New research led by a post-doctoral researcher, Dr. Claudia Tocco of Wits University, offers evidence that elevated carbon dioxide levels impact the growth and survival of tunneling dung beetles scientifically called Euoniticellus intermedius.
A Mirage News report specified that climate change is a fact of the 21st century that is challenging to evade. The fossil fuels' burning in industry, for transport, and other everyday life activities of Homo sapiens has led to elevated CO2 levels in the atmosphere of Earth.
As observed in recent floods, fire, and drought occurrences globally, extreme weather conditions are some of the most evident ways in which rising levels of CO2 are changing the world.
Nonetheless, there are some serious impacts that CO2 is experiencing on the ecosystems that are less easily seen.
CO2 Levels Under 4 Scenarios
The new research, published in Global Change Biology, an international journal, showcases a probable explanation for the present "insect apocalypse," a worldwide drop in the populations of insects that remains not clearly understood.
Tocco explained, the notion to examine the impacts of elevated levels of CO2 on dung beetles was an outcome of the so-called serendipitous science.
She added, Nic Venter, her lab mate and colleague, was growing cacti under various CO2 conditions to examine how the said plants may be affected under future scenarios in this changing world.
Venter was investigating the CO2 levels under four different scenarios, including the pre-industrial, modern-day, three decades into the future, and five decades into the future.
A Surprising Result
According to the paper's senior author Professor Marcus Byrne, who's also Tocco's postdoctoral advisor, they thought, why not put some dung beetles under similar conditions and find out what happens. What they discovered came as a shock.
Beetles grown under atmospheric CO2's heightened level went through lower survival rates and had tinier sizes.
Tocco explained that a third of lesser beetles appeared when they were raised under CO2 levels forecasted for 2070. They were 14-percent smaller in size when compared to the CO2 levels during the pre-industrial period.
Byrne said, when they first discovered this result, they were surprised. They were not expecting such a radical impact.
In fact, he added, they were not convinced at first this finding was real, and thus, they repeated their experiment, although they kept getting the same result.
Venter said, on the other hand, they knew that increased levels of CO2 could impact insects indirectly by changing the quality of plants, although they were not expecting such a direct impact "on the beetles themselves."
Insect Apocalypse
Results from this study may offer a new understanding of the reason for insect declines worldwide. So far, other explanations put forth have been doubtful, and there are no commonly or generally accepted justifications.
Changes in climatic circumstances differ across the world, and some temperature changes may, in fact, be advantageous to insects.
In a similar report, The Conversation specified that the use of insecticides is patchy as well and not universal across the Earth. According to Tocco, their results of how heightened levels of CO2 impact dung beetles exhibit an acceptable explanation for the "insect apocalypse," since the rise in CO2 is consistent throughout this planet.
Furthermore, these new findings are described to be "hot off the heels" of another current breakthrough result by Byrne and the research team, in which they discovered that light pollution adversely impacts the dung beetles' ability to position themselves.
Related information about the insect apocalypse is shown on The Real News Network's YouTube video below:
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