Tag Archives: flowers

Climate Change & Anthropocene Extinction 39: Warming also causes spatial mismatch interacting species

Climate change can cause a ‘temporal mismatch’ between interacting species, we learned in our previous article. Here’s a short appendix to that piece, illustrating how simultaneously also a spatial mismatch can develop – further promoting population declines and biodiversity loss, … Continue reading →

Climate Change & Holocene-Anthropocene Mass Extinction 2: Biodiversity graph shows Garden of Eden is Now

Yesterday we tried to place the Holocene-Anthropocene Mass Extinction in the context of Earth’s past mass extinctions. Listing the Holocene Extinction as the ‘Sixth Mass Extinction’ proves problematic for various reasons. Today we offer additional context: although a mass extinction … Continue reading →

Earlier spring snowmelt decreases flowers, hurts butterflies

Mormon Fritillary butterfly on aspen daisy spring flower

A Mormon Fritillary butterfly feeding on an aspen fleabane daisy, a main nectar source. Credit: Carol Boggs, Stanford University

Early snowmelt caused by climate change in the Colorado Rocky Mountains snowballs into two chains of events: a decrease in the number of flowers, which, in turn, decreases available nectar. The result is decline in a population of the Mormon Fritillary butterfly, Speyeria mormonia.

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Flower biodiversity linked to CCD – bees on fast food are unhealthy, susceptible to pests

Just recently Colony Collapse Disorder was back in the news. Swiss scientists conducted an experiment to look into claims (even) cell phones may have something to do with CCD. They concluded bees don´t like the buzz. Most specialists however agree … Continue reading →