Declining Insects, Sunny Day Flooding, Liquid Rules. Feb 15, 2019, Part 2

Science Friday

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🗓️ 15 February 2019

⏱️ 47 minutes

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Summary

That once vibrant forest has gotten quieter and emptier, as many of the insects— and the animals that depend on them—have disappeared. In a worldwide report card on the state of insects in the journal Biological Conservation, the conclusion is dire: “This review highlights the dreadful state of insect biodiversity in the world, as almost half of the species are rapidly declining and a third are being threatened with extinction.” We discuss the consequences of the "insect apocalypse." By 2035, scientist have predicted that over a hundred U.S. coastal communities could experience more than 26 days of low level floods. Researchers at Stanford University determined the economic impacts of this type of flooding in the tourist area of Annapolis, Maryland. Climate risk scientist Miyuki Hino, an author on the study, talks about the impacts of these small-scale effects of climate change. Fluids are all around you, of course—but how often do we take a moment to think about how liquids work? What makes one slippery and another sticky? Why does one make a good salad dressing, but another a good rocket fuel? Materials scientist Mark Miodownik tackles those questions in his book Liquid Rules.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flato. Later in the hour, the liquids that rule our lives.
0:12.9	But first, decades ago, when my next guest surveyed the rainforests of Puerto Rico, he says there were butterflies everywhere, birds and lizards too. Sticky traps put out to
0:23.5	catch insects turned black. They were so covered with so many bugs. Not so today that once vibrant
0:30.2	forest has gotten quieter, emptier as many of the insects and the animals that depend on them
0:37.2	have disappeared.
0:39.1	His study has now been compiled with 72 others in a worldwide report card on the state of insects
0:44.7	out in the journal Biological Conservation.
0:48.3	Its conclusion, and I quote,
0:50.3	this review highlights the dreadful state of insect biodiversity in the world, as almost half of the species are rapidly declining, and a third are being threatened with extinction.
1:02.3	Joining me to talk about it is Brad Lister, an ecologist and researcher in the Department of Biological Science at Rensselaer Polytech.
1:10.1	In Troy, New York. His Puerto Rico work
1:12.9	appeared in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences back in October, and we have links
1:18.2	to his study and the new review up at sciencefronta.com slash insects. Welcome, Dr. Lister.
1:24.9	Well, thank you. It's great to be here. You know, give us an idea of just how bad this is.
1:33.3	I don't think I'm overstepping the bounds by saying it looks worldwide like a catastrophic
1:41.3	decline in one of the most important groups of species in the food
1:45.9	web. They're right near the bottom, and a lot of other animals and insects and plants depend
1:50.9	on them.
1:51.2	So give us a quick rundown of what this new review study says and what the reason is for
1:56.0	the decline?
1:57.0	Well, there are many reasons depending on what part of the planet you're in.
2:03.9	What the new study, the biological conservation study, was really pointing the finger at a global problem.
	...

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