Electromagnetic radiation as an emerging driver factor for the decline of insects

Bron: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720384461

Science of The Total Environment
Volume 767, 1 May 2021, 144913

Alfonso Balmori
C/Navarra N°1 5° B, 47007 Valladolid, Spain

Received 7 October 2020, Revised 10 December 2020, Accepted 29 December 2020, Available online 28 January 2021.

Highlights
• Biodiversity of insects is threatened worldwide.
• These reductions are mainly attributed to agricultural practice and pesticide use.
• There is sufficient evidence on the damage caused by electromagnetic radiation.
• Electromagnetic radiation may be a complementary driver in this decline.
• The precautionary principle should be applied before any new deployment (e.g. 5G).

Abstract
The biodiversity of insects is threatened worldwide. Numerous studies have reported the serious decline in insects that has occurred in recent decades. The same is happening with the important group of pollinators, with an essential utility for pollination of crops. Loss of insect diversity and abundance is expected to provoke cascading effects on food webs and ecosystem services. Many authors point out that reductions in insect abundance must be attributed mainly to agricultural practices and pesticide use. On the other hand, evidence for the effects of non-thermal microwave radiation on insects has been known for at least 50 years. The review carried out in this study shows that electromagnetic radiation should be considered seriously as a complementary driver for the dramatic decline in insects, acting in synergy with agricultural intensification, pesticides, invasive species and climate change. The extent that anthropogenic electromagnetic radiation represents a significant threat to insect pollinators is unresolved and plausible. For these reasons, and taking into account the benefits they provide to nature and humankind, the precautionary principle should be applied before any new deployment (such 5G) is considered.

Keywords
Biological diversityCascading effectsConservationPollinatorsPrecautionary principle



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