© AMNH/D. Finnin
© AMNH/D. Finnin
© AMNH/D. Finnin But there’s substantial evidence that insects are declining in both abundance and diversity, posing a looming threat to nature’s ecosystems. In this SciCafe, join five biologists who are urgently working to study and combat this decline.
Our presenters include David Wagner, professor of ecology and evolutionary behavior at the University of Connecticut, Christie Bahlai, assistant professor of biological sciences at Kent State, Chris Elphick, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, Eliza Grames, assistant professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University, and Jessica Ware, curator in the Museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology, who are part of a group of researchers who have been awarded a five-year Research Coordination Network grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to study this vital topic.
Find out how this team is exploring the magnitude and patterns of decline, identifying the primary causes and consequences for ecosystem function and human welfare, and working to develop policy recommendations to mitigate and reverse the losses. The program will be held in the Cullman Hall of the Universe, with special access to the new Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium, which opened as part of the Museum’s new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation in May.
Quick Pick: The collapse of Insects
Big Bite: Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts
To find out more about imperiled insect species, visit the Museum's exhibition Extinct and Endangered: Insects in Peril, now on view.