New Study Shows an Alarming Decline in Insect Populations
Have you noticed that fewer bugs are
hitting your windshield recently? Or that the fireflies of your childhood are
disappearing? A new study reports that 40 percent of insect species are in
decline and may die out within the next century. The current rate of extinction
for insects is eight times higher than it is for mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Losses of larger animals are being studied, but there is not as much data about
insects. However a growing number of studies have begun to show the extent of
insect losses.
There are many causes of these losses. In
areas with large-scale agriculture, pesticides are harming insect populations.
In the tropics, climate change may be killing them. For example, in the
rainforest in Puerto Rico mentioned above, the average high temperature had
gone up by four degrees Fahrenheit over the period of the study. Other factors
include habitat loss due to deforestation, large-scale agriculture,
urbanization, and pollution. Finally globalization is also causing problems,
since now parasites and diseases that are harmful to insects spread easily and
quickly around the globe.
2020 04/13