俄亥俄州在21年里失去了三分之一的蝴蝶——而且它可能并不是唯一的

俄亥俄州在21年里失去了三分之一的蝴蝶——而且它可能并不是唯一的

Even for people who aren't big fans of insects in general, it's hard to deny the appeal of butterflies. They tend to be colorful, graceful and charming, flitting serenely among flowers as they provide valuable pollination services.

即使对一般不喜欢昆虫的人来说，蝴蝶的魅力也不容否认。它们色彩斑斓，优雅迷人，在花朵间安详地飞舞，提供着宝贵的授粉服务。

Photo: Andrew Cannizzaro/Flickr

Yet the popularity of butterflies still hasn't spared them from the potential extinction event currently threatening insects around the world. The decline of migratory monarch butterflies is well-known, but many other butterfly species are also among the estimated 40% of insect populations now in decline, a trend widely attributed to habitat loss, pesticides and climate change.

然而，蝴蝶的流行并没有使它们免于目前威胁世界各地昆虫的潜在灭绝事件。迁徙帝王蝶数量的减少是众所周知的，但目前估计有40%的昆虫种群数量在减少，这一趋势被广泛归因于栖息地的丧失、杀虫剂和气候变化。

Scientists are still hindered by a shortage of historical data, though, inspiring some entomologists and ecologists to pore over whatever long-term records do exist, hoping for any insight into what's happening today. That recently led a team of researchers to Ohio, where trained volunteers have spent the past two decades counting butterflies for "the most extensive, systematic insect survey in North America," as the researchers describe it in a new study.

尽管如此，科学家们仍然受到历史数据缺乏的阻碍，这促使一些昆虫学家和生态学家仔细研究任何长期存在的记录，希望能对今天发生的事情有所了解。最近，一组研究人员前往俄亥俄州，那里训练有素的志愿者在过去20年里一直在为“北美最广泛、系统的昆虫调查”统计蝴蝶数量，研究人员在一项新研究中这样描述这项调查。

Although this study is limited to one group of insects in one U.S. state, its relevance extends beyond just butterflies in Ohio. It provides a baseline to inform research on butterflies elsewhere, as well as the broader plight of other insects that face a similar mix of threats. Plus, by casting such a wide net, it shows this is not only a problem for species that are already endangered.

虽然这项研究仅限于美国某一州的一组昆虫，但它的相关性不仅仅局限于俄亥俄州的蝴蝶。它为其他地方的蝴蝶研究以及其他面临类似威胁的昆虫面临的更广泛的困境提供了一个基准。此外，通过如此广泛的撒网，表明这不仅是濒危物种面临的问题。

The butterfly crash is widespread across Ohio, but population trends also vary widely from species to species. Butterflies with more northern distributions and fewer annual generations are suffering the steepest declines, the researchers found, noting those species are adapted to cooler climates and might face an especially bleak future as Ohio warms up due to climate change. Some species are stable or increasing, yet even their fortunes seem heavily influenced by human activities.

蝴蝶的灭绝在俄亥俄州是很普遍的，但是不同物种的蝴蝶数量也有很大的不同。研究人员发现，北方分布更广、年代更少的蝴蝶正遭受着最急剧的数量下降。他们指出，这些蝴蝶适应较冷的气候，随着俄亥俄州因气候变化而变暖，它们可能面临一个特别暗淡的未来。有些物种是稳定的或不断增长的，但即使是它们的命运似乎也深受人类活动的影响。

These findings are bad enough on their own. Butterflies not only help pollinate many native plants, but both adults and caterpillars are also key food sources for birds, amphibians, mammals and even other insects. On top of what it tells us about butterflies, however, the study also sheds light on the larger insect crisis. That's because, as Wepprich explains, the prominence and popularity of butterflies make them useful proxies to study what's going on with insects in general.

这些发现本身就已经足够糟糕了。蝴蝶不仅帮助许多本土植物授粉，而且成虫和毛虫也是鸟类、两栖动物、哺乳动物甚至其他昆虫的主要食物来源。然而，除了告诉我们关于蝴蝶的信息，这项研究还揭示了更大的昆虫危机。这是因为，正如Wepprich所解释的那样，蝴蝶的重要性和受欢迎程度使它们成为研究昆虫总体状况的有用代理。

This study also stands out because of its wide scope. Long-term studies of butterfly abundance often focus on individual species, Wepprich says, especially rare or iconic ones thought to be at risk of collapse. That's how we know eastern North American monarchs have declined by more than 85% over the past two decades, for example, and that western North American monarchs have fallen by more than 95%. In this study, however, citizen scientists helped reveal a much broader butterfly crisis.

这项研究也因为其范围广泛而引人注目。Wepprich说，对蝴蝶数量的长期研究通常集中在单个物种上，尤其是那些被认为濒临灭绝的稀有或标志性物种。这就是为什么我们知道北美东部的帝王蝶在过去20年里减少了85%以上，而北美西部的帝王蝶减少了95%以上。然而，在这项研究中，民间科学家帮助揭示了一个更广泛的蝴蝶危机。

The hackberry emperor butterfly, pictured here at Ellis Lake Wetlands in Ohio, is named after the hackberry trees where it lays its eggs. (Photo: Andrew Cannizzaro/Flickr)

That may be discouraging, but it also illustrates how everyone can help protect butterflies and other insects. This 21-year dataset only exists thanks to citizen scientists who volunteered their time to monitor butterflies, and their findings suggest the insects' fates are closely linked to what humans are doing in their habitats. And while none of us can solve the problem on our own, we can do things like help monitor insect populations, avoid insecticides and grow plants that support beneficial insects.

这可能令人沮丧，但它也说明了每个人都可以帮助保护蝴蝶和其他昆虫。这个21年的数据集的存在，多亏了公民科学家们自愿花时间来监测蝴蝶，他们的发现表明，蝴蝶的命运与人类在它们栖息地的活动密切相关。虽然我们没有人能独自解决这个问题，但我们可以做一些事情，比如帮助监测昆虫的数量，避免使用杀虫剂，种植支持益虫的植物。