Siena Heights University’s Professor of Biology, Dr. 托马斯沃斯默, recently had his research on insect population decline and dung beetles featured on nine public radio stations across the Midwest, as well as National Public Radio’s (NPR) “All Things Considered” segment.

Dr. Wassmer’s research contributes to the evidence for an alarming decline in insect populations including dung beetles. He has studied dung beetles since 1990, first in Germany and since 2006 in the USA, and has noted a decline in habitats and food sources—rendering dung beetles especially vulnerable to the threats endangering all insects.

自2019年以来, Wassmer has been part of a research workgroup comprised of 80 different universities across North America that are committed to collecting and sharing consistent data on insect populations from their respective regions. While the estimated rates of decline vary across the studies, many entomologists—that is, people who study insects—believe that the driving force behind this decline can be traced back to climate change, 栖息地的丧失, 光污染, and the widespread use of pesticides. 因此, the environment has become increasingly unwelcoming to insects, which is bad news since insects pollinate more than 80% of our food plants and are essential to the food chain supporting birds and mammals. In addition to providing more consistent and up-to-date data on insect population decline, the research done by Wassmer and others is essential in bringing awareness to the topic. Insects play a vital role in the ecosystem by pollinating crops, decomposing organic matter, providing food for other animals, 和更多的.

Wassmer’s research was featured on public radio stations across the Midwest including 密歇根, 爱荷华州, 内布拉斯加州, 俄克拉何马州, 威斯康辛州, 科罗拉多州, 北达科他, 南达科塔州, 密苏里州, and 堪萨斯 prior to being picked up by NPR. It was first aired on November 21, 2023, on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and a written version is expected to appear on the National Public Radio website at a later date.

Of this research and subsequent accomplishment, 沃斯默说, “I am excited to contribute to such an important research field. Our group recently published the results of the first three years of data collection, and we were honored to be one of only five incubator projects of the MEFA coordination network of the Ecological Society of America. I look forward to continuing to contribute data from Adrian, 密歇根, over the next 3-5 years, allowing us to draw definite conclusions about the fate of insect populations in North America.”