https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320718313636
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ng-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature
What a 2.5%@yr decline looks like:
https://images.dailykos.com/images/642549/large/insect_pct.JPG?1549858745
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ng-insect-numbers-threaten-collapse-of-nature
More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. The total mass of insects is falling by a precipitous 2.5% a year, according to the best data available - - -
The world must change the way it produces food, Sánchez-Bayo said, noting that organic farms had more insects and that occasional pesticide use in the past did not cause the level of decline seen in recent decades. “Industrial-scale, intensive agriculture is the one that is killing the ecosystems,” he said.
In the tropics, where industrial agriculture is often not yet present, the rising temperatures due to climate change are thought to be a significant factor in the decline. The species there have adapted to very stable conditions and have little ability to change, as seen in Puerto Rico.
Some journalistic misimplications in the article, but the study does say what it says.In his opinion, the review slightly overemphasises the role of pesticides and underplays global warming, though other unstudied factors such as light pollution might prove to be significant.
What a 2.5%@yr decline looks like:
https://images.dailykos.com/images/642549/large/insect_pct.JPG?1549858745