What do you believe is the single most important factor driving up the cost of living in Nigeria?

At a tranquil nature reserve in South Michigan, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her collaborators connected olden wild bee sample collections and modern technology to better decode the ecological traits and habits of pollinators, critical links to environmental stability.

Kelsey Graham, an ARS Pollinating Insect Research Unit scientist, co-led the collaborative, intensive wild bee study at the University of Michigan's E.S. George Reserve with a sampling period covering 1921 to 2018, which in tandem with advanced computer analyses, revealed long-term bee population trends that may hold the keys to new and enhanced conservation approaches.

"These studies point to clear indicators of an urgent need for diligent and consistent conservation efforts to protect bee diversity, which is crucial for our ecosystem health, human health and agricultural productivity," Graham said.

"In 1972 and 1973, the late zoologist Francis C. Evans detected 135 bee species, compared to our recent surveys in 2017 and 2018, which recorded only 90 species, with just 58 species present in both sampling periods," Graham noted. "These samplings indicate a substantial shift in the bee community composition."

• Read More