The Guardian 10 Feb 2019
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review.
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review.
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, suggesting they could vanish within a century.
The planet is at the start of a sixth mass extinction in its history, with huge losses already reported in larger animals that are easier to study. But insects are by far the most varied and abundant animals, outweighing humanity by 17 times.
They are “essential” for the proper functioning of all ecosystems, the
researchers say, as food for other creatures, pollinators and recyclers
of nutrients.
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