By Dennis Newman
For the first time, researchers at Oregon State University have developed a tracking device that’s so small, it can be attached to a hummingbird.
What’s at stake here is not just tiny technology, but rather serious science to find the cause, or causes, of the world’s pollination crisis.
Green Hermit Hummingbird with transmitter held on by non-toxic eyelash glue.
Courtesy Oregon State University
When we look at pollination, we usually start with bees. But bees are still too small to track individually. So the scientists at OSU decided to think bigger and found a way to track hummingbirds, another important pollinator of the world’s plants and forests.
Working in Costa Rica, they followed the Green Hermit Hummingbird on its trips through the rain forest. What they discovered is that the bird will do just about anything to avoid flying through open areas, even if that means taking an extra long route.
If there’s an island of forest surrounded by open fields, the hummingbirds don’t show up. And without pollinators, these forest islands will find it harder to survive over the long term.
“It’s been widely observed in many studies that we’re seeing a global decline in both pollinators and plant diversity, to the point that many ecologists are calling it a crisis,” says Matthew Betts, an OSU assistant professor. “It’s less clear exactly what is causing this. But it’s a serious concern, since 70-80 percent of all plants are pollinated by animals.”
So far, this is just a small piece of the puzzle of the pollination crisis. The researchers don’t know if pollinators in temperate zones also go out of their way to avoid certain areas. But in general, they say, most animals prefer having these natural connected zones.
According to Betts, “If we get to the point where almost all patches of forests are fragmented, it’s possible that could completely disrupt forest plant ecosystems”.
The study will be published soon in the journal, Biology Letters.
