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A March 2019 statement by the [[Entomological Society of America]] said there is not yet sufficient data to predict an imminent mass extinction of insects and that some of the extrapolated predictions might "have been extended well past the limits of the data or have been otherwise over-hyped". They did though agree that the studies were "very concerning".<ref name=FAQ/> |
A March 2019 statement by the [[Entomological Society of America]] said there is not yet sufficient data to predict an imminent mass extinction of insects and that some of the extrapolated predictions might "have been extended well past the limits of the data or have been otherwise over-hyped". They did though agree that the studies were "very concerning".<ref name=FAQ/> |
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[[Entomology]] professor [[Simon Leather]] suggested that reports of an "Ecological Armageddon" may be exaggerated and advocated for more funding to allow better collection of long term data on the decline.<ref name="Leather" /> Several entomologists agree that the data on insect declines are too piecemeal and unrepresentative of the general population to support some of the hyperbolic extrapolations.<ref name=":0" /> |
[[Entomology]] professor [[Simon Leather]] suggested that reports of an "Ecological Armageddon" may be exaggerated and advocated for more funding to allow better collection of long term data on the decline.<ref name="Leather" /> The methodology of the Sánchez-Bayo & Wyckhuys study has been questioned; the search string used to sift through the scientific literature was "(insect* + decline* + survey)". This meant that the authors identified studies where insect declines had been identified but ignored those that found increases in insect populations or stability.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecologyisnotadirtyword.com/2019/02/16/insectageddon-is-a-great-story-but-what-are-the-facts/ |title=Insectageddon is a great story. But what are the facts? |author=Saunders, Manu |date=16 February 2019 |work= |publisher= |accessdate=16 March 2019}}</ref> Several entomologists agree that the data on insect declines are too piecemeal and unrepresentative of the general population to support some of the hyperbolic extrapolations.<ref name=":0" /> |
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==Conservation measures== |
==Conservation measures== |
Revision as of 18:58, 16 March 2019
In the 21st century, there appears to be a decline in the number of insects. About 40% of species are threatened by extinction and the types most affected include ants, bees, butterflies, moths and wasps. While some species such as flies and cockroaches might increase as a result, the total biomass of insects is decreasing by about 2.5% per year. The phenomenon is due to multiple factors including habitat destruction, urbanisation, vehicular traffic, pesticides, introduced species and climate change.[2][3][4][5]
Reviews and studies
In 2012, the Zoological Society of London produced a survey of the prospects of the world's invertebrates. It estimated that about 20% of all species were threatened with extinction and that species with the least mobility and smallest ranges were the most at risk.[6][7] A comparison of the amount of arthropods in the El Yunque National Forest showed a large decline from 1976 to 2012. Depending on the method of collection, the declines ranged from a factor of 4 to 60. A corresponding decline in the number of insect-eating species such as birds, frogs and lizards was also observed. The decline was attributed to a rise in the average temperature as tropical insect species cannot tolerate a wide range of temperatures.[8][9] In 2016, the Entomologischer Verein Krefeld produced a report by studying their records of insect collections in nature reserves in Germany. This showed that, in the period 1990 to 2016, there had been a decline of 75% in the amount of flying insects.[10][1] A 2018 study of rainforests in Puerto Rico reported "biomass losses between 98% and 78% for ground-foraging and canopy-dwelling arthropods over a 36 year period, with respective annual losses between 2.7% and 2.2%" [3][11]
A 2014 review in Science noted that "Of all insects with IUCN-documented population trends, 33% are declining ... Globally, a compiled index of all invertebrate population declines over the past 40 years shows an overall 45% decline".[12][13]
In 2019, a systematic review of the issue – Worldwide decline of the entomofauna – was published in the journal Biological Conservation.[4] This analysed 73 reports and studies and found that, overall, there were "dramatic rates of decline".[3]
From our compilation of published scientific reports, we estimate the current proportion of insect species in decline (41%) to be twice as high as that of vertebrates, and the pace of local species extinction (10%) eight times higher, confirming previous findings (Dirzo et al., 2014). At present, about a third of all insect species are threatened with extinction in the countries studied (Table 1). Moreover, every year about 1% of all insect species are added to the list, with such biodiversity declines resulting in an annual 2.5% loss of biomass worldwide (Fig. 2).
