<
https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/large-scale-biodiversity-loss-solutions-examples/>
"Every fall in the mountains of western Mexico, the trees start to come alive.
In the high-altitude forests of Michoacán and the state of Mexico, monarch
butterflies arrive—slowly at first, then eventually by the millions. In time,
the trunks of oyamel firs are covered by undulating carpets of white, orange
and black, and the air fills with the flutter of countless wings.
The sight is just one part of one of the most astonishing insect migrations in
the world, a 3,000-mile journey from the butterflies’ summer grounds in the
northern U.S. and Canada to wintering sites in Mexico. From October through
March, tens of millions of monarchs fly up to 100 miles per day to gather on
roughly a dozen mountaintops until it’s warm enough to head back north.
Tens of millions may sound like a lot, but it represents a small fraction of
what used to be. Researchers estimate that monarch butterfly populations have
plummeted by more than 80% since the 1990s, when nearly 700 million butterflies
made the journey. Decades of habitat loss, illegal logging and pesticide use,
amplified by the effects of climate change, have taken a heavy toll, which
explains why migratory monarch butterflies were declared a species of concern
in 2022.
The monarch migration isn’t just an overwhelming visual spectacle of
biodiversity. Butterflies are key pollinators for many crops and flowers, and
serve as food for birds, small animals and other insects. Along the way, they
touch down in a multitude of North American habitats, mate and produce
caterpillars that transform into another generation that continues the
migration. It will take three to four generations to complete the journey, and
each step requires that they find the right conditions to survive. Everything
is interconnected, and the monarch is just one piece in a much larger
interconnected whole.
We have known for decades that protecting biodiversity is critical, not just
for the sake of the environment but also for our own economy, health and
culture. Every year it seems scientists issue more warnings that we are edging
closer to a biodiversity crash. In my 30-year career at TNC, I have watched the
loss of species and natural communities and it often feels like we are losing
the battle. If we don’t stop undermining the natural systems that support over
half of global GDP—nature supports $58 trillion dollars of commerce every year,
according to a 2023 PwC study—the results could be disastrous. Species like
monarchs are the threads that bind together the greater tapestry of life on
earth—including us—and their loss would bring it all one step closer to
unraveling."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/276-nauseously-optimistic/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
