Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the article; Functional mismatch in a bumble bee pollination mutualism under climate change, for the purpose of examining the authors’ writing style, experimental process/methodology, with the express goal to clarify the article for a variety of audiences, as well as determining the validity of the conclusions drawn from the experiment. Upon reading this paper, the audience should retain a knowledge of the article’s findings and the methods, implemented by the authors, used to obtain said findings.
Writing Format:
Overall, the Article; Functional mismatch in a bumble bee pollination mutualism under climate change (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015) conforms to technical writing standards, however, the article stands to improve in some areas. One area of improvement that the article could stand to improve on, is the area of clarity. Miller-Struttman et al.’s article lacks in clarity due to the fact that nearly all of its complex terminology lacks a corresponding definition, resulting in the reader having to make assumptions of meaning purely from context. For example, in the second paragraph of Struttman’s article, the authors discuss the benefits of having matching functional morphology. However, the authors begin using complex terminology such as, “changes that disrupt such matching can alter plant species recruitment and the trajectory of coevolution” (Miller Struttman et al., 2015). Undefined, complex terminology can lead to misunderstandings of an article’s true purpose due to misinterpretation from context. Not only does Miller-Struttman et al.’s article lack in clarity due to a lack of definitions, but the article would also benefit in the realm of clarity by organizing its tables adjacent to the paragraphs that explain said information. Struttman et al.’s article does go in depth on the data acquired through their experimentation, however, the information and the corresponding explanation of the data are structured far enough apart within the article, that the reader then has to hunt and peck for the information being discussed, leading to a loss of understanding. Finally, though less frequent, Struttman et al.’s article had some instances of ambiguous pronouns, especially when discussing the “matching of functional morphology between partners increasing benefits in mutualisms” (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015). The use of ambiguous pronouns in Struttman et al.’s article can cloud the true meaning of many of the article’s main points, because, while some meaning may be easily inferred by some readers, others may find themselves referring back to previous passages of the article in order to understand what is going on. Ultimately though, while many of the missteps made in Miller-Struttman et al.’s writing format are considered major in the field of technical writing, said mistakes do not distract entirely from the message of the article, they just make it harder to find.
Research Question:
The research question established in Functional mismatch in a bumble bee pollination mutualism under climate change (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015) is as follows: do the effects of rising minimum temperature due to climate change have an affect on the morphological characteristics of bumbles bees, and the corresponding plant species that the bumbles bees form mutualistic relationships with? (Miller Struttman et al., 2015). Therefore, we could anticipate the hypothesis to be; the rising minimum temperature as a result of climate change does/doesn’t have an affect on the morphological characteristics of bumble bees and their corresponding mutualistic plant species.
Outline:
The following subheadings discuss the basic information that is covered in Miller-Struttman et al.’s research article.
Introduction:
• Understanding bee—plant mutualism
- Bee tongue length is adapted to match the tube length of the plant with which it has a mutualistic relationship with.
- Plant tube lengths have not evolved or changed drastically in the past forty years, but bee tongue lengths have been trending down (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015).
- Shifts in global climate change may be having an effect on the area in which mutualistic plants can grow, increasing competition amongst bee populations.
Paragraphs I & II:
• Introduction to experimental purpose
- The potential of climate change to have an affect on “generating functional phenological and spatial overlap discrepancies” (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015).
Paragraphs III—IX:
• Experimental methodology:
- Measurement of bees’ tongue length (Paragraphs III, IV, & V)
- Measurement of flower tube depth (Paragraph VI)
- Proportions of bee communities in selected alpine regions and subsequent evolutionary developments within said bee communities (Paragraph VII)
- Examining the peak flower density of mutualistic plant species (Paragraph VIII & Paragraph IX)
Paragraph X:
• Interpretation of Data & Conclusion
- Data shows discrepancies between climate change and bumble bee tongue length. However, the generalization of some species’ tongue length has provided many bumble bees with the capability to adapt/cope with the decrease of mutualistic flowering plants caused by climate change (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015).
