Published 16:02 IST, February 11th 2020
Scientists warn half-a-million insect species face extinction
Scientists say that more than 2,000 species of insects are exploited as a part of the human diet,rest suffer due to climate change and the use of pesticides.
Scientists have reportedly confirmed that the insect population is declining at an alarming rate as it constitutes half of the one million animal and plant species on earth facing extinction, and their disappearance could be catastrophic for humankind basis the research published.
The severe dip in the insect population is a ‘warning to humanity', the scientists reportedly said. Pedro Cardoso, a biologist at the Finnish Museum of Natural History and lead author of a review study published Monday told the media that the current insect extinction crisis was deeply worrying, and yet what the scientist know was only the tip of the iceberg.
Human activity responsible for insect population extinction
He further added that that human activity was responsible for almost all insect population declines and extinctions, the main drivers being their dwindling and degraded habitat, the toxic pollutants like the insecticides, and invasive species that pose a grave threat for the insect survival.
The scientists said that more than 2,000 species of insects are exploited as a part of the human diet — and rest suffer due to the climate change, and that could accelerate the sixth extinction phase of the last half-billion years resulting in the disappearance of bugs that fly, crawl, burrow, jump and walk on water, suggest reports.
The last extinction phase of the species was 66 million years ago, when a mysterious space rock wiped out the dinosaurs and other life forms on the planet, and this time only humans would be held responsible for insect population extinction.
According to the reports, the decline of butterflies, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, flies, crickets and dragonflies has consequences on the ecological systems. Cardoso told the reporters that the insect extinction can directly result in the endangering of several other species as insects are the vital providers of services that are irreplaceable, including pollination, nutrient cycling, and pest control.
He emphasized that these “ecosystem services” are worth approximately $57 billion (52 billion euros) a year in the United States based on scientific research. Cardoso told the media that insect pollination, which is a mandatory phenomenon to yield crops, has an economic value of at least $235-577 billion annually, according to the UN biodiversity science panel, known as IPBES.
Updated 16:02 IST, February 11th 2020