Nature's architects: Examining the indispensable role of bees in ecosystem functioning
Nature’s Caretakers: Where would we be without bees?
Pollinators are regarded by most environmentalists as the quiet specialists orchestrating ecological harmony, performing a critical function in the complex web of life on our planet. They can encompass birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and perhaps most importantly: bees. Bees pollinate wild trees and plants which support other insects, thus supporting birds, bats, mammals and everything upwards in the food chain.
Within ecosystems, bees are often hailed as “keystone species”—an organism that acts like glue holding nature’s design together. Without keystone species like bees, many ecosystems would suffer or not be able to adapt to change. However, bees are not just essential as keystone species. They also provide myriad other ecosystem services (defined as any benefit that wildlife or ecosystems supply to people, direct or indirect, small or large). With World Bee Day approaching on 20th May, this article simply asks: just how important are bees?
Pollination: A Fundamental Ecological Transaction
As mentioned, pollination is a critical aspect of the healthy ecosystems that sustain myriad forms of life. Pollination is an essential mechanism of plant reproduction, where the transfer of pollen between flowers leads to fertilisation, seed development and fruit production. Pollinators such as bees inadvertently collect pollen grains while foraging among flowers and then deposit them onto the stigma of other flowers, facilitating reproduction. Bee experts at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations have estimated that a colossal one-third of global food production depends on bees for their pollination activities, facilitating numerous crops to reproduce.
Moreover, bees provide countless food products, including honey, royal jelly and pollen, alongside other useful products such as beeswax, propolis and honey bee venom. In addition, beekeeping provides a critical source of revenue for traditional rural livelihoods; according to IPBES, the western honey bee is the most managed pollinator worldwide with more than 80 million hives producing around 1.6 million tonnes of honey annually. However, the ramifications of this extend far beyond floral reproductive success. According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 75% of the world's leading food crops depend on animal-mediated pollination, with bees as primary contributors. This interdependence underscores the profound implications of bee activity on agricultural productivity and global food security.
Case study: Over 200 native species of stingless bees pollinate around 90% of the trees making up the Atlantic Forest.
2. Guardians of Biodiversity
Bees are considered by many conservationists to be biodiversity caretakers due to their ability to:
Provide pollination services
Support plant genetic diversity through foraging
Underpin ecosystem stability
Contribute towards food security
Indicate environmental health
Bees are considered by many to be “ecosystem engineers” (for example, termites, earthworms, or beavers), a term that often overlooks pollinators due to their nonphysical transformations of habitats used by mixed wildlife. However, according to some studies, the pollination activities of bees can assist other species with their habitats, underlining their role as nature’s caretakers.
Case studies (Source: Khan):
i. Bee pollination can lead to the formation of dry fruits that later function as shelters for various organisms.
ii. Ground-nesting bees alter soil composition through instruments such as aeration and bioturbation.
3. Ecosystem Services: A Holistic Perspective
In addition to pollination, bees facilitate an additional spectrum of ecosystem services (the various benefits humans derive from healthy ecosystems) essential for human well-being and ecological balance. Agricultural productivity would be limited without them, mitigating the use of chemical interventions through their natural pest control mechanisms. Furthermore, bees are integral in the processes of nutrient cycling and maintaining soil fertility, augmenting the productivity of terrestrial ecosystems. Lastly, their nesting behaviours encourage habitat heterogeneity, providing refuge for many organisms within ecological communities that improve our ecosystems. Below is a short set of examples of additional ecosystem services provided by bees:
Carbon sequestration qualities: As pollinators of trees and plants, bees strongly influence the growth and productivity of vegetation, which, in turn, contributes towards pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is a critical undertaking in the adaptation to (already occurring) changes in climate.
Bees are also vital in grassland ecosystems—a typically overlooked wildlife habitat composed of sophisticated grasses, wildflowers and flowering shrubs. Without the diligence of bees, flowering plants would cease to reproduce at their optimal rate and eventually perish. Thus, the richness of these habitats would slowly degrade as their deep (up to 15 feet) roots would struggle to reestablish themselves.
Medicinal resources: Numerous plants pollinated by bees have medicinal properties, providing a potential source of natural remedies for various human diseases. Moreover, they have been linked with enhancing mental health, for example through their upkeep of green spaces and biocultural topographies that facilitate psychological wellness.
Erosion control: The pollinating activities of bees inadvertently contribute towards establishing and maintaining vegetation cover, ultimately preventing soil erosion and degradation. In particular, some ground‐nesting species of bees alter soil consistency directly by tunnelling and indirectly by contributing to soil quality and its functions.
87% of all flowering plants need pollinators; in their absence, their soil would lose all the ecosystem services provided by the plants through leaf litter, shade, roots for habitats and erosion control.
In addition, some researchers believe bees are critical for achieving sustainable development through their ability to improve crop yield, enhance nutritional value, maximise the quality and shelf life of food (reducing waste), contribute to biofuels, and strengthen our connection to nature (among many more - potentially 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the United Nations call to action to fight poverty and inequality, safeguard the planet and confirm all people have equal access to health, justice and prosperity) and at least 30 SDG targets. Moreover, by underpinning the biodiversity of ecosystems and the nurturing services they provide, bees engender resilience in the face of environmental unpredictability.
4. Keystone Species: Unravelling the Bee Effect
As mentioned above, bees are often considered “keystone species”—organisms that can assist in defining entire ecosystems. In the absence of these keystone specialists, ecosystems would be radically different or even fall apart. Previous 9Trees research outlined how moths and butterflies can act as biodiversity indicators (or simply, bioindicators). With massive insect decline reported across Europe, certain species can be used as indicators of overall ecosystem health, with bees a vital example of this (see Table 1 below).
