Dramatic loss of food plants for insects

Just a few weeks ago, there were news headlines about plummeting insect numbers. Academic discourse focused on three main causes: the destruction of habitats, pesticides in agriculture and the decline of food plants for insects. A team of researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL have now demonstrated for the first time that the diversity of food plants for insects in the canton of Zurich has dramatically decreased over the past 100 years or so. This means that bees, flies and butterflies are increasingly deprived of their food base. The study, which is representative for all of Central Europe, has now been published in the journal Ecological Applications.

from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KEXVXW

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seismic study reveals key reason why Patagonia is rising as glaciers melt

The icefields that stretch for hundreds of miles atop the Andes mountain range in Chile and Argentina are melting at some of the fastest rates on the planet. The ground that was beneath this ice is also shifting and rising as these glaciers disappear. Geologists have discovered a link between recent ice mass loss, rapid rock uplift and a gap between tectonic plates that underlie Patagonia. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/j1h2ds5
Read more

New method to detect and visualize sperm cells recovered from forensic evidence

One of the most valuable forms of forensic evidence in cases of male-perpetrated sexual assault is the presence of semen, either in the form of stains left behind on items or on swabs collected from victims after an offense. To confirm that semen is present, suspected stains are examined under a microscope to see if any sperm cells are visible. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2XBwacB
Read more