Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation

David Kleijn(Wageningen University & Research), Rachael Winfree(Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey), Ígnasi Bartomeus(Estación Biológica de Doñana), Luísa G. Carvalheiro(Naturalis Biodiversity Center), Mickaël Henry(Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse), Rufus Isaacs(Michigan State University), Alexandra‐Maria Klein(University of Freiburg), Claire Kremen(University of California, Berkeley), Leithen K. M’Gonigle(University of California, Berkeley), Romina Rader(University of New England), Taylor H. Ricketts(University of Vermont), Neal M. Williams(University of California, Davis), Nancy Lee Adamson(University of North Carolina at Greensboro), John S. Ascher(National University of Singapore), Andràs Báldí(Institute of Ecology and Botany), Péter Batáry(University of Göttingen), Faye Benjamin(Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey), Jacobus C. Biesmeijer(Naturalis Biodiversity Center), Eleanor J. Blitzer(Cornell University), Riccardo Bommarco(Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), Mariette Brand(Stellenbosch University), Vincent Bretagnolle(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Lindsey Button(Simon Fraser University), Daniel P. Cariveau(Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey), Rémy Chifflet(Plateforme Technologique d'Innovation Biomédicale), Jonathan F. Colville(South African National Biodiversity Institute), Bryan N. Danforth(Cornell University), Elizabeth Elle(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Michael P. D. Garratt(University of Reading), Félix Herzog(Agroscope), Andrea Holzschuh(University of Würzburg), Brad G. Howlett(Plant & Food Research), Frank Jauker(Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), Shalene Jha(The University of Texas at Austin), Eva Knop(University of Bern), Kristin M. Krewenka(University of Göttingen), Violette Le Féon(Département agronomie et sciences de l'environnement pour les agroécosystèmes), Yael Mandelik(Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Emily A. May(Michigan State University), Mia Park(Cornell University), Gideon Pisanty(Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Menno Reemer(Naturalis Biodiversity Center), Verena Riedinger(University of Würzburg), Orianne Rollin(Institut de France), Maj Rundlöf(Lund University), Hillary Sardiñas(University of California, Berkeley), Jeroen Scheper(Wageningen University & Research), Amber R. Sciligo(University of California, Berkeley), Henrik G. Smith(Lund University), Ingolf Steffan‐Dewenter(University of Würzburg), Robbin W. Thorp(University of California, Davis), Teja Tscharntke(University of Göttingen), Jort Verhulst, Blandina Felipe Viana(Universidade Federal da Bahia), Bernard Vaissière(Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse), Ruan Veldtman(Stellenbosch University), Kimiora L. Ward(University of California, Davis), Catrin Westphal(University of Göttingen), Simon G. Potts(University of Reading)
Nature Communications
June 16, 2015
10.1038/ncomms8414
Cited by 973Open Access
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Abstract

There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many are easily enhanced by simple conservation measures, suggesting that cost-effective management strategies to promote crop pollination should target a different set of species than management strategies to promote threatened bees. Conserving the biological diversity of bees therefore requires more than just ecosystem-service-based arguments.

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