New article shows how the choice pf words affects the message:

> Effects of global change on insect pollinators: multiple drivers lead to novel communities. Current Opinion in Insect Science 2017, 23:22–27

The title is pretty even handed, using the word novel, which is neutral. Not good, not bad, just new.

> Recent studies show some pollinators are tracking climate change by moving latitudinally and elevationally, while others are not. Shifts in insect pollinator phenology generally keep pace with advances in flowering, although there are exceptions.

Both these statements seem to say "things are OK,-- but." Here, she tips her hand, using the word "invaded."

> after honey bees invaded a tropical reserve, solitary bees were observed to visit different plant species because of competition, but declines in the native bees were not detected. 

despite the "invasion" no declines were detected

> Thus, the effects of exotic insect pollinators on native pollinators likely depend on factors that modify the strength of competition, such as niche overlap and flexibility.

The term "exotic" pops up throughout the article:

> Human-aided transport and introduction of exotic species is a major driver of global change, reshaping fundamental ecological relationships

> Alien pollinators can compete with native pollinators for resources, potentially reducing their fitness, altering patterns of pollen flow, and ultimately changing community structure to the disruption of ecosystem services

However, in the concluding statements, she grants, when referring to "exotic plants":

> no real consensus on the effects of exotic plants on insect pollinators has emerged, with both positive and negative effects reported 

In the end, she goes back to the use of the neutral term "novel":

> the global change drivers highlighted here are likely to result in novel interactions and communities. Introduced exotic species interact with native species in novel ways. And habitat alteration and loss can result in novel species composition and cause species to modify behavior, altering interactions. 

In the final analysis, change begets change. Some of it good, some of it bad. But new, novel, different -- these are not synonymous with feral, alien, and invasive. On the other hand, many of the titles among the references would seem to indicate otherwise:

Ecological impacts of invasive alien species on bees. Apidologie 2009, 40:388-409.

Competitive interactions between the invasive European honey bee and native bumble bees. Ecology 2004, 85:458-470.

Do alien plant invasions really affect pollination success in native plant species? Biol Conserv 2007, 138:1-12.

¶

for further reading, these books:

Metaphors for environmental sustainability: redefining our relationship with nature, by Brendon Larson
The Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, by Emma Marris 

PLB

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html