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In 2016, the [[Entomologischer Verein Krefeld]] produced a report from their long-term records of insect collections in [[list of nature parks in Germany|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.<ref name=NYT17/><ref name=PLoS/> |
In 2016, the [[Entomologischer Verein Krefeld]] produced a report from their long-term records of insect collections in [[list of nature parks in Germany|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.<ref name=NYT17/><ref name=PLoS/> |
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In 2019, a [[systematic review]] of the issue – ''Worldwide decline of the entomofauna'' – was published in the journal ''[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]]''.<ref name=G/> This analysed 73 reports and studies and found that, overall, there were "dramatic rates of decline".<ref name=BC/>{{quote|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).|author=Francisco Sánchez-Bayo, Kris Wyckhuys |title="Worldwide decline of the entomofauna" |source=''[[Biological Conservation (journal)|Biological Conservation]]'' (2019)}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 20:33, 4 March 2019
In the 21st century, there appears to be a widespread 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, 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: Spineless. 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 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]
A 2014 review in Science – Defaunation in the Anthropocene – found 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".[10][11]
In 2016, the Entomologischer Verein Krefeld produced a report from their long-term 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.[12][1]
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)
See also
- Biodiversity decline
- Colony collapse disorder
- Decline in amphibian populations
- Holocene extinction
- Pollinator decline
- Windshield phenomenon
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), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185809
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Matt McGrath (11 February 2019), Global insect decline may see 'plague of pests', BBC
- ^ a b 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
- ^ Gretchen Vogel (10 May 2017), "Where have all the insects gone?", Science
- ^ Ben Collen; Monika Böhm; Rachael Kemp; Jonathan E. M. Baillie, eds. (2012), Spineless – Status and trends of the world's invertebrates (PDF), Zoological Society of London, ISBN 978-0-900881-70-1
- ^ Brendan Borrell (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), doi:10.1073/pnas.1722477115
- ^ Ben Guarino (15 October 2018), "'Hyperalarming' study shows massive insect loss", The Washington Post
- ^ Brooke Jarvis (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
- ^ Sally McGrane (4 December 2017), "The German Amateurs Who Discovered 'Insect Armageddon'", The New York Times