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.

Question

From the urban gardener to the rural farmer, people are encouraged to grow “bee-friendly” plants.“But in some cases you might actually be increasing disease levels when you plant those flowers,” said Sheila Colla, a conservation biologist at York University who was not involved in the study. “Maybe we need to have a [buffer] area without flowers to stop diseases from spreading to wild bees.” Nobody is suggesting we stop planting flowers altogether. “We know that habitat loss is already a big problem for bees,” said Alger. Instead, she’s now investigating if increasing plant diversity, or culling certain plants could help decrease disease transmission.
She added that beekeepers and farmers need to take a long, hard look at how they are managing bees.

How does the section “Why it matters” refine the author’s claim that people are saving bees “to death”?

(1 point)
Responses

by explaining that habitat destruction is not a factor in bee population decline, despite the general assumption that it is
by explaining that habitat destruction is not a factor in bee population decline, despite the general assumption that it is

by describing how viruses in wild bee populations spread to commercial bees, despite prior assumptions that this was impossible
by describing how viruses in wild bee populations spread to commercial bees, despite prior assumptions that this was impossible

by specifying that commercial bees and bee-friendly flowers are likely contributing to, rather than fixing, bee population decline
by specifying that commercial bees and bee-friendly flowers are likely contributing to, rather than fixing, bee population decline

by outlining the reasons why planting flowers near commercial bee populations is harming, rather than helping, bees
by outlining the reasons why planting flowers near commercial bee populations is harming, rather than helping, bees

Answer 1

The correct response is:

by specifying that commercial bees and bee-friendly flowers are likely contributing to, rather than fixing, bee population decline.

This response captures how the discussion highlights the unintended consequences of promoting bee-friendly practices that may actually exacerbate the issues faced by bee populations, thus refining the author's claim that efforts to save bees may be counterproductive.