WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Are We in an Insect Armageddon?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb here with a classic episode

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<v Speaker 1>from our podcast archives. In this one, we consider research

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<v Speaker 1>into the decline of insect populations around the world and

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<v Speaker 1>what that might mean for the future. Hey there, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vogel Bomb here. When you hear the word armageddon,

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<v Speaker 1>you might imagine a battle thought at the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the world by humans. But it's possible that battle is

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<v Speaker 1>being fought right now. Only all the casualties are bugs.

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<v Speaker 1>Insects are vitally important to the functioning of the world's ecosystems.

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<v Speaker 1>They do most of the plant pollination, after all, while

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<v Speaker 1>providing food for the bulk of the world's birds, amphibians, reptiles,

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<v Speaker 1>and mammals. They're also essential in nutrient cycling, breaking down

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<v Speaker 1>the world's dead stuff, manure, and what have you to

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<v Speaker 1>make more dirt for us to grow our food in.

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<v Speaker 1>Every ecosystem on the planet needs insects, which is why

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<v Speaker 1>the apparent tanking of bug biomass is so alarming. A

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<v Speaker 1>study published in October seventeen in the journal Plos one

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<v Speaker 1>confirms the insect decline that many scientists and insect enthusiasts

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<v Speaker 1>previously suspected, and it turns out their suspicions weren't just validated,

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<v Speaker 1>but surpassed. In Germany, insect biomass is declined by roughly

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<v Speaker 1>seventy percent over a little less than three decades. We

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<v Speaker 1>spoke with co author Casper Hallman of the Institute for

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<v Speaker 1>Water and Wetland Research at Radbound University in the Netherlands.

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<v Speaker 1>In an email, he said declines in insects as a

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<v Speaker 1>group have been suspected for quite some time, indirectly through

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<v Speaker 1>declines in insect vorious birds, but around the globe only

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<v Speaker 1>a few data sets exist to inform us, and these

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<v Speaker 1>data are mainly concentrated around bees, butterflies and moths. Since

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<v Speaker 1>a group of amateur entomologists in Kerfeld, Germany, has been

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<v Speaker 1>collecting all kinds of insects from sixty three German nature

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<v Speaker 1>reserves between spring and autumn each year, following a highly

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<v Speaker 1>standardized sampling protocol. Over the years, realized that the tent

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<v Speaker 1>like traps specially designed to catch flying insects were yielding

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<v Speaker 1>a smaller and smaller catch each year, even though every

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<v Speaker 1>aspect of their sampling regime remained constant. Weighing the total

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<v Speaker 1>biomass of the yearly hall over time allowed them to

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<v Speaker 1>quantify exactly how big a hit these flying insects have

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<v Speaker 1>taken over the decades. They found an overall three quarters

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<v Speaker 1>decline in insects when they looked at the entire collecting season,

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<v Speaker 1>but in high summer, when insect numbers are at their highest,

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<v Speaker 1>the decline was even more noticeable. At These findings are

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<v Speaker 1>of course specific to Germany, and data are very scarce

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<v Speaker 1>for nature preserves in other parts of the world, but

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<v Speaker 1>the drop in insect populations is in no way limited

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<v Speaker 1>to Germany. The study authors speculate that their study locations

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<v Speaker 1>are representative of similar preserves around the world, and study

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<v Speaker 1>published in the journal Science detailed the decline in worldwide populations.

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<v Speaker 1>The reason it's important to compare these data to those

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<v Speaker 1>taken from other protected areas has to do with the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that agricultural or urban areas have relative little to

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<v Speaker 1>offer insects and are often outright toxic to them. Therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>it's tough to note based on data from these areas

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<v Speaker 1>whether insects are doing poorly in other places in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>in habitats where they should be thriving. That said, general

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<v Speaker 1>data sets on butterflies, moths, and most famously bees around

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<v Speaker 1>the world mostly point in the same dismal direction. Additionally,

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<v Speaker 1>the so called windshield phenomenon might not be data driven science,

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<v Speaker 1>but it seems that all over the world in recent

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<v Speaker 1>decades people have been noticing fewer squashed bugs on their

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<v Speaker 1>windshields than ever before. But what could be causing this

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<v Speaker 1>more than decimation of Germany's insects. While the research team

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<v Speaker 1>looked at whether changes in climatic conditions, the landscape or

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<v Speaker 1>the local habitat may have caused the decline, co author

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<v Speaker 1>Hallman says they were unable to explain it based on

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<v Speaker 1>these analyzes. Quote, Our best guests at this point are

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<v Speaker 1>the negative influences of land use surrounding the nature reserves,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly agricultural practices such as extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as over decline in habitats sustainability in between

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<v Speaker 1>the reserves. But the effects of so many fewer insects

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<v Speaker 1>can already be observed in the decline of birds in Germany.

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<v Speaker 1>During the same time period, twelve million pairs of breeding

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<v Speaker 1>birds have disappeared, and the same trend has been observed

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<v Speaker 1>in other parts of Europe. So the next time you

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<v Speaker 1>see a bug in your house, reconsider squashing it and

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<v Speaker 1>maybe just escorted outside. It's kind of having a tough

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<v Speaker 1>thirty years of it. Today's episode was written by Jesselyn

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<v Speaker 1>Shields and produced by Tristan McNeil and Tyler. Playing. For

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<v Speaker 1>more than this and lots of other topics, visit how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio.

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