— Francisco Sánchez-Bayo, Kris Wyckhuys, "Worldwide decline of the entomofauna", Biological Conservation (2019)
The study also noted that most of the scientific and public attention was focused on the conservation of larger, charismatic vertebrates, that insect biodiversity was low on the agenda.
Limitations of studies
In their 2019 systemic review, Sánchez-Bayo & Wyckhuys noted that few studies had been done on such insect groups as Diptera, Orthoptera and Hemiptera. Data from the past from which to calculate trends was largely unavailable, and what did exist mostly related to Western Europe and North America, with the tropics and southern hemisphere (which are the major habitats of a large amount of insects) being under-represented.[14][3] The insect studies that had been undertaken were largely concentrated on the more popular insect groups: butterflies and moths, bees, dragonflies and beetles.[3]
A reason that studies are limited is that the science of studying insects – entomology – is itself in decline.[15] Similarly in decline is the profession of taxonomy, necessary to record the diversity of species.[14] General biology courses in college give less attention to insects and the number of biologists specialising in entomology is reducing as other specialities such as genetics expand.[16][17][18] Also, these studies tend to be done by collecting the insects and killing them in traps which is an ethical problem for conservationists.[19][20]
Criticism
A March 2019 statement by the Entomological Society of America said there is not yet sufficient data to predict an imminent mass extinction of insects and that some of the extrapolated predictions might "have been extended well past the limits of the data or have been otherwise over-hyped". They did though agree that the studies were "very concerning".[21]
Entomology professor Simon Leather suggested that reports of an "Ecological Armageddon" may be exaggerated and advocated for more funding to allow better collection of long term data on the decline.[22] The methodology of the Sánchez-Bayo & Wyckhuys study has been questioned; the search string used to sift through the scientific literature was "(insect* + decline* + survey)". This meant that the authors identified studies where insect declines had been identified but ignored those that found increases in insect populations or stability.[23] Several entomologists agree that the data on insect declines are too piecemeal and unrepresentative of the general population to support some of the hyperbolic extrapolations.[14]
Conservation measures
Following the 2016 report of the Entomologischer Verein Krefeld and other studies, the German environment ministry – the BMU – started its Action Program for Insect Protection (Aktionsprogramm Insektenschutz).[24] This initially contained nine goals:[25]
- "Promote insect habitats and structural diversity in the agricultural landscape"
- "Restore and connect habitats for insects in other landscape areas"
- "Strengthen protected areas as habitats for insects"
- "Reduce the use of pesticides"
- "Reduce inputs of nutrients and pollutants in soil and water"
- "Reduce light pollution"
- "Deepening research - multiplying knowledge - closing gaps"
- "Improve funding - create incentives"
- "Promote the commitment of society"
In a 2019 paper, scientists Olivier Dangles and Jérôme Casas suggested previous attempts to arrest the repeatedly reported "massive insect decline" have been largely ineffective. They argue that the best approach may be for the global policy making community to transition from the current "insects as providers of ecosystem-services" view to one that see "insect as solutions for SDGs". They list 100 studies and other references showing how insects can assist with meeting the Sustainable Development Goals [26]
The Entomological Society of America advise that measures regular people can take include maintaining plant diversity in their gardens, and leaving "natural habitat, like leaf litter and dead wood." [21]
Citizen science is used to monitor insect populations. People have noticed a decline in the number of insects splattered on car windshields when they drive across their country – the windshield phenomenon. In 2004, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) organised a Big Bug Count, issuing "splatometers" to about 40,000 volunteers so that they could count the number of insects colliding with their number plate. They found an average of one insect per 5 miles (8 km) which was less than expected.[27]
