The pollination of flowers by insects, birds and other animals is a fundamentally important ecological function that supports both the natural world and human society.  Jeff Ollerton one of the world’s leading pollination ecologists, provides an introduction to what pollinators are, how their interactions with flowers have evolved, and the fundamental ecology of these relationships. Is there a crisis for pollinators as bees decline? 

Driven by Nature, is an autobiography. It charts Peter Raven’s connection with the natural world, which began with his insect collections at age 8. He was a colleague of Paul Ehrlich in the 1960s and says the alarms which were raised back then about population and biological diversity are increasingly important. Peter Raven says the natural world is based on connections. If extinctions continue, ecosystem collapse will result and humans will not escape.

MMM … Issue 22, September 2021