The Breitenbach, a headwater stream located in the hills of Eastern Hesse, is one of the most intensively investigated watercourses in the world. For more than 40 years, researchers have been following the fortunes of its insect communities. The stream lies within the boundaries of a nature reserve, and its relative remoteness minimizes the direct impact of humans on its flora and fauna. However, a new study based on the data accumulated over this period by LMU zoologist Dr. Viktor Baranov, Rüdiger Wagner (Kassel University) and Professor Peter Haase (Senckenberg Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt), together with co-authors from the universities of Frankfurt, Essen-Duisburg and Umea, provides ample grounds for concern. The analysis, which appears in the journal Conservation Biology, shows that insect communities in the Breitenbach have diminished in abundance by more than 80% over the past four decades. The authors link this alarming decline to climate change.

Read on: https://phys.org/news/2020-05-global-freshwater-insect-populations-years.html