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Insect Apocalpse


Insect Apocalpse02-05-2020 21:30
HarveyH55Profile picture★★★★★
(5193)
I stole this off YAP... Thought it sort of amusing.

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mostomotus
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Solaris
11:24 PM - 1 day ago#1
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6490/459.full
Empty calories may be grasshoppers' downfall. Many insect populations are declining, and a provocative new hypothesis suggests one problem is that rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are making plants less nutritious. That could spell trouble not just for insects, but for plant eaters of all sizes.

Over the past 5 years, several studies have documented dwindling insect populations, prompting "insect apocalypse" headlines and calls for increased conservation efforts (Science, 12 May 2017, p. 576). Not everyone was convinced; insect populations can have booms and busts, and the trends might vary depending on the species. Just last week, for example, a meta-analysis of 166 insect populations found that although terrestrial species are indeed declining overall, aquatic insects seem to be doing fine (Science, 24 April, p. 417). But a study on the Kansas prairie has convinced Michael Kaspari, an ecologist at the University of Oklahoma, that the decline is real—and that "nutrient dilution" in plants could be a major problem.

"The insect decline papers thus far haven't been testing particular mechanisms for the declines they purport to show, so this proposed mechanism with concrete data is extremely powerful," says Chelse Prather, a conservation biologist at the University of Dayton. Nutrient dilution "could be a global problem," adds Roel van Klink, an entomologist at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, whose team did last week's analysis of insect trends.

Ellen Welti, Kaspari's postdoc, had been analyzing data on 44 species of grasshoppers at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a 3487-hectare native tallgrass preserve in northeastern Kansas that is the site of a long-term ecological research (LTER) program. She tracked population trends in two surveys of grasshopper abundance, one done in undisturbed habitats from 1996 to 2017 and another done from 2002 to 2017 where bison grazed. Population booms and busts coincided with major climatic events, such as El Niño, a Pacific Ocean disturbance that alters temperature and rainfall. But when Welti factored out those events, it became clear to her and Kaspari that over the long term, the grasshoppers were declining, by 30% over 2 decades. "I was actually quite surprised," Welti recalls.

She and other researchers have assumed that habitat loss and pesticides underlie most of the reported drops in insect numbers. But those factors are not thought to be in play on the Konza Prairie.

Kaspari and Welti wondered whether another global trend could be responsible. Increasing CO2 concentrations in the air speed plant growth. But as Harvard University planetary health scientist Samuel Myers and his colleagues demonstrated in 2014, plants including wheat, maize, rice, and other major crops grown under expected future CO2 levels accumulate less nitrogen, phosphorous, sodium, zinc, and other nutrients than they do under current CO2 levels. The thinking is that roots cannot keep up with the growth stimulated by the extra carbon and therefore don't provide adequate supplies of other elements.

Since then, most of the concern about nutrient dilution has focused on human health. Given the predicted rises in CO2, "diluted" plants could increase the number of people worldwide who are not getting enough nutrients in their diet—already 1 billion or so—by hundreds of millions, Myers says.

But he and others have wondered about the broader ecological impact. It "is an enormously important question," Myers says. "As humans we have a lot of choices about what we eat, but there are a lot of animals that just eat what they eat."

At the Kansas LTER, other researchers had collected and stored samples of the various grass species each year. So, Welti determined concentrations of 30 elements in those samples. The biomass of the grasses doubled over the past 30 years, but the plants' nitrogen content declined about 42%, phosphorous by 58%, potassium by 54%, and sodium by 90%, Kaspari's team reported recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This paper is a good red flag for the scientific community," says biologist Arianne Cease at Arizona State University, Tempe.

Sebastian Seibold, a conservation biologist at the Technical University of Munich who has been studying insect declines for the past 10 years, cautions that the idea needs to be tested in different ecosystems. "We cannot derive general conclusions from it," he says. "In German landscapes, there is no evidence for nutrient shortage," adds Wolfgang Wägele, a taxonomist at the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig.

Yet others suspect the work signals a sea change. "The study nicely demonstrates how climate change adds to the global problem of insect decline, even in presumably undisturbed areas," says Lars Krogmann, a systematic entomologist at the University of Hohenheim.
Kaspari predicts that as investigators analyze the data sets van Klink pulled together for last week's study, they will find that plant eaters are among the species most devastated in this decline. At the Konza Prairie, Welti hopes to bolster the hypothesis by looking for a decline in nutrients in the grasshoppers' own tissues. Larger plant eaters, such as elephants, pandas, and elk, may also be at risk, Prather says. "If nutrient dilution is widespread, this has enormous implications for herbivorous organisms all over."
02-05-2020 21:33
HarveyH55Profile picture★★★★★
(5193)
this was my reply...

3 minutes ago#17
Two year old article, scary...