Phone apps such as iNaturalist can be used to photograph and identify specimens and these are being used in programs such as the City Nature Challenge. Activities and projects may focus upon a particular type of insect such as National Moth Week and monarch butterfly conservation in California.[28]
See also
- Biodiversity decline
- Colony collapse disorder
- Decline in amphibian populations
- Holocene extinction
- Pollinator decline
References
- ^ a b Hallmann, CA; Sorg, M; Jongejans, E; Siepel, H; Hofland, N; Schwan, H (18 October 2017), "More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas", PLoS ONE, 12 (10): e0185809, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185809, PMID 29045418
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ McGrath, Matt (11 February 2019), Global insect decline may see 'plague of pests', BBC
- ^ a b c d e Sánchez-Bayo, Francisco; Wyckhuys, Kris A.G. (31 January 2019), "Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers", Biological Conservation, 232: 8–27, doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.020
- ^ a b Damian Carrington (10 February 2019), "Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature'", The Observer
- ^ Vogel, Gretchen (10 May 2017), "Where have all the insects gone?", Science
- ^ Collen, Ben; Böhm, Monika; Kemp, Rachael; Baillie, Jonathan E. M., eds. (2012), Spineless – Status and trends of the world's invertebrates (PDF), Zoological Society of London, ISBN 978-0-900881-70-1
- ^ Borrell, Brendan (4 September 2012), "One Fifth of Invertebrate Species at Risk of Extinction", Scientific American
- ^ Lister, Bradford C.; Garcia, Andres (October 2018), "Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115 (44): E10397–E10406, doi:10.1073/pnas.1722477115, PMC 6217376, PMID 30322922
- ^ Guarino, Ben (15 October 2018), "'Hyperalarming' study shows massive insect loss", The Washington Post
- ^ McGrane, Sally (4 December 2017), "The German Amateurs Who Discovered 'Insect Armageddon'", The New York Times
- ^ Lister, BC; Garcia, A. (October 2018), "Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web", PNAS, 115 (44): E10397–E10406, doi:10.1073/pnas.1722477115
- ^ Jarvis, Brooke (27 November 2018), "The Insect Apocalypse Is Here", The New York Times
- ^ Dirzo, Rodolfo; Young, Hillary; Galetti, Mauro; Ceballos, Gerardo; Isaac, Nick; Collen, Ben (25 July 2014), "Defaunation in the Anthropocene" (PDF), Science, 345 (6195): 401–406, doi:10.1126/science.1251817, PMID 25061202
- ^ a b c Yong, Ed (2019-02-19). "Is the Insect Apocalypse Really Upon Us?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
- ^ Alexandra Sifferlin (14 February 2018), "Fewer Scientists Are Studying Insects. Here's Why That's So Dangerous", TIME
- ^ Leather, Simon (January 2007), "British Entomology in terminal decline?", Antenna, 31 (4): 192
- ^ Gangwani, Kiran; Landin, Jennifer (12 December 2018), "The Decline of Insect Representation in Biology Textbooks Over Time", American Entomologist, 64 (4): 252–257, doi:10.1093/ae/tmy064
- ^ Blakemore, Erin (12 December 2018), "Insects are disappearing from science textbooks—and that should bug you", Popular Science
- ^ Hart, Adam, "Inside the killing jar", The Biologist, 65 (2): 26–29
- ^ Fischer, Bob; Larson, Brendan (25 February 2019), "Collecting insects to conserve them: a call for ethical caution", Insect Conservation and Diversity, doi:10.1111/icad.12344
- ^ a b Global Insect Biodiversity:Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), Entomological Society of America, March 2019
- ^ Leather, Simon (20 December 2017), ""Ecological Armageddon" – more evidence for the drastic decline in insect numbers", Annals of Applied Biology, 172: 1–3, doi:10.1111/aab.12410
- ^ Saunders, Manu (16 February 2019). "Insectageddon is a great story. But what are the facts?". Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Bélanger, J.; Pilling, D., eds. (2019), The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture (PDF), Rome: FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, p. 133
- ^ Action program insect protection (in German), Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit, 10 October 2018
- ^ Dangles, Olivier; Casas, Jérôme (February 2019), "Ecosystem services provided by insects for achieving sustainable development goals", Ecosystem Services: Science, Policy and Practice, 35: 109–115, doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.12.002
- ^ Kirby, Alex (1 September 2004), Scarce insects duck UK splat test, BBC
- ^ Katherine Roth (15 January 2019), Apps let everyone help track health of insect populations, Associated Press