Insects are a fundamental part of life on earth in almost every way that you can think of: in their diversity, their sheer abundance, in the ecological roles they play, in the benefits and services they provide us. It should give you a sense of existential dread to learn that insects are going away. Well, they aren't going completely away. It is hard to imagine a world that is still vaguely hospitable to life that doesn't have insects. But two recent studies have shown that the overall abundance of insects has been crashing precipitously over just the last few decades. One of the studies found that the abundance of flying insects in German nature preserves has declined 75 percent in just 27 years. Another study found similar declines in a Puerto Rico rain forest, and documented how this has altered the broader rain forest ecosystem.
This longish NYT Magazine article looks at these studies, and the other evidence that we are in the midst of an "insect Apocalypse"
No comments:
Post a Comment