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Two degrees decimated Puerto Rico's insect populations
While temperatures in the tropical forests of northeastern Puerto Rico have climbed two degrees Celsius since the mid-1970s, the biomass of arthropods—invertebrate animals such as insects, millipedes, and sowbugs—has declined by as much as 60-fold, according to new findings published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The finding supports the recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warnings of severe environmental threats given a 2.0 degree Celsius elevation in global temperature. Like some other tropical locations, the study area in the Luquillo rainforest has already reached or exceeded a 2.0 degree Celsius rise in average temperature, and the study finds that the consequences are potentially catastrophic.
"Our results suggest that the effects of climate warming in tropical forests may be even greater than anticipated" said Brad Lister lead author of the study and a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "The insect populations in the Luquillo forest are crashing, and once that begins the animals that eat the insects have insufficient food, which results in decreased reproduction and survivorship and consequent declines in abundance."
(Score: 4, Insightful) by KilroySmith on Wednesday October 17 2018, @03:43AM (6 children)
They measured a drop in populations; how they linked that to climate change I'll never understand.
Perhaps a 2C temperature rise killed 98.4% of all the local arthropods - or perhaps Marijuana grow operations hidden in the rainforest have matured and started using more aggressive pesticides. Perhaps an invasive species of arthropod-eating predators has sprung up. Their analysis is basically "Bugs went down as temperature went up, ergo we have correlation, ergo we have causation". Totally bogus.
I've read enough real studies on climate change to be convinced that it's real, and it's one of the clear and present dangers to civilization over the next 50 years. This study, however, isn't one of the persuasive ones.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @04:39AM (1 child)
In the past decade, has anybody published research that didn't mention climate change? Maybe there is a paper on gravity waves that somehow forgot to relate them to climate change?
It has gotten absurd. I have my suspicions. It could be that, correctly or not, the researchers think that this will get them through peer review or get them more funding.
In any case, I can't take climate change seriously at all. So much obvious nonsense is getting published. We were also predicted to be killed by it already, so whatever... I must be dead.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:14AM
Its just a way to try to hijack the argument from consensus heuristic. Basically its argument from authority disguised as consensus. Same as the fake news all reading the same script:
https://youtu.be/rCuX4Up-plc [youtu.be]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @04:44AM
Or maybe it was Trump that killed all of them bugs?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:39AM (1 child)
Or perhaps it was "rogue insect killers"?? Who knows!!
But unless you offer some proof, maybe you should realize that there was nothing else, including pesticide usage, that could have explained the drop. The drop of insect predators was also seen. So I don't know.... +2C temperature increase? Insects don't control their body heat? No pesticides or pesticide usage declining (part of the study!)? Predation declining? Populations under catastrophic collapse?
Oh, maybe they all turned into celibate monks and then committed suicide to live with the Great One by the comet? Maybe more convenient line of thinking....
It's fucking sad when people reject reality because it's not compatible with their preconceived ideas of what it ought to be.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:19AM
Unless you offer some proof, maybe you should realize that someone's sky god smote Puerto Rico insects for their sin and decadent life styles. There was nothing else, including climate change, that could have explained the drop.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 17 2018, @06:27PM
Every single one of your armchair confounding factors was addressed by the paper.
This study, however, isn't one of the persuasive ones.
Maybe you should try reading it first before declaring judgement. It's not paywalled.