Insects are not just any other organism inhabiting the planet. These small creatures make big impacts on the lives of humans. From the creation of useful substances such as honey and silk to playing a vital role in decomposition and nutrient cycling, insects are an important part of the ecosystem.
However, as per a 2017 study insect populations have declined by an alarming 75% in less than three decades. Why so? Well, a recent research published in BioScience, by a team at Binghamton University seems to have found the answer.
The team analysed more than 175 scientific reviews including 500+ hypotheses on the reasons for insect population decline. Their research helped them create an interconnected network of 3,000 possible links with reasons such as beekeeping and urban sprawl.
Christopher Halsch , lead author of the paper and a post-doctoral researcher at Binghamton shared with the university that the main aim of the study was to find 'causal pathways' to trace the decline. “The idea was to read them and extract what people say are ‘causal pathways’. For example, agriculture leads to pollution, which leads to insect population decline. Then we built a giant network out of them to see which ideas are more often connected to each other, and which stressors are most often seen as the root causes" he said.
What are the causes of insects being endangered?
The most cited cause of decline in insect population was agricultural intensification through issues such as land-use change and insecticides. However, each reason is linked with the other and has a shared impact. While climate change might be an umbrella reason for the decline, individual factors under this such as fire and precipitation can have their own impact on other factors. Thus, what seems to be intensifying the effect is the interconnected and synergized network rather than one factor in itself.
Other major causes of insect decline
According to Eliza Grames, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences who was a part of a recent study presenting a decline of 20% in the butterflies in the United States, "None of the papers mentioned natural disasters. No papers looked at human intrusions and disturbance, or the effects of war on insects, or railroads. So there are these big areas that we know in general are threats to biodiversity, but the insect decline literature is really just focused on a few big stressors, as opposed to getting into the more specific ones, which are a lot more mechanistic.”
The researchers in the study also highlighted biases in the insect literature which is focused on "popular" insects such as bees and butterflies, despite them being a minority in insect diversity. “Because people have focused so much on pollinators like bees and butterflies, we are limited in identifying conservation actions that benefit other insects,” said Grames.
Thus, a more multi-faceted approach is required in insect conservation rather than one focused on a singular type. “One of the important points we’re trying to make in the paper is that conservation actions overly biased towards certain insects or certain stressors will likely be negative for many other insects,” said Halsch. “If we focus too much on bees and butterflies and their conservation, we will miss a lot of other species, most of them in fact.”
However, as per a 2017 study insect populations have declined by an alarming 75% in less than three decades. Why so? Well, a recent research published in BioScience, by a team at Binghamton University seems to have found the answer.
The team analysed more than 175 scientific reviews including 500+ hypotheses on the reasons for insect population decline. Their research helped them create an interconnected network of 3,000 possible links with reasons such as beekeeping and urban sprawl.
Christopher Halsch , lead author of the paper and a post-doctoral researcher at Binghamton shared with the university that the main aim of the study was to find 'causal pathways' to trace the decline. “The idea was to read them and extract what people say are ‘causal pathways’. For example, agriculture leads to pollution, which leads to insect population decline. Then we built a giant network out of them to see which ideas are more often connected to each other, and which stressors are most often seen as the root causes" he said.
What are the causes of insects being endangered?
The most cited cause of decline in insect population was agricultural intensification through issues such as land-use change and insecticides. However, each reason is linked with the other and has a shared impact. While climate change might be an umbrella reason for the decline, individual factors under this such as fire and precipitation can have their own impact on other factors. Thus, what seems to be intensifying the effect is the interconnected and synergized network rather than one factor in itself.
Other major causes of insect decline
According to Eliza Grames, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences who was a part of a recent study presenting a decline of 20% in the butterflies in the United States, "None of the papers mentioned natural disasters. No papers looked at human intrusions and disturbance, or the effects of war on insects, or railroads. So there are these big areas that we know in general are threats to biodiversity, but the insect decline literature is really just focused on a few big stressors, as opposed to getting into the more specific ones, which are a lot more mechanistic.”
The researchers in the study also highlighted biases in the insect literature which is focused on "popular" insects such as bees and butterflies, despite them being a minority in insect diversity. “Because people have focused so much on pollinators like bees and butterflies, we are limited in identifying conservation actions that benefit other insects,” said Grames.
Thus, a more multi-faceted approach is required in insect conservation rather than one focused on a singular type. “One of the important points we’re trying to make in the paper is that conservation actions overly biased towards certain insects or certain stressors will likely be negative for many other insects,” said Halsch. “If we focus too much on bees and butterflies and their conservation, we will miss a lot of other species, most of them in fact.”
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