Bob Berwyn:
"SUMMIT COUNTY — European butterfly populations and diversity are rapidly dwindling, as habitat is converted or lost to development. Biologists estimate that about 10 percent of all species are now threatened with extinction, with a European grassland indicator showing that overall abundance of 17 characteristic butterflies has declined by more than 70 percent in just the last 15 years.
Butterflies are sensitive indicators of the environment and populations respond very quickly to habitat change. Management for butterflies will help ensure the survival of a wide range of other insects, which form the bedrock of European biodiversity.
After a major collaborative research effort, European scientists say that downward spiral could be slowed significantly with good management of the habitat that’s left. Many agricultural areas have been abandoned are are overgrown with brush, while others are too managed too extensively, the scientists said in
a new report published in the form of an “applied Conservation paper in the newly launched open-access journal
Nature Conservation...." (Read more? Click title)
"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."
