Long-term insect censuses capture progressive loss of ecosystem functioning in East Asia

Sci Adv. 2023 Feb 3;9(5):eade9341. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9341. Epub 2023 Feb 3.

Abstract

Insects provide critical ecosystem services such as biological pest control, in which natural enemies (NE) regulate the populations of crop-feeding herbivores (H). While H-NE dynamics are routinely studied at small spatiotemporal scales, multiyear assessments over entire agrolandscapes are rare. Here, we draw on 18-year radar and searchlight trapping datasets (2003-2020) from eastern Asia to (i) assess temporal population trends of 98 airborne insect species and (ii) characterize the associated H-NE interplay. Although NE consistently constrain interseasonal H population growth, their summer abundance declined by 19.3% over time and prominent agricultural pests abandoned their equilibrium state. Within food webs composed of 124 bitrophic couplets, NE abundance annually fell by 0.7% and network connectance dropped markedly. Our research unveils how a progressive decline in insect numbers debilitates H trophic regulation and ecosystem stability at a macroscale, carrying implications for food security and (agro)ecological resilience during times of global environmental change.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Asia, Eastern
  • Censuses*
  • Ecosystem*
  • Food Chain
  • Insecta / physiology