Abstract

SOSENSKI, Paula  and  DOMINGUEZ, César A.. The value and risks of pollination as an ecosystem service. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2018, vol.89, n.3, pp.961-970. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2018.3.2168.

Pollination is an essential ecosystem service for human welfare and for the survival of many species. Most of the main crops in our diet, as well as many wild species, depend on pollinators to produce fruits, vegetables and seeds. In the last decade it has been reported that environmental deterioration has had a negative effect in the abundance and diversity of pollinators as a result of habitat fragmentation, deforestation, agriculture, agrochemicals, invasive species, pollinator diseases, and climate change, among other factors. The current risk that pollination faces, highlights the urgent need to review the current state of knowledge related to this environmental problem. This note aims at giving a general overview of the main factors affecting pollinators, as well as their negative effects over the pollination of wild and cultivated species; it discusses examples reported in Latin America, and particularly in Mexico; and suggests lines of research that should be addressed in the future.

Keywords : Apis mellifera; Animal-pollinated crops; Environmental degradation; Loss of biodiversity; Pesticides; Pollination; Native pollinators; Managed pollinators.

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