Saving the Bees: The Need for Animal Protection and Preservation - Research Paper

Introduction

Animals are of great advantage to human beings. Because of these advantages, human beings must pay close attention to the factors that may affect the productivity of these animals or pose a threat to their lives. Their activities should be directed towards promoting the well-being of the animals as well as peaceful coexistence. Such animals include livestock and bees. Over the past years, bees have been increasingly dying, with a record of 40% loss in 2017 in the United States of America. The numbers continue to increase with time, and soon the animal may become extinct if no measures are taken to stop the rapid deaths. The coexistence between bees and human beings can be attributed to the numerous benefits that human beings draw from bees.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The Role of Bees in Pollination and Plant Fertilization

Bees are the widely known pollinating agents for plants ranging from fruits, vegetables, and animal feeds. Most plants depend on such animals to complete the pollination process. Plants produce flowers that contain pollen grains that are useful in fertilization, as the bees suck nectar from the flowers, the pollen grains attach themselves to the bee's body.

The bees move from one flower to the other, carrying these pollen grains, thus enabling the fertilization process. It is after the fertilization that the plants produce flowers. These plants have strong scents and attractive colors to attract the bees (Hofmann, M. M., Zohner, C. M., & Renner, S. S., 2019).

Bees as a Source of Livelihood and Environmental Information

Bees provide environmental information through their behavior. When they migrate from their habitat to a new area, it may be as a result of changes in weather conditions or anticipated changes in the environment. Bees are a source of livelihood to the numerous beekeepers across the different states in the country.

The farmers earn their income from the sale of honey and honey products. They are owing to all these benefits its necessary for human beings to be alarmed by the rapid loss of bees over the recent years.

Noah Wilson, a scientist, carried out a study together with his friends to determine how to save the bees from being extinct in the coming years through the urban beekeeping laboratory in collaboration with various schools such as the Harvard school of public health. They set up a thousand beehives in different states that provide information for the study and offer employment opportunities to the farmers (Hofmann, M. M., Zohner, C. M., & Renner, S. S., 2019).

The first step to saving the bees, according to Noah, was identifying the leading causes of death. The agricultural chemicals used on farms are a leading cause of death. The continuous increase use of pesticides, herbicides, and other farm chemicals has increased the contamination of what the bees consume. When the bees suck nectar from freshly sprayed flowers, it limits their chances of survival. The strong scents from the chemicals are also likely to cause the deaths.

Identifying the Leading Causes of Bee Deaths

Bees' diseases and pests are another leading cause of their deaths. American foulbrood, braula flies, tracheal mites, and small hive beetle mostly affect the bees. They change the larvae leaving empty combs in the hives. They are spread through contact with inflated bees, and the mortality rate depends on the extent of the infestation. Another leading cause of death is the destruction of their habitat. The area where a beehive is located must be conducive for the bees. The damage may be a result of natural disasters such as excessive rainfall or fires. The fires and rain destroy the flowers as well as trees that are home to the bees.

Preventive Measures to Save Bees

The habitat may also be destroyed by the activities of human beings such as deforestation, excessive use of pesticides, and destruction of flowers. An increase in the practice of monoculture has limited the survival rates of bees (Hofmann, M. M., Zohner, C. M., & Renner, S. S., 2019). The survival of bees highly depends on biodiversity; a variety of plants and flowers helps provide more sources of nectar. To save the bees, each of the causes of death must be prevented. Surveillance within North and South America and outside in partnership with the International Plant Health Surveillance Program will aid in the early detection and prevention of pests and diseases.

If a neighboring area is affected, it would be easy to take the appropriate precautionary measures as a result of the surveillance. Since pests and diseases can be transmitted during the transportation of the animals, it would be necessary to conduct inspections at entry points. The investigation would be of people, animals, plants, and any other luggage entering the country. Inspection should also be carried out within the states to detect any diseases or pests and destroy it before it has spread across the other areas.

The government should encourage bee farmers to use bee vaccines in their beehives to prevent disease. The vaccines should be incentivized and readily available to the farmers. When natural disasters occur, the beekeepers should work closely with the government to identify the areas that have been affected. Jointly they should identify the areas that have been affected, the type and number of plants that have been destroyed (Hofmann, M. M., Zohner, C. M., & Renner, S. S., 2019).

Gathering this information will help in the process of rehabilitating the habitat for the bees. The government should further encourage the planting of trees and the diversification of the plants. Planting some flowers in the yard would create an attractive environment for the bees. Cultivation of a variety of trees and flowers will attract more bees and produce different flavors of honey. It is also essential to identify the areas in which bees are doing well. Since some areas may be more favorable than others, the government should encourage beekeeping in these areas.

