Opportunities and challenges in Asian bee research and conservation

Authors: WARRIT, NATAPOT - Chulalongkorn University; ASCHER, JOHN - National University Of Singapore; BASU, PARTHIB - University Of Calcutta; BELAVADI, VASUKI - University Of Agricultural Sciences; BROCKMANN, AXEL - National Centre For Biological Sciences; BUCHORI, DAMAYANTI - Bogor Agricultural University; HUGHES, ALICE - University Of Hong Kong; KRISHNAN, SMITHA - Bioversity International; NGO, HIEN - Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations (FAO); WILLIAMS, PAUL - Natural History Museum - London; ZHU, CHAO-DONG - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; ABROL, DHARAM - Sher-E- Kashmir University Of Agricultural Sciences & Technology Of Jammu; BAWA, KAMAL - University Of Massachusetts; BHATTA, CHET - Radford University; BORGES, RENEE - Indian Institute Of Science; BOSSERT, SILAS - Washington State University; CERVANCIA, CLEOFAS - University Of The Philippines Los Banos; CHATTHANABUN, NONTAWAT - Chulalongkorn University; CHESTERS, DOUGLAS - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; DEVKOTA, KEDAR - Agriculture And Forestry University(AFU); FERRARI, RAFAEL - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; GE, JIN - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; HUANG, DUNYUAN - Department Of Agriculture And Rural Affairs Of Jiangxi Province; JUNG, CHULEUI - Andong National University; Koch, Jonathan; ORR, MICHAEL - Chinese Academy Of Sciences

Submitted to: Biological Conservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/17/2023
Publication Date: 8/7/2023
Citation: Warrit, N., Ascher, J., Basu, P., Belavadi, V., Brockmann, A., Buchori, D., Hughes, A., Krishnan, S., Ngo, H., Williams, P., Zhu, C., Abrol, D., Bawa, K., Bhatta, C., Borges, R.M., Bossert, S., Cervancia, C., Chatthanabun, N., Chesters, D., Devkota, K., Ferrari, R., Ge, J., Huang, D., Jung, C., Koch, J., Orr, M. 2023. Opportunities and challenges in Asian bee research and conservation. Biological Conservation. Article 110173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110173.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110173

Interpretive Summary: Concerns about potential insect declines and the subsequent loss of essential ecosystem services such as pollination have increasingly been raised worldwide. Pollinator conservation depends on our knowledge of their ecology, including all facets of their behavior and distribution. However, our knowledge about the natural history of bees in Asia is much less developed than many other parts of the world. Asia’s bee fauna, for example, represents only 1% of public data though the region has 15% of global bee species. In this perspective, we enumerate the unique challenges faced in Asian bee research and the strengths and gaps in our current knowledge framework.

Technical Abstract: Concerns about potential insect declines and the subsequent loss of essential ecosystem services such as pollination have increasingly been raised worldwide. Pollinator conservation depends on our knowledge of their ecology, including all facets of their behavior and distribution. However, our knowledge about the natural history of bees in Asia is much less developed than many other parts of the world. Asia’s bee fauna, for example, represents only 1% of public data though the region has 15% of global bee species. The need for fundamental knowledge is especially urgent and critical when facing recent bee extinctions documented in well-studied areas such as Singapore, but the remaining Asian fauna, the vast majority, remain virtually unexplored from a conservation perspective. In this perspective, we enumerate the unique challenges faced in Asian bee research and the strengths and gaps in our current knowledge framework.