Fireflies are under threat globally, with familiar hazards such as habitat loss and pesticides compounded by another peril: humankind’s ubiquitous nighttime artificial light that plays havoc with their balletic nocturnal courtship, scientists said.
In the most comprehensive worldwide assessment to date of dangers facing these flying beetles, researchers concluded that some of the more than 2,000 firefly species may face extinction threats while others are doing just fine. Using assessments from 350 experts on fireflies from around the world, the researchers determined that the top threat was habitat loss and fragmentation caused by factors such as urbanization, industrialization and agricultural intensification.
The second-leading threat was light pollution. Fireflies boast specialized light-emitting organs, typically on their lower abdomen, called lanterns. Fireflies flash to communicate as a part of courtship and reproduction. “Light pollution affects lots of nocturnal creatures, but fireflies are especially susceptible to this particular threat,” said biology professor Sara Lewis of Tufts University in Massachusetts, US, who led the research published on Feb. 3 in the journal Bioscience.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者吳俊鋒攝
“That’s because many — though not all — fireflies rely on bioluminescent courtship signals to find their mates. When their nighttime environment is too bright, it’s difficult for them to see one another’s signals, so they never get to hook up,” Lewis added. Satellite data has shown nighttime light pollution from the incessant flow of electric lights expanding on a global scale.
The third-leading threat was widespread agricultural use of pesticides. Most exposure occurs during the fireflies’ larval stages because juveniles spend up to two years living below ground or under water. The researchers said that while there is scant data on long-term population trends for most species, there is evidence that these insects have vanished from many places where they formerly were abundant.
Fireflies, commonly known as “hue kim goo” (fire gold lady) in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), inhabit every continent but Antarctica, preferring moist habitats like forests, fields and marshes. “Sometimes they flash, sometimes they glow,” said study co-author Avalon Owens, a Tufts biology doctoral student. “Sometimes the females have wings. Sometimes they look like fat larvae with big eyeballs. Some are over 5cm long. Some are less than 1.25cm. The flash color is generally somewhere between green and orange, though some can look kind of bluish.”
“I know a lot of people who really hate insects, but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love fireflies,” Lewis added. “They might be tiny, but they’re among our best ambassadors for Earth’s natural magic.”
(Reuters)
全球螢火蟲普遍受到威脅,常見危害包括棲息地喪失和人類使用殺蟲劑。科學家指出,另一項危機使目前情況更為惡化:無所不在的夜晚人造燈光,打亂了螢火蟲夜間如芭蕾舞般的求偶行為。
在一項目前最廣泛的全球性評估中,研究人員檢視這類飛行甲蟲面臨的危機,並做出以下結論:全世界兩千多種螢火蟲中,其中一些恐怕正面臨絕種威脅,而其他種螢火蟲狀況尚屬良好。研究人員運用全球各地三百五十位螢火蟲專家提供的評估報告,判定首要的威脅來自棲地喪失和破碎,主要是因為都市化、工業化,以及精耕細作的集約農業等因素導致。
第二項主要威脅則是光害。螢火蟲擁有專門的發光器官,普遍位於它們的下腹部,稱為發光器。螢火蟲們發出閃光進行溝通,這是它們求偶與繁殖行為的其中一環。美國麻薩諸塞州塔夫茨大學的生物學教授莎拉‧路易斯是這篇研究的主持人,她指出:「光害會影響許多夜行性生物,但是螢火蟲特別容易受到這項威脅影響。」該研究已於二月三日發表在期刊《生物科學》上。
路易斯補充表示:「雖然並非全部如此,但是許多螢火蟲仰賴生物發光的求偶訊號,以找尋交配對象。當它們身處的夜晚環境太過明亮時,就會很不容易看到另一隻螢火蟲的信號,也因此永遠不能配對成功。」從衛星資料可以看到,持續不斷發亮的電燈在夜晚造成光害,已經漫延到全球性的規模。
第三項主要威脅來自於人類在農業上廣泛使用殺蟲劑。大部分暴露於殺蟲劑中的影響發生在螢火蟲的幼蟲階段,因為幼體會花上最多兩年的時間在地底下或是水中生活。研究人員表示,關於大多數螢火蟲種類長期數量趨勢變化的資料相當缺乏,但是仍有證據顯示,在許多螢火蟲曾經繁衍旺盛的地方,現在已經看不到它們的蹤影。
螢火蟲台語又稱為「火金姑」,棲息於南極洲以外的每一塊大陸上,它們偏愛森林、田野和沼澤這類潮溼的棲息地。該研究的共同作者、塔夫茨大學的生物學博士生阿瓦隆‧歐文斯表示:「有時候螢火蟲閃爍發光,有時候則是持續發光。」他補充說:「有些種類的母螢火蟲有翅膀,有些種類外觀看起來像是胖胖的幼蟲,帶有一對大眼珠。有些螢火蟲身長超過五公分,有些可以小於一點二五公分。螢火蟲閃光的顏色通常是介於綠色和橘色之間,但有時候看起來也有帶一點藍色。」
路易斯補充說:「我認識很多人是真的討厭昆蟲,但我從來沒有遇到過不喜歡螢火蟲的人。」她也說:「螢火蟲或許體型很小,但它們可說是代表地球自然界魔法最稱職的大使。」
(台北時報章厚明編譯)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
A situation puzzle is a game in which one person describes a scenario and asks the players to explain it. The situation is deliberately lacking in details, but the players may acquire more information by asking questions — however, these can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” A player wins by describing the approximate events that led up to the situation. To do so, they must use a blend of logical and lateral thinking. A famous example of this is sometimes known as “Turtle Soup.” Here’s the riddle: “A man in a restaurant orders turtle soup, tastes it