study says.

該研究稱:“越來越多的證據(jù)表明，生物多樣性的大規(guī)模喪失令人擔(dān)憂，全球變化的速度現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)超過了生態(tài)系統(tǒng)恢復(fù)能力的臨界極限，這項新研究為這些證據(jù)提供了新的證據(jù)。”

Going forward, limiting the use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals might not be enough to keep the important pollinators like bumblebees around. If we continue to lose these vital organisms at the current rate, we could see greater impacts on agriculture and the food chain in general far sooner than anyone would have guessed.

展望未來，限制殺蟲劑和其他有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)的使用可能不足以讓大黃蜂等重要的傳粉者繼續(xù)存在。如果我們繼續(xù)以目前的速度失去這些重要的生物體，我們就會看到農(nóng)業(yè)和整個食物鏈?zhǔn)艿礁蟮挠绊?，其速度之快是任何人都想不到的?/p>