Pollinator Conservation (ENVS 6452*03), Winter 2016
Declines in pollinating insects have been recorded worldwide, introducing concerns
for the sustained delivery of pollination services to both crops and wild plants. A
number of potential drivers of these declines have been highlighted, including the
spread of diseases or loss of habitat, but a major driver has been the intensification
of agriculture over the last 100 years. In the face of rapid human population growth,
demands for crop pollination are only likely to increase making it essential to
mitigate and reverse causes of pollinator declines to ensure long-term stability of
food production and maintenance of biodiverse wild plant communities. In this
course students will explore the ecology of pollination with an emphasis on the
roles played by animals in pollen movement. Students will critically examine
hypothesised drivers of regional, national and global pollinator declines, and the
range of potential strategies suggested to mitigate or reverse these declines. Such
interventions would include changes in land use practice such as establishment of
wild flower strips on field margins or along highway borders, or policy
interventions such as the current European moratorium on neonicotinoid
insecticide usage. Students will examine the efficacy of a wide range of pollinator
conservation strategies in different geographical, ecological and economic contexts
to help them build an understanding of the available toolbox for conservation.