Table 1: Main bioindicator features. Source: Durazzo et al, 2021.
In many ecological contexts, bees act as keystone species, exerting disproportionate influences on ecosystem dynamics relative to their numerical abundance. The ramifications of their presence or absence resonate across trophic levels—a step in a food chain or an ecosystem—
manifesting as cascading effects throughout entire food webs. Notably, the decline of bee populations precipitates adverse consequences for wildflower communities and the myriad organisms reliant upon them. These insights underscore the pivotal role of bees in ecosystem stability and resilience, highlighting the urgency of conservation efforts to safeguard their numbers.
Plummeting bee populations have scientists on high alert globally
5. Challenges Confronting Bee Populations
Although ecologically significant as keystone species, bees (and other pollinators like butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds) are sadly confronted with a catalogue of anthropogenic threats that threaten their numbers on a global scale. In the last decades, bee populations have been gradually and steadily declining worldwide, alarming conservationists globally. The human-induced threats include:
Habitat degradation and fragmentation (driven primarily by land-use changes such as intensive farming) encroach upon critical nesting sites and foraging habitats coupled with warming temperatures. These factors pose a substantial threat to a multitude of plants and crops relied upon by humans.
Air pollution involves the use of agrochemicals, particularly neonicotinoid pesticides that pose substantial risks to bee health and vitality, undermining crucial ecological functions. Initial research shows that air pollutants negatively interact with scent molecules discharged by plants that bees rely on to locate food. These confused sensory signals impede their ability to forage effectively, detrimentally affecting the efficacy of their pollination. Ultimately, this starts a chain reaction of ecological trauma that can affect us all.
Despite many bee species being robust creatures in terms of increasing temperatures, climate warming and changes in weather patterns may disrupt the temporal harmony between bees and floral resources in future. Specialised bee species that rely on specific plants could face greater challenges if their phenologies become out of sync. These bees might struggle to find the specific plants they need if those plants' flowering times shift differently than the bees' activity periods.
Most pollinator species are technically “wild”. However, including more than 20,000 species of bees, mass breeding and large-scale transportation of pollinators can present risks for spreading and transmitting pests and pathogens. According to this IPBES report, more robust regulation of their trade can mitigate the risk of inadvertent harm.
Towards Sustainable Conservation Strategies
To address the critical situation bees are already beginning to face, a comprehensive arsenal of conservation measures must be implemented. These should primarily target the drivers of declining population numbers, such as habitat restoration and the adoption of less harmful pest management practices (such as integrated pest management (IPM) to reduce chemical pesticides combined with the beneficial properties of agroforestry practices). However, a large driver and effective strategy for change is the dissemination of greater awareness and community engagement. In turn, this can put pressure on governments and their policies, stimulating a paradigm shift in consciousness that can spread from local, regional, national and global levels. Therefore, bees must be elevated to the forefront of public consciousness—an approach embodied by World Bee Day.
World Bee Day is a chance to reaffirm the importance of bees for healthy ecosystems
World Bee Day: Championing the Essential Function of Pollinators in Global Ecosystems
World Bee Day is a consequential event, supplying an international platform to underline the considerable contributions of bees and other pollinators for the sustained functioning of healthy and balanced ecosystems. The celebration was launched by the United Nations in 2018 as an annual observance and reminder of the complex interdependence between pollinators, biodiversity and the well-being of humans. On May 20th annually, World Bee Day stimulates an international network of environmentalists, conservationists, scientists, groups, policymakers, beekeepers and citizens from all backgrounds to promote actions for the protection of pollinators. Through a broad spectrum of events, campaigns and projects, World Bee Day seeks to enhance recognition of the fundamental role of pollinators in the functioning of ecosystems, agricultural productivity and food security.
Through specific conservation efforts, policy interventions and community engagement, stakeholders can work together to mitigate the detrimental effects of habitat loss, reduce pesticide use and mitigate its damage, improve wildlife habitats and promote sustainable practices in land management. World Bee Day catalyses public cognisance, inspiring action and advocating for the integration of pollinator conservation into broader environmental agendas. According to the UN Environment Programme, the following are some small actions that you can personally take to contribute towards protecting bees and other pollinators:
Plant nectar-producing flowers such as marigolds or sunflowers for decorative purposes on balconies, terraces and gardens
Buy honey and other hive products from your nearest local beekeeper, paying attention to their source (the less travelled, the better)
Raise awareness among youth on the significance of bees and express support for beekeepers
Install a pollinator farm within a balcony, terrace or garden
Preserve old meadows (which feature a more diverse array of flowers) and sow nectar-producing plants
Cut grass on meadows only after the nectar-producing plants have finished blooming
Use pesticides that do not harm bees. Spray them in windless weather, either early in the morning or late at night, at a time when bees withdraw from blossoms
Quiet Specialists in Pollination and Ecosystem Balance
Bees are essential for the health and functioning of ecosystems, serving as keystone species for balanced biodiversity and ecological stability. Their pollination activities underpin agricultural productivity and global food security and contribute (directly and indirectly) to soil health, carbon sequestration and habitat diversity. As World Bee Day approaches, it is significant to recognise the critical role of bees and advocate for their conservation. Through targeted efforts in habitat restoration, sustainable agricultural practices and increased public awareness, the essential work of bees can be protected and supported for the continued balance and resilience of our ecosystems.
Further Reading:
The importance of diverse forests for bee habitats
By Neil Insh - Researcher