07 May Extent of biodiversity loss still unrealised due to non-insect research bias
Researchers say our understanding of the natural world is tainted due a ‘vertebrate-centric bias’ – a widespread preference for the “more charismatic” backboned creatures.
On January 15, the world woke up to headlines signalling a serious threat to ecological systems around the world. Brad Lister, a scientist who worked in a rainforest in Puerto Rico 35 years earlier, returned to find 98% of ground insects had vanished and 80% of those in the leafy canopy too. It was described “insectageddon,” a word George Monbiot pinned in 2017 to refer to global ecological meltdown brought about by a shocking collapse of insect populations.
A month later media frenzy returned as more news surrounding insect declines circulated. A new report was published highlighting research that said: “more than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered.” The analysis also found that the rate of extinction was eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles and the total mass of insects falling by a precipitous 2.5% a year – according to the best available data, insects could vanish within a century.
Just when we need more information, researchers are saying entomology, the scientific study of insects, faces threats of its own. They say the true extent of ecological disruption caused by insect declines is still unknown due to a ‘vertebrate-centric bias’. Most notably, a bias in the allocation of research funding and education.
On March 28, 27 entomologists and ecologists published a letter in the Guardian asking science-funding bodies and the government “to enable intensive investigation of the real threat of ecological disruption caused by insect declines without delay.”
The gaps in our understanding are attributed to an alarming imbalance in the ratio of funding afforded to minority species. This was revealed following an exclusive investigation for this story into data from the two major funding bodies in the UK, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
In the last 10 years, 71% of grants were awarded to vertebrate studies, such as mammals, birds and fish, and just 29% to invertebrate studies (insects). The same amount of grants (435) were awarded to mammal studies alone in that 10-year period as the entire invertebrate group altogether.
Insects comprise of about two thirds of all terrestrial species on Earth. In another paper published earlier this year on the drivers of insect declines, the author wrote that current trends in insect declines “confirm that the sixth major extinction event is profoundly impacting life forms on our planet” and this, “could trigger wide-ranging cascading effects within several of the world’s ecosystems.”
Emeritus Professor Stuart Reynolds from University of Bath and past president of the Royal Entomology Society says: “At a time when we need more data and research, entomology is facing its own declines in teaching and education as well as problems with funding research and taxonomy.”
Although insects account for 90% of Earth’s biomass, over the years they have been grossly neglected as a prime focus of scientific investigation around the world. Until recently, most scientific and public attention has focused on the bigger, more charismatic animals, particularly mammals. This is highlighted by the fact that 80% of invertebrates still haven’t been described by biologists.
“Unless we get extra funding to investigate the decline further and figure out how to mitigate the damage that’s happening then insect populations will continue to decline because we don’t know enough about them,” says Professor Simon Leather from Harper Adams University and Fellow of Royal Entomological Society. He adds: “The amount of funding that is generally available is not anywhere near enough. It doesn’t represent the importance of the problem.”
Head of terrestrial research Simon Kerley said NERC recognises the need to understand changes in insect numbers and find ways to mitigate them. However, he also highlighted a key dilemma: “The majority of our research relevant to insects looks at ecosystems or wider, and insect studies are conducted within this research.” Rather than focusing on insects as a prime component in need of their own robust data, they are routinely seen as minority species and ultimately neglected.
Paul Langcaster from BBSRC said they support research on insects in the context of their ‘Bioscience for Sustainable Agriculture and Food’ strategic priority. Unfortunately, this is another issue often faced by entomologists. From the funding that is available, a majority of it goes to crop protection and food security instead of vital long-term studies on the true impact of insect declines.
Zoologist Dr. Ross Piper highlights issues in the understanding of biological processes and the processes required to obtain the necessary information on insect declines: “We can never really understand any of those processes until we know the component parts and that’s why we require people to go out there and not only describe new species but also figure out how all these species fit together and live.”
A review published in Biological Conservation at the start of this year reiterated entomologist’s concerns. Its authors highlighted a ‘vertebrate-centric bias’ in research studies, writing that insects have routinely been neglected in biodiversity and conservation studies despite their “paramount importance to the overall functioning and stability of ecosystems.”
“From our compilation of published scientific reports, we estimate the current proportion of insect species in decline (41%) to be twice as high as that of vertebrate, and the pace of local species extinction (10%) eight times higher, confirming previous findings,” they add.
The neglect of insects as study organisms has led to serious gaps in our understanding of the functional ecology of ecosystems. Insects are a key component of our terrestrial ecosystem and as Reynolds points out, “if we take away the basic part of the food chain, everything else above will suffer.” Ultimately, this results in a very impoverished ecosystem.
“Song birds, for example, they feed on insects. If you were to take away all those insects there wouldn’t be any song birds. A reduction in song birds would then threaten those species that eat them, such as hawks, and so on.” Serious declines will threaten the stability of biodiversity on every level of the food chain, including our own, since the loss of pollinators will also adversely affect agriculture.
The bias is largely due to the public’s inability to connect with the species and therefore relate to them. He adds, “this is an understandable human tendency – we think of mammals and birds being much more like ourselves.” Unfortunately, this leads to a disconnect and, by extension, a sort of ignorance regarding the loss of them.
Zoologist Dr. Ross Piper believes funding bodies aren’t the main drivers of this bias: “I don’t think it’s just funding bodies; I think there also needs to be a big shift in how biology is taught in schools and more emphasis on natural history and getting kids outside. More because it’s only then where you develop that interest.” He highlights a need for more teaching in schools and universities about entomology and natural history to ignite the interest that will influence system change.
“If you’re in a degree and you’re studying biology or zoology, there aren’t many experts anymore. If you look at the universities in the UK, hardly any of them have entomology courses anymore. It’s all about vertebrates and ecologically, they’re not really that significant,” he adds. “All animals are obviously important but the fact that we put all the small animals aside because they’re small is a massive problem. Their ecological significance is huge.”
The ‘vertebrate-centric’ view of the natural world has major implications for all of us. Further highlighted in the review published in Biological Conservation mentioned earlier, “as insects comprise of about two thirds of all terrestrial species on Earth […] above trends can confirm that the sixth mass extinction event is profoundly impacting life forms on our planet.” And it turns out entomologists say we don’t even know the true extent of this ecological collapse and the repercussions this will have on our everyday lives.
“Because insects constitute the world’s most abundant animal group and provide critical services within ecosystems, such event cannot be ignored and should prompt decisive action to avert a catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems,” its authors add.
Professor Simon Leather is low on optimism. “We’ve been shouting about this for a long time, but nobody seems to be doing anything about it.” He says it sometimes makes him quite depressed because entomologists “have been trying [to fix] this for such a long time and nobody seems to be listening.”
It appears funding bodies need to recognise this error soon and devote some money towards research into insects and their ecological and environmental influence before the issue escalates into something very tragic.
Photo credit: By Danny Gabay, 11 Mar 2011 at El Estrecho Parque Natural, Spain.
