ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2021
A window to the world of global insect declines: Moth biodiversity trends are complex and heterogeneous.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers.
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Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed.
- Robust estimates of biodiversity change require high-resolution time series.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Body Size Decline in an Endangered Bat Is Associated With Climate Change at a Continental Scale but Varies by Phenophase and Region.Global change biology · 2026Article
- From Inventories to Insights: Environmental Gradients Structuring Macro-Moths Assemblages Recorded in Nature Reserves.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- The diversity of lepidopteran spatial orientation strategies - neuronal mechanisms and emerging challenges in a changing world.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2026Review
- Assessing direct effects of insect change on insectivore populations in the United Kingdom.Biodiversity and conservation · 2026Article
- Article
- Different patterns, but no temporal decline in temperate forest soil meso- and macrofauna over the last decade.Ecology · 2025Article
- Moth Communities Reveal High Stability Despite Ongoing Compositional Shifts Over Five Years Following Hurricane Disturbance.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Little long-term change in regional species richness of tropical butterflies over the past 166 years masks turnover in community composition.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Strong context dependence in the relative importance of climate and habitat on nation-wide macro-moth community changes.The Journal of animal ecology · 2025Article
- Spatio-Temporal Variation in Aerial Arthropod Abundance Revealed by Weather Radars.Global change biology · 2025Article
- Archived natural DNA samplers reveal four decades of biodiversity change across the tree of life.Nature ecology & evolution · 2025Article
- Landscape Heterogeneity and Changing Bioclimatic Parameters Link to Potential Expansion ofEcology and evolution · 2025Article
- Article
- Drivers of nocturnal and diurnal pollinating insect declines in urban landscapes.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Drivers of nocturnal and diurnal pollinating insect declines in urban landscapes.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- Evidence for bottom-up effects of moth abundance on forest birds in the north-boreal zone alone.Ecology letters · 2024Article
- Decline in diversity of tropical soil fauna under experimental warming.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Decline in diversity of tropical soil fauna under experimental warming.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Moths are the most taxonomically and ecologically diverse insect taxon for which there exist considerable time-series abundance data. There is an alarming record of decreases in moth abundance and diversity from across Europe, with rates varying markedly among and within regions. Recent reports from Costa Rica reveal steep cross-lineage declines of caterpillars, while other sites (Ecuador and Arizona, reported here) show no or only modest long-term decreases over the past two decades. Rates of decline for dietary and ecological specialists are steeper than those for ecologically generalized taxa. Additional traits commonly associated with elevated risks include large wingspans, small geographic ranges, low dispersal ability, and univoltinism; taxa associated with grasslands, aridlands, and nutrient-poor habitats also appear to be at higher risk. In temperate areas, many moth taxa limited historically by abiotic factors are increasing in abundance and range. We regard the most important continental-scale stressors to include reductions in habitat quality and quantity resulting from land-use change and climate change and, to a lesser extent, atmospheric nitrification and introduced species. Site-specific stressors include pesticide use and light pollution. Our assessment of global macrolepidopteran population trends includes numerous cases of both region-wide and local losses and studies that report no declines. Spatial variation of reported losses suggests that multiple stressors are in play. With the exception of recent reports from Costa Rica, the most severe examples of moth declines are from Northern Hemisphere regions of high human-population density and intensive agriculture.
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