Guess, Africa is exempt from the 'evil', man-made CO2, or we finally defeated the evil climate crisis...

https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51618188
Hundreds of billions of locusts swarm in East Africa
10 March 2020
Share
Related Topics
East Africa locust swarm
Hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming through parts of East Africa and South Asia in the worst infestation for a quarter of a century, threatening crops and livelihoods.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionA man attempts to fend off a swarm of desert locusts at a ranch near the town of Nanyuki, in Laikipia county, Kenya
Those grasshopper really do look like they are starving this year. Do we really need more? Like pretty much all climatologist papers, a little misleading. The plants are larger, but contain the same amount of nutrients. Just more there to consume. Just because a plant has a lot of nutrients, doesn't mean we metabolize and use all we consume. Excess amounts, or expelled from the body, wasted. Good thing about better plant growth, instead of some people feeling lucky to scrape up on decent meal a day, they can easily feed all day, if they want.

Obviously, locusts (grasshoppers) aren't hurting for food. Who knows, maybe if they need to spend more time feeding, they'll spend less time breeding...


There were many of the expected agreements to the horrors of CO2 possibly killing off grasshoppers... And the need to take climate change seriously. Haven't got a response yet, but I'm sure it will amuse.
Edited on 02-05-2020 21:34
02-05-2020 23:12
Into the NightProfile picture★★★★★
(21559)
HarveyH55 wrote:
this was my reply...

3 minutes ago#17
Two year old article, scary...

Guess, Africa is exempt from the 'evil', man-made CO2, or we finally defeated the evil climate crisis...

https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51618188
Hundreds of billions of locusts swarm in East Africa
10 March 2020
Share
Related Topics
East Africa locust swarm
Hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming through parts of East Africa and South Asia in the worst infestation for a quarter of a century, threatening crops and livelihoods.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionA man attempts to fend off a swarm of desert locusts at a ranch near the town of Nanyuki, in Laikipia county, Kenya
Those grasshopper really do look like they are starving this year. Do we really need more? Like pretty much all climatologist papers, a little misleading. The plants are larger, but contain the same amount of nutrients. Just more there to consume. Just because a plant has a lot of nutrients, doesn't mean we metabolize and use all we consume. Excess amounts, or expelled from the body, wasted. Good thing about better plant growth, instead of some people feeling lucky to scrape up on decent meal a day, they can easily feed all day, if they want.

Obviously, locusts (grasshoppers) aren't hurting for food. Who knows, maybe if they need to spend more time feeding, they'll spend less time breeding...


There were many of the expected agreements to the horrors of CO2 possibly killing off grasshoppers... And the need to take climate change seriously. Haven't got a response yet, but I'm sure it will amuse.


Very. I don't know how many grasshoppers we scared out of the grass with our fireworks last year, but there were sure a ton of 'em.

Oh, drove through a colony of locusts in Nevada the year before. Another massive one hit Las Vegas just last year.


The Parrot Killer

Debunked in my sig. - tmiddles

Google keeps track of paranoid talk and i'm not on their list. I've been evaluated and certified. - keepit

nuclear powered ships do not require nuclear fuel. - Swan

While it is true that fossils do not burn it is also true that fossil fuels burn very well - Swan
03-05-2020 01:57
IBdaMannProfile picture★★★★★
(14373)
HarveyH55 wrote: I stole this off YAP... Thought it sort of amusing.
mostomotus
11:24 PM - 1 day ago#1
Empty calories may be grasshoppers' downfall.

Just for a little background ...

I joined YAP in 2013 an immediately butted heads with mostomotus and Victor over Global Warming. When I pointed out that mostomotus was ignorant in any of the relative science, Victor came rushing to his defense saying "He knows more science than you, he's a BIOLOGIST!" Unimpressed, I explained that he couldn't possibly be biologist and be as clueless about science as he is. mostomotus reassured me that he TEACHES biology and that he KNOWS what he is talking about.

It turns out he teaches biology at a highschool ... but that's why he's posting about grasshoppers.

Please post this over on YAP:

Locust Swarms, Some 3 Times the Size of New York City, Are Eating Their Way Across Two Continents

BY BOB BERWYN, INSIDECLIMATE NEWS
MAR 22, 2020
As giant swarms of locusts spread across East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, devouring crops that feed millions of people, some scientists say global warming is contributing to proliferation of the destructive insects.


The problem with religions is that many people are motivated to produce studies and reports to justfy their beliefs, and there will always be at least one such study/report that runs completely counter to the belief for which you were motivated to produce a study/report.

.


