Where climate change and global warming have already affected numerous ecological systems, a new report suggests that its next target will be insects, which can go extinct within a century, hence posing a threat to survival of mankind.
New report on the global plunging insect numbers has shown that a third of species are endangered and over 40% face the threat of extinction in the next few decades, and that with insects dying so rapidly, they can totally disappear within 100 years.
Francisco Sánchez-Bayo, co-author of the study published in the journal Biological Conservation told The Guardian, “It is very rapid. In 10 years you will have a quarter less, in 50 years only half left and in 100 years you will have none.”
Corals to be grown on land and transplanted into oceans to stop extinction
He also claimed that the dropping number cannot be halted, this could possibly trigger a ‘catastrophic’ global environment collapse that could affect both the planet’s ecosystems and an end for survival of mankind.
The team claimed that the entire global mass of insects is dropping by 2.5% each year. Insects are dying twice as fast as vertebrates and the extinction rate is over throwing that of mammals, birds and reptiles eight times over.
The researchers examined 73 reports on insect population declines and claimed intensive agriculture (pesticides), climate change and urbanization are the primary factors that have the biggest impact on insects.
The Sun reported that insects are a vital part of ecosystem as they pollinate plantlife and provide food for birds and other animals. Heavy insect losses could hence disrupt global food chains and threat hundreds of species that humans need to survive. “If this food source is taken away, all these animals starve to death,” Sánchez-Bayo said.
Moreover, moths and butterflies are among the species affected most by the decline. Also, according to the authors, Hymenoptera – a class that includes bees, ants and wasps –, dung beetles, dragonflies and mayflies are also among the ones most affected by the decline.
The authors wrote, “Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades. The repercussions this will have for the planet’s ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least.”