Farmers with beehives should use pesticides carefully to not cause harm to the bees. Farmers should be keen to plant crops that do not require them to use a lot of pesticides that may negatively affect the bees. More organic foods should be grown and consumed to eliminate pesticides (Jones). The pesticides that are not friendly to the bees should have the disclaimer; this will help the farmer in selecting those that are friendly to bees (Johanson, L. G., Hoffmann, A. A., Walker, K. L., & Nash, M. A., 2019).

The government could also play a role in banning neonicotinoids. Minimizing the use of the neonicotinoids will increase the bees' population. Bees produce honey for their consumption; farmers should not consume all the honey produced but rather spare some for the bees' use. A friendly environment for the bees would increase their chances of survival.

The Impact of Bee Extinction on Ecosystems and Food Supply

The beekeeper can improvise dead tree trunks, underground tunnels, and mounds of loose earth. A farmer would allow few vegetables to seed in the farm after harvest; the environment is friendly for bees. A recent study has shown that about fifty percent of the species of bees are in decline. The family of bees is facing an extinction rate that is nine times higher than another family of insects. For instance, scientists in Germany have recorded losing up to 70 percent of the total population of bees (Johanson et al., 2019).

Parasites, invasive predators, and disease-causing bacteria known as pathogens are blamed for the extinction of honeybees all around the world. In this recent past, the spread of European Hornet in America has caused significant concerns among the scientists concerning the plight of the bee species. The species of Hornet prey on bees, and a single insect can kill an entire hive of bees. There are some evidential suggestions that bees in the European countries are declining in the fact of bacterial and fungal diseases. However, pollination is being blamed for the declining of the bee species. There are four types of chemical pesticides, which are hugely used in the United States: fungicides that target pathogens, insecticides that target insect pests, and herbicide targeting weeds (Johanson et al., 2019).

Conclusion

In conclusion, bees facilitate the growth of many of the fruits, vegetables, and other plants that human beings and livestock consume. They are a source of livelihood for the beekeepers, and they produce honey for our consumption (Jauker, F., Jauker, B., Grass, I., SteffanDewenter, I., & Wolters, V., 2019). To continue enjoying these benefits, it's essential to ensure that they have a friendly environment to grow in which will, in turn, reduce the chances of extinction. There is every reason to protect and safeguard the population of bees. For instance, bees provide plants with nectar - an essential resource for enhancing cross-pollination. Nectar is a sweet sugary product produced by the flowers in plants and provides the bees with critical energy use for their survival.

When bees land on the flower to feed, they rub up against the flower and the pollen grains and stick it to their body as they travel from plant to another. The pollination is the process of transferring pollen from different flowers. It is from now this vital process that enhances seeds production, which is essential for ensuring the continuation of the future generation of plants. However, without bees, this process would be impossible (Jauker et al., 2019).

Plants are essential for producing oxygen useful for breathing, help control the water supply in the world, provide habitable grounds for animals, including bird species, and regulate the climatic condition. It is estimated that about eighty percent of all the flowing plants receive their pollination through the activities of bees (Jauker et al., 2019). Without bees, the majority of the plant populations would go extinct. Hence, bees are instrumental pollinators for enhancing the survival of plants.

According to statistics, bees are now considered as the top pollinators in the United States. It is also one of the significant group of plant pollinators in the world. Among millions of plant species, bees are solely responsible for causing pollination to a considerable number of food crops such as sweet potatoes, apples, and watermelon. Additionally, bees are vitally important for helping produce delicious veggies and fruits. Honey is made possible through the production of nectar by the bees.

Human beings must plan their activities in a way that promotes peaceful coexistence with the bees. The use of pesticides should be limited to only what is friendly to the bees. Planting of more flowers does not only make the environment beautiful but also attracts more bees. Biodiversity should be adopted as a trend by farmers (Balfour, N. J., Ollerton, J., Castellanos, M. C., & Ratnieks, 2018). Necessarily, bees, including the bumblebees, honey bees, and solitary bees, are crucially significant for pollinating food crops. Pollination is a process whereby bees transfer pollen from one different plant, which is essential for fertilization of the plants. Fertilized plants produce vegetables, fruits, and seeds.

If all bees were to go extinct, the delicate balance of the ecosystem would be destroyed and thus affecting the global supply of food. It is estimated that there are more than 900 bees within the United States, and six of which are classified by the Global Union for Nature Conservation, like the endangered species. A further 45 are considered vulnerable, 25 are feared to go extinct, and over 100 of them are under threat. Losing the threatened species of bees would have a significant impact on plant pollination and the production of food all around the globe. In other words, the extinction of the endangered species of bees would wipe out all the vital plant species humanity depends on for food production.

References

Balfour, N. J., Ollerton, J., Castellanos, M. C., & Ratnieks, F. L. (2018). British phenological records indicate high...