I don't think i can [define it]. I just kind of get a feel for the phrase. - keepit

A Spaghetti strainer with the faucet running, retains water- tmiddles

Clouds don't trap heat. Clouds block cold. - Spongy Iris

Printing dollars to pay debt doesn't increase the number of dollars. - keepit

If Venus were a black body it would have a much much lower temperature than what we found there.- tmiddles

Ah the "Valid Data" myth of ITN/IBD. - tmiddles

Ceist - I couldn't agree with you more. But when money and religion are involved, and there are people who value them above all else, then the lies begin. - trafn

You are completely misunderstanding their use of the word "accumulation"! - Climate Scientist.

The Stefan-Boltzman equation doesn't come up with the correct temperature if greenhouse gases are not considered - Hank

:*sigh* Not the "raw data" crap. - Leafsdude

IB STILL hasn't explained what Planck's Law means. Just more hand waving that it applies to everything and more asserting that the greenhouse effect 'violates' it.- Ceist
03-05-2020 03:15
duncan61
★★★★★
(2021)
This is getting filed with the are people walking around in Italy creating global warming.Will the nonsense ever end
03-05-2020 04:14
HarveyH55Profile picture★★★★★
(5193)
IBdaMann wrote:
HarveyH55 wrote: I stole this off YAP... Thought it sort of amusing.
mostomotus
11:24 PM - 1 day ago#1
Empty calories may be grasshoppers' downfall.

Just for a little background ...

I joined YAP in 2013 an immediately butted heads with mostomotus and Victor over Global Warming. When I pointed out that mostomotus was ignorant in any of the relative science, Victor came rushing to his defense saying "He knows more science than you, he's a BIOLOGIST!" Unimpressed, I explained that he couldn't possibly be biologist and be as clueless about science as he is. mostomotus reassured me that he TEACHES biology and that he KNOWS what he is talking about.

It turns out he teaches biology at a highschool ... but that's why he's posting about grasshoppers.

Please post this over on YAP:

Locust Swarms, Some 3 Times the Size of New York City, Are Eating Their Way Across Two Continents

BY BOB BERWYN, INSIDECLIMATE NEWS
MAR 22, 2020
As giant swarms of locusts spread across East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, devouring crops that feed millions of people, some scientists say global warming is contributing to proliferation of the destructive insects.


The problem with religions is that many people are motivated to produce studies and reports to justfy their beliefs, and there will always be at least one such study/report that runs completely counter to the belief for which you were motivated to produce a study/report.

.


High school biology... A teach certificate doesn't require specific knowledge in any particular subject, it helps though. They usually take which ever class is offered, maybe take a summer class at a local community college, so the they are a little familiar with what they are teach. The curriculum is already laid out for them, as well as a suggested lesson plan. They pretty much need to cover all the required material, during the school year, with little say in how they go about it.

Surprisingly, not much of the usual corrective/instructional responses. Just some weak one liners. I'm guessing as a biologist, he realized it was no use to argue without looking foolish. He started the thread, but guess he had noticed that locusts were a huge problem this year. To be fair though, technically, there is a small difference between grasshoppers, an locusts. Grasshoppers don't fly very far, or swarm.
03-05-2020 07:32
IBdaMannProfile picture★★★★★
(14373)
HarveyH55 wrote:To be fair though, technically, there is a small difference between grasshoppers, an locusts. Grasshoppers don't fly very far, or swarm.

Absolutely correct, however what is good for the goose is good for the gander. If Global Warming is bad for grasshoppers then it must be very bad for locusts.

Locusts seem to be doing quite well ... across multiple continents.

mostomotus is an intellectual coward. He is forever hiding behind the knee of someone else, i.e. he merely posts articles that resonate with him. He rarely goes on the record with an opinion. His responses are almost 100% exclusively holy links. If pressed to explain (as you can imagine that I have done MANY times) he flees faster than a cockroach when the light is turned on.

mostomistaken.

Locust swarms and climate change

That's the problem with the fundamentally religious; they either try to associate every event with whatever other independent event that happens to occur simultaneously or they contort the event in question to fit their beliefs (square peg, round hole).


.


I don't think i can [define it]. I just kind of get a feel for the phrase. - keepit

A Spaghetti strainer with the faucet running, retains water- tmiddles

Clouds don't trap heat. Clouds block cold. - Spongy Iris

Printing dollars to pay debt doesn't increase the number of dollars. - keepit

If Venus were a black body it would have a much much lower temperature than what we found there.- tmiddles

Ah the "Valid Data" myth of ITN/IBD. - tmiddles

Ceist - I couldn't agree with you more. But when money and religion are involved, and there are people who value them above all else, then the lies begin. - trafn

You are completely misunderstanding their use of the word "accumulation"! - Climate Scientist.

The Stefan-Boltzman equation doesn't come up with the correct temperature if greenhouse gases are not considered - Hank

:*sigh* Not the "raw data" crap. - Leafsdude

IB STILL hasn't explained what Planck's Law means. Just more hand waving that it applies to everything and more asserting that the greenhouse effect 'violates' it.- Ceist




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