| Title | Over 75% Decline in Insect Biomass Measured in German Nature Reserves | |
| Date | Friday October 20 2017, @12:51PM | |
| Author | martyb | |
| Topic | ||
| from the Hey,-man.-Don't-bug-me!! dept. | ||
Three-quarters of the total insect population lost in protected nature reserves
Since 1989, in 63 nature reserves in Germany the total biomass of flying insects has decreased by more than 75 percent. This decrease has long been suspected but has turned out to be more severe than previously thought. Ecologists from Radboud University together with German and English colleagues published these findings in the scientific journal PLOS ONE [open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185809] [DX] on October 18th.
In recent years, it became clear that the numbers of many types of insects such as butterflies and bees were declining in Western Europe and North America. "However, the fact that flying insects are decreasing at such a high rate in such a large area is an even more alarming discovery," states Hans de Kroon, project leader at Radboud University.
Entomologists (insect researchers) in Krefeld, Germany, led by Martin Sorg and Heinz Schwan, collected data over the past 27 years in 63 different places within nature reserves across Germany. Flying insects were trapped in so called malaise traps and the total biomass was then weighed and compared. The researchers from Nijmegen, Germany and England have now been able to analyse this treasure trove of data for the first time.
Also at CNN.
| Links |
printed from SoylentNews, Over 75% Decline in Insect Biomass Measured in German Nature Reserves on 2025-12-06 02:47:48