Global Warming Threatens Pollinators, Food Supply

The amount of food naturally available to the population is decreasing because of climate change, according to a professor of marine biology at the University of Georgia.

The world’s natural pollinators have less and less time each year to pollinate plants due to the effects of global warming, said James Porter, who recently returned from studying coral reefs in Costa Rica.

“Our food source is at risk because of things we’re doing as human beings,” Porter said.

Anthropogenic global warming, the human-induced rise in the earth’s temperature, causes a discrepancy between the blooming of plants, which occurs when the days get longer, and the emergence of pollinators when the days get warmer.

One out of every three bites of food relies on pollination.

Plants can flower without the help of pollinators, but need them in order to produce the fruit, seeds, nuts and vegetables that hold nutritional value.

While the word “pollinator” likely translates as “bees” for most, these honey-producing helpers are only responsible for half of the pollination that takes place. The other half is covered by wild insects, such as butterflies and, most importantly, moths.

Between the disappearance of bees in what scientists are calling the “colony collapse” phenomenon and the late emergence of other important insects, the world is facing a serious problem.

“Overall, pollinators are in trouble. There is a pollination crisis,” Porter said.

More than 50 pollinators are on the threatened or endangered species lists and though the loss of small insects may seem insignificant, a decrease in biodiversity is always an indicator that something is wrong.

“Just because we don’t know what they do, doesn’t mean they are useless, doesn’t mean they are worthless,” he said. “It just means we haven’t figured it out yet.”

Georgia is home to some of the most biodiverse areas in the United States, making the top ten lists for the highest numbers of different plant, amphibian, reptile, freshwater and insect species in the country.

It also has the 2nd largest number of undescribed moth species in North America, including an abundance of  moth biodiversity just in Athens.

Porter displayed over a dozen boxes of moths he caught around the light on his back porch last year. The crowd of about 60 people examined the specimens which made up only 4 percent of the collection.

The wide array of these important pollinators have incredible sight and hearing abilities. They can see and hear more than people, but many are going extinct each year due to the actions of humans.

The state ranks fifth in the country in terms of species extinction.

“I don’t care what your major is,” he said, “you have a role to preserve the wildlife in this state we call home.”