- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
Small bees better at coping with warming, bumblebees struggle: study
Climate change could lead to more small-bodied bees but fewer bumblebees, according to research published Wednesday, warning of potential "cascading" effects on plant pollination and across whole ecosystems.
Scientists in the United States trapped and studied more than 20,000 bees over eight years in an area of the Rocky Mountains to find out how different types of bees reacted to changing climatic conditions.
The authors said that while environmental conditions varied from year to year, the sub-alpine region from which they took samples is "particularly vulnerable to climate change", with generally warming spring temperatures and earlier snow melt.
They found that comb-building cavity nesters and larger bodied bees declined in abundance as temperatures increased, while smaller, soil-nesting bees increased.
"Our research suggests that climate-induced changes in temperature, snowpack and summer precipitation may drastically reshape bee communities," the authors said.
- Bumblebees 'more threatened' -
Researchers said the findings suggest a reduction of bigger bees, including in the families of bumblebee, leafcutters and mason bees, with higher temperatures.
Declines were particularly marked for bumblebees, which the researchers said suggests "this group is more threatened under climate warming than other bees in our system".
That tallies with other studies showing that bumblebees, the dominant pollinators in many ecosystems, have a lower heat tolerance than other bees and move to cooler regions at higher altitudes as temperatures warm.
Researchers said their findings suggest both bumblebees' body size and nest behaviour could also make them more vulnerable in a warming world.
In general, the authors said climate-driven changes to pollinator communities "could have cascading effects on pollination and ecosystem functioning".
For example, they said losing bigger bees, which tend to fly further for food, may mean a reduction in longer-distance pollination.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was specifically focused on mountainous areas, but the researchers said other research across the US showed declines in larger bees in response to environmental changes.
They did however say their findings that drier conditions favoured bees with specialist diets may not be applicable to other ecosystems, where climate change is expected to bring more rainfall.
Insects are the world's top pollinators -- 75 percent of 115 top global food crops depend on animal pollination, including cocoa, coffee, almonds and cherries, according to the UN.
In a landmark 2019 report, scientists concluded that nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in decline and a third could disappear altogether by century's end.
One in six species of bees have gone regionally extinct somewhere in the world.
The main drivers of extinction are thought to be habitat loss and pesticide use.
Y.Aukaiv--AMWN