Bumblebees in the Arctic: How is Climate Change Impacting our Bees?

This week we’re heading up Mount Nuolja in Abisko, Sweden, armed with insect nets and measuring pots to catch and record different Arctic bumblebees. Emma joins Ryan and Lottie from Imperial College London, as they set off to investigate the plant-pollinator relationships that characterise the lives of the 15 bumblebee species that live here in the Arctic.

By understanding more about how the different bumblebees interact with the different flowering plants up the side of the mountain and through the seasons, we can begin to predict whether these bumblebees might be impacted by climate change; if the plants flower at different times to ‘usual’ with warmer summers, the timings of bees seasonal emergence may not coincide.

Listener Survey 

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More episodes and information can be found here.

Based at the Abisko Scientific Research Station, this podcast takes you into the field with scientists as they investigate climate change in an Arctic environment.

Get in touch:

Tweet @ArcticCIRC  Emma @emmabrisdion

Email: arcticcircinterns@gmail.com

Produced in partnership with the Climate Impacts Research Centre, Umea University.

Vector graphic: Freepik

Music: Mark Skinner