Research: Climate Change Collapsing Insect Numbers by 63%

The world may be facing a devastating “hidden” collapse in insect species due to the twin threats of climate change and habitat loss.

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By Palm Oil Detectives

The world may be facing a devastating “hidden” collapse in insect species due to the twin threats of climate change and habitat loss.

• UCL’s Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research has carried out one of the largest-ever assessments of insect declines around the world — assessing three-quarters of a million samples from around 6,000 sites.
• The new study, published in Nature, finds that climate-stressed farmland possesses only half the number of insects, on average, and 25% fewer insect species than areas of natural habitat.
• Insect declines are greatest in high-intensity farmland areas within tropical countries — where the combined effects of climate change and habitat loss are experienced most profoundly.
• The majority of the world’s estimated 5.5 million species are thought to live in these regions — meaning the planet’s greatest abundances of insect life may be suffering collapses without us even realising.
• Lowering the intensity of farming by using fewer chemicals, having a greater diversity of crops and preserving some natural habitat can mitigate the negative effects of habitat loss and climate change on insects.
• Considering the choices we make as consumers — such as buying shade-grown coffee or cocoa — could also help protect insects and other creatures in the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

Originally written by Tim Newbold, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment, UCL and Charlie Outhwaite, Postdoctoral Researcher in Biodiversity Change, UCL. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Longer version

Insects are critical to the future of our planet. They help to keep pest species under control and break down dead material to release nutrients into the soil. Flying insects are also key pollinators of many major…