JEONG Sujong

Professor, Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies / Director Climate Tech Center

JEONG Sujong
Times of the Remarks 2024. 11. 12. 16:10-16:50
Title Research Findings 4 - The Superorganism of a Bee Colony: A Proactive Division Dealing with Climate Change

Greenhouse gases emitted by human activities, in particular our use of fossil fuels, are causing increases in global temperatures. Professor JEONG Sujong is a climate scientist researching the causes and effects of climate change. Why, then, is he studying bees? Half of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere are absorbed by terrestrial and marine, and half remain in the atmosphere. As the majority of greenhouse gases absorbed by terrestrial ecosystems are absorbed through photosynthesis, plant activities are closely related to climate change. Notably, many plant species rely on pollinators like bees to reproduce. Since discovering that functional diversity like that resulting from mutualistic interactions between bees and plants is critical for climate change adaptation and mitigation, Professor Jeong has spent the last five years researching pollinators. In a recently published paper, he analyzed the detrimental effect of air pollution on bees’ navigational abilities and warned that this could threaten plant reproduction around the world, with affected areas amounting to roughly the size of Africa.


[Session Title and Description]

The Superorganism of a Bee Colony: A Proactive Division Dealing with Climate Change

The bee colony, that quintessential “superorganism” whereby different organisms of the same species interact together as if they were one single organism, adheres to a sophisticated division of labor based on the age of worker bees. Are there insights we can gain from bee colonies, so often compared to human societies, in the strategies they adopt to maximize survival and sustainability, as we look for strategies to solve our own problems of division and extinction? This session aims to approach the problems of generational conflict and population aging we face today through the lens of the bee colony. In particular, it will examine the strategy of elderly worker bees, who as they get older do more of the foraging for the colony, taking responsibility for supplying energy to the colony, and the implications for our own aging societies. While being cognizant that human societies differ from bee colonies in not only complexity but also in the cultural values and convictions that make us who we are, this session will shed light on opportunities to apply the survival strategies of bee colonies to our own societies.