A collection of new scientific papers, written by 56 experts from around the world, reiterates the growing concern about reducing bugs and urges people and governments to take urgent action to address a biodiversity crisis called the “insect apocalypse”.
“The global decline of insects in the special anthropocene feature”, which includes an introduction and 11 papers, was published on Monday in The works of the National Academies of Sciences along with a related news article. “Nature is under siege,” warn scientists. “Insects suffer from ‘death by a thousand cuts.'”
The study set – the result of a symposium at St. Louis – comes as the body of research on insect decline has grown in recent years, leading to major assessments published in February 2019 and April 2020, as well as a roadmap published in January last year by 73 scientists detailing how to fights against the “bugpocalypse”.
As the new package and chart below explain, the human stressors experts have linked to the decline in bugs include farming practices; chemical, light and noise pollution; invasive species; land use changes; nitrification; pesticides; and urbanization.
Emphasizing the consequences of such declines, University of Connecticut entomologist David Wagner, lead author of the package, said for Associated Press that insects “are absolutely the fabric through which Mother Nature and the tree of life are built.”
According to Wagner, many insect populations decline by about 1-2% per year. As he said it the Guardian: “You lose 10-20% of your animals in a single decade and that’s absolutely scary. You destroy the upholstery of life.”
Although most of the causes of the decline are well known, “there is a really big unknown and that’s climate change – this is what scares me the most,” he said, warning that the crisis could cause “extinctions at a rapid pace.” which we have not seen before. “
“In order to mitigate the effects of the sixth mass extinction event we have caused, the following will be needed: a stable (and almost certainly lower) human population, sustainable levels of consumption and social justice” https: / /t.co/ m3q4tLUxz4
– Damian Carrington (@dpcarrington) January 11, 2021
Roel van Klink from the German Center for Integrated Biodiversity Research said the Guardian that “the most important thing we learn [from these new studies] it is the complexity behind the decline of insects. No quick fix will solve this problem. “
“There are certainly places where the abundance of insects is declining sharply, but not everywhere,” he said. “This is a cause for hope because it can help us understand what we can do to help them. They can come back very quickly when conditions improve.”
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The introduction of the package points out that, while much recent research and coverage of the resulting news has focused on declining insect populations, “four papers in this special issue note cases of insect lines that have not changed or increased in abundance.” .
“Many species of moths in the UK have expanded demonstrably in the field or in the size of the population,” the paper notes. “Numerous temperate insects, probably limited by winter temperatures, have grown in abundance and range in response to warmer global temperatures.”
Pollinators, such as North American bees, “could thrive because of their associations with humans,” the introduction adds. “The growing abundance of freshwater insects has been attributed to clean water legislation in both Europe and North America.”
In addition to the introduction, entitled “The Decline of Insects in the Anthropocene: Death by a Thousand Cuts”, the package includes seven perspectives:
The body of work also includes three separate research articles:
The final piece is an opinion that presents “eight simple actions that individuals can take to save insects from global declines,” which contains five actions to create “more and better insect-friendly habitats, the loss of which is probably a cause.” main focus of insects “, and three aimed at adjusting public attitudes.
As Dharna Noor wrote in her cover for Further: “I don’t like beetles. Creepy things, with many legs, make my skin crawl. But no matter how unpleasant they are, insects are absolutely crucial to the functioning of our world’s ecosystems and, unfortunately, new research shows is on the verge of collapse. “
To increase insect awareness and appreciation, scientists suggest counteracting negative perceptions, promoting conservation efforts, and engaging in local political advocacy activities. In terms of habitat improvement, they recommend transforming lawns into various natural habitats, growing native plants, reducing pesticide use, limiting light pollution and reducing soap leaks from car washes and exterior construction, and the use of access sealants and salts. de-icing.
“Avoiding some behaviors or adopting others will contribute both directly and indirectly to the conservation of insects,” the scientists note. “Moreover, taking action to address issues such as climate change can synergistically promote insect diversity. Climate change is increasingly recognized as a primary factor in plant and animal extinctions at local and regional level.”