An inference that can be made from the excerpt is that future efforts to save bee populations, both commercial and wild, may need to focus on minimizing the spread of pathogens between these groups rather than merely increasing the number of managed bees and planting more bee-friendly flowers. The text suggests that the concentration of bees for pollination events creates opportunities for diseases to spread, as noted: “the more that bees are transported and concentrated for larger-scale pollination events, the more opportunities for diseases to spread.” Additionally, the idea that “it’s likely the transmission is going both ways” indicates that managing the health of both commercial and wild bee populations is critical to addressing the decline in overall bee health. Therefore, efforts that solely emphasize increasing bee populations may inadvertently perpetuate the cycle of disease transmission and further endanger both commercial and wild bees.
"Are Commercial Honeybees Making Wild Bees Sick?"
by Berly McCoy
If human-managed bees and bee-friendly flowers are acting as hotspots for pathogens, keeping more bees and planting more flowers may be contributing to the steep losses in commercial pollinators seen in the U.S. each year, as well as fueling the decline of wild bees. The more that bees are transported and concentrated for larger-scale pollination events, the more opportunities for diseases to spread.
And it’s not just a one-way street.
“It’s likely the transmission is going both ways,” said Scott McArt, a pollinator ecologist at Cornell University who was not involved in the study. Even if diseases in commercial bees are eliminated, new infections from the wild bee population, which are known to harbor pathogens, could spill back into managed populations, making disease eradication even tougher than it is now.
From the urban gardener to the rural farmer, people are encouraged to grow “bee-friendly” plants.
Use the article excerpt to answer the question.
It is possible to infer from this excerpt something about future efforts to save the bees. What inference can you make? In 3–5 sentences, state your inference and provide strong and thorough textual evidence from the excerpt to support the inference.
(4 points)
1 answer
1 answer