Reference no: EM133198536 , Length: Word count: 4 Pages

Assignment Task: Silence of the Bees

Please watch the following documentary:

YouTube Video: Silence of the Bees (Nature Documentary, Full Length)

(The volume can be weird. You may have to turn it way up to hear the actual documentary).

While watching this documentary, I want you to think about the scientific method and what we have learned about science. You'll be seeing how scientist attempts to solve a real-world environmental problem.

Please answer the following questions:

Problem 1: What is the name given to the current phenomenon of disappearing bees (full name not abbreviation)?

Problem 2: Please list at least 4 hypotheses that were investigated by the researchers featured in the documentary that explained the loss of bees?  Which hypothesis did you would you have selected if you were investigating the problem (it can be one proposed by the researchers or one you came up with)?

Problem 3: Which hypothesis was debunked because of the flaws in the study? List at least one flaw that was mentioned.

Problem 4: The observation that led to scientists researching CCD was when a bee keeper noted many of his hives were empty and many of his bees had disappeared. When was this observation now associated with CCD first noted in the U.S.?

Problem 5: Approximately how many bees in the U.S. have been impacted by CCD?

Problem 6: What is the typical life span of a worker bee in the summer?

Problem 7: Approximately how much of the U.S. food supply is pollinated by bees? So what is the implication of the loss of bees for people?

Problem 8: What is the name of the bee's symbolic language and what is it used for?

Problem 9: Other than bees, how are plants pollinated naturally?

Problem 10: If we lose bees, how will we have to pollinate plants that are currently pollinated by bees?

Problem 11: What is one proposed solution to help bees adapt to CCD? 

Problem 12: What are some things you can do to assist pollinators?

Problem 13: As of the end of the video, do we actually know the cause of CCD?

Problem 14: If a bee colony with 50,000 bees loses 30 percent of its bees during one winter, how many bees will survive that winter?

Problem 15: Draw a simple graph to estimate how long it would take for the bee colony to collapse completely (less than 10,000 bees) if it lost 30 percent of its bees every winter, and gained only 5 percent each spring.

(Using Excel will make this pretty easy)

Problem 16: CCD is a complicated problem that has the potential to impact us all.  Often when addressing environmental problems we have limited resources.  Imagine you are charged with saving the bees.  Briefly explain how you would allocate your limited resources to best address the issues facing bees. In your response you might want to consider whether you would invest money into additional research to determine the causes of CCD. If so, what do you think needs to be investigated?  You might also want to consider investing funds into potential solutions.  Which solutions do you think are most feasible?  Are there other things you might want to invest in, or consider, that are necessary to solve this problem?

Problem 17: Take a minute to look up the most recent information regarding CCD and pollinator declines. What has been done to address pollinator declines?

Problem 18: This is a complicated environmental problem without an easy solution.  How would you communicate what you learned to the public?

Understanding Science:

You should ensure you have watched the John Oliver segment on science before responding to this post. The link for the segment is in the last slide of the second science PowerPoint. After watching that segment, please respond to the following prompts:

• Where do you get your science news from?
• After watching the John Oliver segment, do you feel confident that the science news you are getting is accurate? Why or why not?
• After watching the John Oliver segment, will you be more skeptical about the news (science or otherwise) that is reported? Why or why not?
• Will you fact check news, particularly science news, that is presented to you? Why or why not?
• Think about a current science issue (environmental or otherwise, it could be climate change, pollution, COVID-19, anything related to science that is in the news). Which issue did you choose and why? Do you think the media is doing a good job presenting the information about the issue you chose in a clear, unbiased way? Why or why not?
• What can be done to ensure information presented about this issue is clear and accurate?