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A comment on The firefly population could be declining. Parent comment

Re:The firefly population could be declining by Someone on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @11:41AM (#31655963)
I’m not claiming your conclusion is incorrect, but predator-prey systems (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotka–Volterra_equations) can have long stretches of population decrease. A measured decrease, even a huge one lasting decades, need not be a a long term decline.
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Re:The firefly population could be declining by 30944836 on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @12:14PM (#31656500)
Thank you for this. It is a reminder for me to think more long term than just my short life so far.
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Re:The firefly population could be declining by strangattractor on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @01:29PM (#31657562)
Grew up in Southeast Virginia in the 60's. Fireflies galore. June bugs also. Not anymore - haven't seen them in 40 years. Seems to me it coincided with aerial spraying for mosquitos in the area. There are still plenty of mosquitos however:)
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Re:The firefly population could be declining by gibolt on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @12:35PM (#31656836)
The main predator is likely cars in this case. Those numbers won't be decreasing, and bug numbers likely won't be bouncing back
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Re:The firefly population could be declining by throwaway1777 on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @12:43PM (#31656967)
I was under the impression the main predator was insecticides.
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Re:The firefly population could be declining by Someone on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @01:07PM (#31657283)
This isn’t a simple two-species system. If insect population collapse were to cause a human population collapse, I think the number of cars (and wind turbines, and insecticides) would follow, possibly early enough to prevent full extinction of insects.
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Re:The firefly population could be declining by lukas099 on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @01:08PM (#31657295)
The point was that the population is declining, not that it is long term.
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Re:The firefly population could be declining by Someone on Tuesday June 07, 2022 @02:20PM (#31658199)
The title of this article may make it seem so, but IMHO, it is incorrect, and the main message of the article is

One in three firefly species in North America may be at risk of extinction, according to a study by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

The title of that paper (https://xerces.org/press/firefly-species-at-risk) is “One in Three North American Firefly Species Assessed May Be at Risk of Extinction”, so I think that’s not a misinterpretation from my side.

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