Aussies identify underestimated threat to global food supply
Researchers are closer to discovering why the world's insects are disappearing.
Most Aussies hate insects — that's something researchers invested in their preservation know all too well.
"They think about flies around the barbecue, mosquitoes later on in the evening, or cockroaches that appear in the kitchen. And there's no doubt they're unwelcome," Melbourne University's evolutionary biologist Professor Mark Elgar conceded.
Although they can be annoying, insects are also critical to the creation of staple supermarket products like wine, beer, tomatoes, chocolate and cherries. That's why a severe global decline in insect numbers has got experts scrambling to work out why. A team of researchers from Australia, China and the US have just pinpointed a major contributor.
Pollution is a major contributor to insect deaths
Published in the journal Nature Communications, a new global study has revealed pollution is impairing insect health and reproduction at a worse rate than previously thought.
Professor Elgar, a co-author of the paper, said insects in Beijing and parts of India are likely facing acute problems from pollution. While the problem is not as bad in Australia, it's bushfire smoke that's probably to blame for much of the damage here.
In June, Yahoo reported 120 trillion insects likely died across the Black Summer bushfire burn zone, but it's likely many more died or suffered impairment outside of this area.
What did the research reveal?
Focusing on male and female houseflies, they discovered the accumulation of fine particulate matter on their antennae is impairing their ability to find food and sexual partners.
But it’s not just in cities where insects are being impacted — because pollution can travel for thousands of kilometres, so even insects living in remote areas are under threat.
"We collected insects many kilometres away from quite a modest bushfire. Some insects are able to clean their antennae... but we're not sure whether the combs on their legs that they use to clean themselves are fine enough to clear off tiny particles," Professor Elgar said.
It’s bad news that insect and spider species are becoming extinct faster than we can identify they even existed. More than 40 per cent are declining in numbers, and around a third are endangered.
But it's not just food supplies that will likely be impacted by declines in insects. Professor Elgar explains that they're referred to in ecology circles as "ecosystem engineers".
"They engage in a lot of activities that ensure environments remain relatively stable, and they have a direct impact on human life. As well as being pollinators, they decompose stuff which means that you don't have lots of unpleasant bacteria or smells or things hanging around," he said.
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