Massive Extinction of Ancient Bees Along With Dinosaurs Offers Clues to Current Bee Population Decline

Decline in bee population is not just based on climate-changed caused by human activities. A latest study reveals that the widespread extinction of bees occurred some 65 million years ago.

A team of scientists for the first time ever have found that all bees were nearly wiped-out from earth some 65 million years ago. This mass extinction was concurrent with the disappearance of dinosaurs and several flowering plants.

Researcher Sandra Rehan, an assistant professor of biological sciences at UNH along with her colleagues Michael Schwarz at Australia's Flinders University and Remko Leys at the South Australia Museum, have now documented the mass extinction of carpenter bees (Xylocopinae) at the end of Cretaceous and the beginning of Paleogene era also known as the K-T boundary.

K-T boundary marks the end of the Cretaceous period and the start of the Paleogene period of the Cenozoic era. This boundary is associated with the extinction of dinos.

Previous research suggests that the massive extinction of flowering plants at the K-T boundary, which led to the assumption that the carpenter bees also went extinct during this period.  But, there was no fossil record to support this idea.

By identifying the cause of widespread extinction of bees in past, the researchers can potentially prevent the current decline of the bee population.

Researchers in the current study used molecular phylogenetics. They examined the DNA sequences of four 'tribes' nearly 230 species of carpenter bees from different continent except Antarctica to look for evolutionary relationships. Their findings matched the previous assumptions; the genetic analysis threw-up patterns consistent with mass extinction

They then combined the fossil records along with DNA analysis. Doing so helped them estimate the age of the bee tribes. The data revealed the bees nearly disappeared along with the dinosaurs.

Researchers said that the study findings reveal finer aspects of bee behavior over time.

Rehan concluded, "If you could tell their whole story, maybe people would care more about protecting them. Indeed, the findings of this study have important implications for today's concern about the loss in diversity of bees, a pivotal species for agriculture and biodiversity. Understanding extinctions and the effects of declines in the past can help us understand the pollinator decline and the global crisis in pollinators today."

The article, "First evidence for a massive extinction event affecting bees close to the K-T boundary," was published in the journal PLOS ONE.