An on line discussion of books that have been or are currently being read by members of the Audubon Naturalist Society Conservation Philosophy Reading Group. We choose books, old and new, that collectively constitute the intellectual underpinnings of conservation philosophy.
Nov 20, 2017: I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong
Could antibiotics contribute to the decline in flying insects?
I remember being bombarded by grasshoppers while riding my bicycle on a gravel road between two hay fields during the 1950's. Later, I was amazed at how many insects collected on my windshield when driving at high speed. That doesn't happen anymore. We now have quantitative proof that insects are waaaaay down. “More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas,” PLOS ONE. The cause is uncertain but "neonics" and other insecticides in the environment, even in our drinking water!, are suspect. Reading Ed Yong's description of obligate symbiosis between insects and bacteria made me wonder if antibiotics might also be involved. According to one estimate, ~ 250,000 tons are used each year and half of it passes through to the environment. That's trivial compared to over 1 billion tons of pesticides annually, but still . . . I'm just asking.
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Could antibiotics contribute to the decline in flying insects?
I remember being bombarded by grasshoppers while riding my bicycle on a gravel road between two hay fields during the 1950's. Later, I was amazed at how many insects collected on my windshield when driving at high speed. That doesn't happen anymore. We now have quantitative proof that insects are waaaaay down. “More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas,” PLOS ONE. The cause is uncertain but "neonics" and other insecticides in the environment, even in our drinking water!, are suspect. Reading Ed Yong's description of obligate symbiosis between insects and bacteria made me wonder if antibiotics might also be involved. According to one estimate, ~ 250,000 tons are used each year and half of it passes through to the environment. That's trivial compared to over 1 billion tons of pesticides annually, but still . . . I'm just asking.
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