What the scientists are saying… the natural world
The lockdown seems to be making hedgehogs safer – and also more amorous. Vehicles pose one of the biggest threats to the animals, and according to one study, based on sightings, the number of the creatures killed on the roads has more than halved in recent weeks. The fall is likely to be down to the drastic reduction in traffic levels. However, the researchers, from Nottingham Trent University, said that they can’t discount the possibility that sightings have declined simply because people are staying at home more. Since lockdown began, conservationists have also been receiving more calls about the animals’ mating ritual – which involves male hedgehogs sniffing at the female’s spines while snorting loudly. But if Britain’s back gardens are getting noisier, the world’s oceans are becoming quieter, as a result of the decline in international trade. An acoustic analysis from seabed observatories near Vancouver found a significant drop in the low-frequency sounds associated with ships in the weeks leading up to 1 April, which could be helping whale populations. Previous research has suggested that noise from ships can induce chronic stress in whales.
Insect numbers have fallen by a quarter over the past three decades, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind to date. Researchers in Germany analysed data on insect numbers and weight from 166 studies conducted at nearly 1,700 sites in 41 countries across five continents, and concluded that global insect populations have been declining at a rate of about 1% a year. The finding is grim confirmation that the world faces a serious problem – but it suggests the scale of it may not be as bad as previously believed. Last year, a study found that numbers had declined 50% over a similar period, prompting talk of an “insect apocalypse”. And not all insects are in decline. Freshwater bugs – which account for 10% of the total – have increased at a rate of 11% per decade, probably as a result of efforts to clean up rivers in Europe, and a reduction in the amount of pollution from heavy industry in Asia. The findings suggest that the crisis can be averted – but it will take concerted action, said Dr Roel van Klink, from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research. “Insect populations are like logs of wood that are pushed under water. They want to come up, while we keep pushing them further down. But we can reduce the pressure so they can rise again.”
The fashion for house plants could accelerate in the near future, thanks to scientists finding a way to produce plants that glow brightly, and for their entire life cycle. Bioluminescence, which is found in a variety of insects and fungi, occurs when naturally occurring enzymes and molecules known as luciferins interact, and release energy in the form of light. Having discovered that the process that causes the bioluminescence in fungi is similar to some natural processes in plants, researchers spliced DNA from a glowing mushroom into a tobacco plant, and the result was a sapling that produced a “pleasant green aura” from its leaves and its stem. The glow was ten times brighter than in previous efforts to create glowing plants using bacteria, and it was permanent. The discovery could be used to create some striking ornamental varieties; and plants with illuminated inner workings could also be a boon to scientists.
Global carbon emissions are likely to drop 8% this year, as a result of almost every country in the world imposing lockdowns that have drastically reduced the amount of CO produced by travel, shipping and industry. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates the fall in annual emissions will be six times larger than during the 2008 recession. “The plunge in demand for nearly all major fuels is staggering, especially for coal, oil and gas,” said IEA executive director Dr Fatih Birol. Thanks in part to their priority access to grids, renewables are the only energy source that the IEA expects to grow, as overall demand falls sharply. Global electricity demand is set to decline by 5%, the largest drop since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Electricity consumption patterns on weekdays now resemble pre-crisis Sundays, the report notes.