The first comprehensive assessment of Europe's crickets and grasshoppers has found that more than a quarter of species are being driven to extinction. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the insect group is the most threatened of those assessed so far in Europe. Europe harbours more than 1,000 species of grasshopper and cricket. If we don't act now the sound of crickets could become a thing of the past, said the IUCN.
Crickets, bush crickets and grasshoppers - a group known as Orthoptera - live on grassland. They are an important food source for birds and reptiles, and their decline could affect entire ecosystems. The assessment took place over two years and involved more than 150 scientists. Axel Hochkirch is chair of the IUCN invertebrate conservation sub-committee and lead author of the report. "If we lose grasshoppers and other Orthoptera like crickets and bush crickets, we will lose diversity," he told BBC News. "They are very good indicators of biodiversity in open ecosystems."
Source: BBC News, 10 Feb 2018
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38920199
- Login om te reageren