Monash University scientists have developed a new global framework to tackle a major blind spot in biodiversity conservation: insects underpin ecosystems and food production but remain largely invisible to conservation efforts across the tropics.
The international study was led by Dr Shawan Chowdhury, head of the Global Change Ecology Lab at Monash University's School of Biological Sciences. Published in BioScience, the study brings together tropical ecology experts from around the world to identify the major barriers preventing effective insect conservation and a practical pathway to overcome them.
Insects are the most diverse animal group on Earth, with an estimated 14 to 30 million species, most of which are still undocumented. They pollinate more than 80 per cent of wild plant species, provide food for 60 per cent of bird species, and perform essential roles in food webs, nutrient cycling and global food production.
Yet despite mounting evidence of insect declines, conservation knowledge is heavily skewed towards temperate regions, which contain only around 20 per cent of global insect diversity.
Dr Chowdhury said this meant conservation efforts risked overlooking the regions where the overwhelming majority of the world's insect diversity is found.
"More than 80 per cent of insect species occur in the tropics, yet these are the very places where we have some of the biggest gaps in our knowledge," Dr Chowdhury said.
"We cannot effectively conserve species if we don't know what is there, where populations are changing, or even where important existing knowledge can be found.
"Insects are fundamental to functioning ecosystems and food production, but they remain dramatically underrepresented in biodiversity monitoring, protected areas and conservation policy."
The researchers identified four major obstacles to tropical insect conservation: limited global visibility of existing research, major data shortfalls, inadequate research infrastructure, and insufficient conservation action.
Their framework proposes combining conventional scientific research with regional and non-English literature, museum collections, local expertise, citizen science, social media observations and emerging technologies, while strengthening scientific capacity and ensuring that evidence reaches policymakers.
The scale of the information gap is striking. Nearly 26 per cent of insect distribution data held by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility comes from the United Kingdom alone, despite most of the insect diversity occurring in tropical regions.
"Some of the information we desperately need already exists but it may be in a local journal, held by a regional expert, sitting in a collection, or even contained in photographs shared online," Dr Chowdhury said.
"The answer isn't simply to collect more data. We need to become much better at finding, connecting and using the knowledge that already exists, while building the local expertise and infrastructure needed for long-term monitoring."
The researchers demonstrate the framework using Bangladesh, one of the world's most densely populated tropical countries and a powerful example of both the challenges and opportunities.
Their analysis identified 111 relevant studies of Bangladeshi butterflies, but only 34 were published in international journals. Almost two thirds focused on species distributions, while only three focused specifically on conservation.
Social media also revealed a remarkable, untapped source of biodiversity information. Previous research found that records for 167 of 169 threatened Bangladeshi butterfly species were available on Facebook, demonstrating how unconventional data sources can fill critical gaps in countries where formal biodiversity databases remain limited.
Bangladesh also highlights the urgency of turning knowledge into action. Of 226 butterfly species assessed in previous research, just one was adequately represented by the country's existing protected-area system.
"Bangladesh shows that a lack of conventional data does not mean we have to accept a lack of conservation action," Dr Chowdhury said.
"By bringing together local knowledge, citizen science, social media, scientific monitoring and regional expertise, we can build a much clearer picture of where species occur and where conservation effort is most urgently needed."
The researchers argue that international collaboration must also move away from "parachute science", in which researchers from tropical countries and local communities are treated primarily as data sources rather than equal partners.
Instead, the framework calls for locally led research, investment in regional collections and scientific infrastructure, greater taxonomic expertise, long-term monitoring, equitable international partnerships and stronger links between researchers and decision-makers.
"If we want global biodiversity targets to mean something, tropical insects cannot remain an afterthought," Dr Chowdhury said.
"This is about moving from documenting the problem to creating a system that can deliver measurable conservation outcomes - with local scientists and communities at the centre of that work.
"The tropics hold most of the world's insect diversity. Protecting that extraordinary diversity is not just an insect conservation issue - it is fundamental to ecosystems, food security and human wellbeing."
The study, 'A framework for the strategic conservation of tropical insects', brings together researchers from Australia, Bangladesh, Uganda, Hong Kong, Brazil, Czech Republic, Italy and India.
Read the research paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biag136
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