Invertebrate numbers nearly halve as human population doubles

[GliderGuider]

Invertebrate numbers nearly halve as human population doubles

Invertebrate numbers have decreased by 45% on average over a 35 year period in which the human population doubled, reports a study on the impact of humans on declining animal numbers. This decline matters because of the enormous benefits invertebrates such as insects, spiders, crustaceans, slugs and worms bring to our day-to-day lives, including pollination and pest control for crops, decomposition for nutrient cycling, water filtration and human health.

The study, published in Science and led by UCL, Stanford and UCSB, focused on the demise of invertebrates in particular, as large vertebrates have been extensively studied. They found similar widespread changes in both, with an on-going decline in invertebrates surprising scientists, as they had previously been viewed as nature's survivors.

The decrease in invertebrate numbers is due to two main factors – habitat loss and climate disruption on a global scale. In the UK alone, scientists noted the areas inhabited by common insects such as beetles, butterflies, bees and wasps saw a 30-60% decline over the last 40 years.

Tick ... tick ... tick ...

[rock]

1. Us humans hates invertebrates except for humans themselves (politicians and such)

and are glad to see them die off.

[The2ndWheel]

2. Makes sense

This decline matters because of the enormous benefits invertebrates such as insects, spiders, crustaceans, slugs and worms bring to our day-to-day lives, including pollination and pest control for crops, decomposition for nutrient cycling, water filtration and human health.

Which are increasingly done by people using cheap energy, which speeds everything up, because the world has to fit humanity, and basically only humanity, not the other way around.

That's what progress is, and as long as the energy is cheap enough, we'll keep doing it, until we get to the end point, which is the control of life.

[phantom power]

3. Our game of ecosystem giant-jenga proceeds apace

[NickB79]

4. What an apt description. Spot-on! nt

[joshcryer]

5. Most Of The Earth's Species Are About To Be Destroyed In A Giant Mass Extinction

Approximately 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs went extinct, 75% of the planet's many species went with them. It was the world's fifth, and most recent, mass extinction event.

Now, according to a July 25 review in the journal Science, the Earth seems to be at the cusp of a sixth mass extinction. Only this time, an asteroid is not to blame. We are.

"Human impacts on animal biodiversity are an under-recognized form of global environmental change," the team of ecologists and biologists warn in Science. "Among terrestrial vertebrates, 322 species have become extinct since 1500, and populations of the remaining species show 25% average decline in abundance."

A third of all vertebrates, the scientists write, "are threatened or endangered."

There are several long-time drivers of what researchers call "defaunation" — the decline of various animal species. The study points to " overexploitation, habitat destruction, and impacts from invasive species" as continuing threats, but notes that soon, human-caused climate change will be the number one driver of defaunation. Diseases that come from pathogens introduced by humans are another growing threat.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-earths-species-destroyed-giant-220539502.html

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6195/401