Alarm over decline in flying insects-75% over 30 years

submitted by muad_dib from bbc.com

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[–]muad_dib[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

This is especially troubling as winged insects often act as excellent bioindicators

[–]knowbodyelse 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

yeah, that's right there at the broad base of the food chain (web). the number of species looks to be about to drop precipitously. we live in interesting times.

[–]heirofleelawrie 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Similar to the canary in the coal mine. This is really sad/disheartening. As well, there was a recent massive penguin starvation due to ice being present in the late season - http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41608722

[–]knowbodyelse 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

saw that. the times they are a-changin'

[–]Dragusha 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Could the massive uptick in plastics be responsible for this? The widespread use of plastics will have massive implications for our biosphere

[–]muad_dib[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It is entirely possible, though it would probably be the chemical byproducts and not the actual plastics. More likely is the accumulation of all the industrial and agricultural chemicals in the ecosystem. Couple that with temperature fluctuation and habitat loss and you will start to get a clearer picture of why it is happening

[–]Node 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The fundamental cause is too many humans. The details of whether it's from the burning of forests or the exhaust from fossil fuels is incidental.

[–]Mike 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yep. This bugs me. Butterflies have disappeared from shanghai.