Dear Reader,
Until recently, Icelanders could abstain from applying mosquito repellent when they headed into the great outdoors, because Iceland was the last Arctic region without mosquitoes. That honor has been stripped from them: an Icelandic amateur entomologist recently found one male and two female specimens of Culiseta annulata in his garden, and we must assume that they have friends.
This development is more than just an annoyance for the people of Iceland. Gizmodo reports that “The arrival of this pest in Iceland is a warning, Arctic researchers Amanda Koltz and Lauren Culler argue in a newly published editorial. It reflects a major ecological shift driven by a warming climate and the expansion of human activity across the region, causing insect species to move ‘in new ways and at new scales.’”
What’s more, as they say, “what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic,” meaning that changes we see there will affect those of us in other regions. The researchers point vehemently to the need for robust monitoring systems for the Arctic, which is warming four times faster than other parts of the world, but also coordination across countries to recognize, anticipate, and prepare for changes. “Enhancing biodiversity monitoring is a win-win,” Amanda Koltz said.
And it’s not just scientists who can participate in this. Through citizen science, including the monitoring of lakes, rivers, bats, pollinators, birds, and so much more, we can boost the science that helps us understand our world and its changes.
Bitingly,
Dot
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