United Kingdom
June 29, 2010
The University of Reading has been awarded £1.1m to help identify the main threats to bees and other insect pollinators and how to reverse a decline in their numbers.
Dr Simon G. Potts, Principal Research Fellow in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, will be working with colleagues at other institutions across the country on the Insect Pollinators Initiative.
Pollinators, including honey and bumble bees, butterflies and moths, play an essential role in putting foods on our tables through the pollination of many vital crops. These insects are susceptible to a variety of environmental threats including loss of natural habitats, misuse of pesticides, diseases and climate change.
Dr Potts will be involved with the three of the projects - ‘Sustainable pollination services for UK crops', ‘Linking agriculture and land use change to pollinator populations' and ‘Urban pollinators: ecology and conservation'.
He said: "The University is delighted to be working on this vital research initiative. Pollination by insects is vital for agricultural production and maintenance of biodiversity - 80% of British wild flowers and 84% of EU crops depend on insect pollinators, mainly bees. Given that the value of insect pollinators to UK agriculture is estimated to be worth more than £430m per year, this research will make an important contribution to our food security."
The projects will address three critical questions to ensure pollinators and pollinations services are safeguarded now and in the future:
- How dependent on pollinators are our UK crops and how can we guarantee there is no shortfall in pollination services?
- What changes in our British landscapes are responsible for the loss of pollinators and what can we do make sure there is plenty of bee-friendly habitat available in the future?
- Which urban environments are important for pollinators and how can we make our cities better places for pollinators?
The three projects draw upon the world-leading expertise at the University of Reading and the project partners: University of Leeds, University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh, the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
The funding has been made available under the Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership. This is a joint initiative from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Defra, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Wellcome Trust and the Scottish Government.
Topics
Species
