Mass insect extinction within a century threatens ‘catastrophic’ collapse of nature’s ecosystems, scientists warn
Pesticide use is driving an “alarming” decline in the world’s insects that could have a “catastrophic” impact on nature’s ecosystems, researchers have warned. More than 40 per cent of insect species are at risk of extinction with decades, with climate change and pollution also to blame, according to a global scientific review. Their numbers are plummeting so precipitously that almost all insects could vanish within a century, the study found.
An overhaul of the agricultural industry is “urgently needed” to “allow the recovery of declining insect populations and safeguard the vital ecosystem services they provide,” wrote co-authors from Sydney and Queensland universities.
The biologists conducted a systematic review of 73 historic reports of insect declines across the world. Ten per cent of known insect species have already become extinct, compared to one per cent of vertebrates, they found. Of the insects that remain, 41 per cent are in decline.
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on Feb 14 2019. Filed under Climate change.
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