Birds do a lot for usbeyond being easy on the eyes, their assistance in the pollination process helps ensure that we humans have enough food to eat. But more pollinating insects, birds, and other animals are going extinct today than ever before, according to a report released last week by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an international conservation task force. And without immediate action to protect those species, it warns, the global food supply could be decimated.
About 16.5 percent of bird and mammal pollinators (that includes bats, marsupials, monkeys, lemurs and rodents) are currently threatened with extinction, while more than 40 percent of pollinating insectsespecially bees and butterfliesare similarly threatened, according to the task force of about 80 experts, which met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to release the report.
Birds do a lot for usbeyond being easy on the eyes, their assistance in the pollination process helps ensure that we humans have enough food to eat. But more pollinating insects, birds, and other animals are going extinct today than ever before, according to a report released last week by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an international conservation task force. And without immediate action to protect those species, it warns, the global food supply could be decimated.
Worldwide, there are about 2,000 species of pollinating birds, according to the U.S. Forest Service, including honeycreepers, honeyeaters, sunbirds, and some parrots. The birds help fertilize plants in the same way as any other pollinatorby transferring pollen (via their bills) from one flower to another as they flit between plants feeding on nectar. Bird pollination mainly occurs in tropical regions, where they help pollinate a few food crops, including bananas, papaya and nutmeg.
While somber in its predictions, the researchers behind the IPBES report are hopeful it will compel people to help pollinators. Already, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture are working on a White House mandate to better protect the health of pollinators, including monitoring pollinator populations, restoring their natural habitat and protecting them from pesticides. Individuals can also help boost pollinator populations by planting flowers that attract pollinators and being cautious when using pesticides.
About 16. The task force of about 80 experts met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to release the report. They found that 5 percent of bird and mammal pollinatorsthat is, bats, marsupials, monkeys, lemurs, and rodentsare currently threatened with extinction, while over 40 percent of pollinating insectsespecially bees and butterfliesare similarly threatened.
The loss of these creatures would have a reverberating effect on the Earths plant lifeanimals pollinate nearly 90 percent of the worlds plants and at least 75 percent of food crops, according to IPBES. Crops used for biofuels, fibers, craft and construction materials, medicine, and livestock feed are also dependent on pollinators to successfully reproduce.
Hummingbirds are drawn to red and have excellent eyesight. They withdrew their faces covered in pollen as they pressed their long, thin bills deep into the flowers to extract nectar.
The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only species of hummingbird found in the eastern United States. Twelve different species of hummingbirds can be found in the southwestern states for birdwatchers.
The Forest Service and Pollinator Partnership developed land managers guides to provide general information and native plant lists for regions of the United States. While the guides were intended for use by restoration managers, the concepts and planting recommendations apply to anyone who wishes to improve habitat for hummingbirds.
Birds are very important pollinators of wildflowers throughout the world. Hummingbirds are essential to the pollination of wildflowers in the continental United States. Honeyeaters in Australia and honeycreepers in Hawaii are significant pollinators in other regions. Furthermore, sunbirds in the Old World tropics and brush-tongued parrots in New Guinea act as tropical pollen vectors.
The white wing dove is also an important pollinator. According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the doves synchronize their migration into the Sonoran Desert with the reproductive cycle of saguaro cactus. White-winged doves are important to saguaros as pollinators but they are also the main seed predators of saguaros. This is an interesting ecological balance.