# This Desert Valley Is Home To 500 Bee Species, A World Record



## Tom Horn (Feb 10, 2021)

> In the midst of the Chihuahuan Desert, straddling the border of southeastern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, the San Bernardino Valley is an oasis of life. Following rains, especially the monsoon downpours of late summer, the area explodes with an abundance of flowers—and a bevy of bees. In fact, research by entomologist Bob Minckley shows that this area has the highest concentration of bee species in the world.
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> In a recent paper published in the _Journal of Hymenoptera Research_, Minckley and San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge manager Bill Radke found that 497 species of bees live within just over six square miles of the valley, a modest area for such a study, 10 times smaller than Washington D.C.
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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Very interesting. Thank you for posting that.


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

So many species in a small area means there's a great deal of specialization going on. Specialization means vulnerability to a change in the environment, particularly to the species on which the species in question depends. Eg- Panda bears eat only bamboo. If the bamboo dies off, so does the Panda.

Too much emphasis is placed on the value of "biodiversity" by short sighted environmentalists, often having an agenda. When the environment changes drastically, it's the generalist species that will provide the successful genes in the new world. (You're more likely to hit a distant bird with buckshot than with a single bullet.)


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

The book _Forgotten Pollinators_ goes into a lot of detail about the specialization and fragility of specified ecosystems. They noticed that the loss of a single clump of plants resulted in the loss of an entire colony of bees.

I really need to dig that book out and start reading it again.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

doc- said:


> So many species in a small area means there's a great deal of specialization going on. Specialization means vulnerability to a change in the environment, particularly to the species on which the species in question depends. Eg- Panda bears eat only bamboo. If the bamboo dies off, so does the Panda.
> 
> Too much emphasis is placed on the value of "biodiversity" by short sighted environmentalists, often having an agenda. When the environment changes drastically, it's the generalist species that will provide the successful genes in the new world. (You're more likely to hit a distant bird with buckshot than with a single bullet.)


First paragraph: spot on. I just wanted to add for the second that preserving the big picture often includes the microcosms. I wouldn't want to see coyotes, parsnip and barn sparrows for the rest of my days.


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

altair said:


> First paragraph: spot on. I just wanted to add for the second that preserving the big picture often includes the microcosms. I wouldn't want to see coyotes, parsnip and barn sparrows for the rest of my days.


You won't for long...Those generalist species will quickly give rise to the new specialists to fill the niches previously filled by the ones that went extinct.

You probably know what a Triceratops is. It was the dominant "grazer" of it's day, travelling in herds.... If you squint, its silhouette looks a lot like the bison or wildebeest of today-- the dominant grazers in their ecosystems. Different species. Same niche.


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