Summary:
Bumble bees play a major part in many of the world’s ecosystems; providing a reproduction medium for many species of flowering plants and agricultural crops, and playing the role of a food source for many species of bats and birds (Cameron et al., 2010). The population of bumble bees has been trending down for some years now, giving rise to many ecological concerns about how the populations can be conserved. Without the bumble bee, the world’s food chains could become severely compromised. The populations of many producer species would decline due to the lack of a major reproduction medium, consequently resulting in the decrease in population of primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers. As the minimum temperature of alpine climates increase, the density of mutualistic plant species in said region begins to decline, resulting in higher competition between alpine bumble bee species for resources (Miller-Struttman et al. 2015). The purpose of Miller-Struttman et al.’s article, entitled Functional mismatch in a bumble bee pollination mutualism under climate change, is to examine the affects that climate change has had on the populations of bumble bee species. Specifically, the Miller-Struttman et al.’s article examines the affect that climate change has had on the mutualistic relationships between bumble bee species, and their corresponding host plant species. Bumble bees are equipped with a tongue (proboscis) that they use to drink nectar from the tubes of plants. In turn, the bumble bee picks up some of the plant’s pollen, and transports it, increasing the likelihood that said plant will reproduce. The overall purpose of Miller-Struttman et al.’s experiment is to examine the affects that climate change has had (if any) on the physical structures (proboscises and nectar tubes), and to determine if said changes will have an affect on the population of bee species. Figure 1.1 below details the experiment’s hypothesis, independent variables, and dependent variables.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is; rising minimum temperature does have an affect on the characteristics of the mutualistic relationships between bumble bees and plant species.
Independent Variables
The independent variable in Miller-Struttman et al.’s experiment include; bee species examined (Bombus balteatus vs. Bombus sylvicola), bee habitat location (Niwot Ridge, Mount Evans, Pennsylvania Mountain), and altitude of Plant habitat.
Dependent Variables
The dependent variables in Miller-Struttman et al.’s experiment include; mean bumble bee proboscis length (tongue length), bumble bee species community proportion, advantage of species with generalized tongue length, and peak flower density.
Miller-Struttman et al. employed an experimental methodology that primarily focused on quantitative data (bee tongue length, altitude, flower tube depth, flower population density, etc.). Miller-Struttman et al. examined the plant and bumble bee species in three geographically isolated locations (Niwot Ridge, Pennsylvania Mountain, and Mount Evans) with alpine climate habitats located around the central Rocky Mountains (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015). Miller-Struttman et al. collected data regarding the following characteristics: average bumble bee proboscis length, bumble bee species community proportion, advantage of species with generalized tongue length, and peak flower density. The contingencies that Miller-Struttman et al. made in order to ensure that the information collected was legitimate include; collecting data and specimens from geographically isolated locations, collecting data/specimens from three different locations with similar climates, and collecting two different species of bumble bee in order to ensure that the change in proboscis length was not developed in one particular species due to random chance. Collecting from three different geographically isolated locations with similar climates ensures that there are plenty of data points that are not influenced by a wide variety of outside factors.
The key finding of the experiment are as follows:
- Average proboscis lengths of long tongued bumble bee species has decreased by an average of 1.5mm from 1966—2014 (Miller Struttman et al. 2015).
- Bumble bees with a generalized proboscis length have an advantage over short proboscis species, due to the fact that they can feed from a wider variety of plants.
- Plant population density in regions below the slope of mountains with alpine climates has decreased drastically since 1977 (Miller-Struttman et al., 2015). Decreasing plant population below the slope is resulting in the bees to migrate up the slope of the mountain, where the higher density of plants are, thus resulting in higher competition between bee species.
- Bees with a more generalized proboscis length have an advantage over bees with a short proboscis length. Specifically, bees with an average proboscis length ranging from 5.75mm—5.79mm have the greatest advantage in a competitive environment, because said bees are capable of feeding from plants with a wider variety of tube length.
- Due to a change in the minimum temperature having an affect on the population density of long-tubed plants, the downward trend of bumble bee proboscis length is can thus be influenced be an overall change in minimum temperature increase.
The authors utilized the data collected on said characteristics to compile a series of graphs that illustrate the trends between altitude and population of plants with high tube depths, and subsequently establish a correlation between the density of plants with high tube depths, and the downward trend in bumble bee proboscis lengths. Then, Miller-Struttman et al. used the compiled data to develop a graph that shows the advantage possessed by bumble bees that have adapted from a longer proboscis length, to a shorter (more generalized/average) proboscis length over those bumble bees that have historically possessed a short proboscis. Miller-Struttman et al. establish the advantage the advantage of evolving a more generalized proboscis length in order to illustrate the evolutionary capabilities of bumble bees. The authors concluded that, based on the fact that climate change is decreasing the population density of long-tubed plant species, minimum temperature change has an influence on the downward trend of bee proboscis length.