"The urgency of the situation demands that we make better use of the data that is available now, however limited," the authors assert in their review. They synthesise four lines of evidence to tackle the assessment challenge: time series data, spatial comparisons, experimental observations, and expert opinion.

The role of mathematical ecology is crucial in discerning trends from time series and spatial data. Prof. Hui elaborates: “Insect time series exhibit intermittent fluctuations, yet they are both temporally autocorrelated and spatially synchronised. If we can determine the correct spatial and temporal scales, we may be able to extrapolate these trends to unsampled areas and future periods.”

Dr Rob Cooke, an ecological modeller at the United Kingdom Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and joint lead author of the study, reinforced this ambitious approach. "We need to find out whether insect declines are widespread and what’s causing them. The challenge is like a giant jigsaw puzzle where there are thousands of missing pieces, but we do not have decades to wait to fill these gaps and then act.”

Concluding the critical discourse, Dr Charlotte Outhwaite from the Zoological Society of London’s Institute of Zoology highlights the indispensable role of insects within ecosystems. “Insects are an incredibly important part of our ecosystems, pollinating around 80% of flowering plant species and vital for 35% of global food production, yet they are undervalued and understudied.”

Did you know?

Insects dominate animal life on Earth, matching the combined biomass of all humans and livestock, around 1 billion tons.
Threatened by 52 human-made factors, including climate change and pollution, insects face dire challenges.
Out of approximately 1 million described insect species, only 1.2% have been assessed for extinction risk by the IUCN, with a quarter classified as Data Deficient.
Insects constitute up to 90% of all multicellular animal species, and an estimated 5.5 million insect species remain undiscovered.

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New framework aims to assess global insect biodiversity changes