Effects of Climate Change on Pollinator Populations

Abstract

It has been established that pollinating agents are essential for survival and reproduction of several wild plant species (Kearns et al., 1998) and in the recent years, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of pollination, mostly by i nsects, in crop plants (Klein et al., 2007). The major pollinator dependent crops are fruit and vegetable crops, spices and plantation crops and pulses and oilseed crops. It has been estimated that the total annual economic value of crop pollination worldwide is about € 153 billion (Gallai et al., 2009). Klein et al. (2007) found that 87 of the world’s leading food crops depend upon animal pollination, representing 35 pe rcent of global food production. The area covered by pollinator-dependent crops has increased by more than 300 percent during the past 50 years (Aizen et al. 2008; Aizen and Harder 2009). Losey and Vaughan (2006) also emphasized that flower-visiting insects provide an important ecosystem function to global crop production through their pollination services. The rapid spread of human habitation is affecting the available natural habitats through urbanization and other land-use practices, putting pressure on ecosystem services delivered by wild pollinators. At the same time, the demand for pollination in agricultural production will have to keep pace to sustain food production.