Alarmist by bad design: Strongly popularized unsubstantiated claims undermine credibility of conservation science

By

Komonen, Atte
Halme, Panu
Kotiaho, Janne S

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019-3-19

Original Publication

One ecosystem : ecology and sustainability data journal

Volume

4

Pages

17--19

Subjects

decline , extinction , Insect

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/rethinkingecology.4.34440

 

Abstract

“Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades.” or “Our work reveals dramatic rates of decline that may lead to the extinction of 40% of the world's insect species over the next few decades.” These are verbatim conclusions of the recent paper by Sánchez-Bayoa and Wyckhuys (2019) in Biological Conservation. Because of fundamental methodological flaws, their conclusions are unsubstantiated. Like noted by The Guardian, the conclusions of the paper were set out in unusually forceful terms for a peer-reviewed scientific paper. The current case has already seen corrections and withdrawals in print and social media. We are concerned that such development is eroding the importance of the biodiversity crisis, making the work of conservationists harder, and undermining the credibility of conservation science.