Insects are the glue that holds ecosystems together
Over the last 20 years of research on the diversity of insects in Madagascar, we have made great progress with baseline inventories and new species descriptions. On the other hand, we have made far less progress establishing insects as an important tool for direct outcomes in conservation and sustainability. To this day, there is little awareness about the importance of invertebrates to human well-being, and even less thought is given to the species of arthropods that are certainly going extinct in the region.
Though we still have great discoveries to make in insect diversity, and plenty of contributions to deliver to science, we can no longer ignore our responsibility to become directly involved with saving insects and their habitats. If we continue working in our traditional fashion, in 20 years we will know a fraction more of the insects in the region, but little would have been achieved to conserve insects. In 20 years, we will still be asking why entomologists are still sitting on the conservation sidelines.
At the Madagascar Biodiversity Center, we aim to translate our insect focused research to conservation outcomes and benefits for local communities. MBC is leading the entomology community to develop collaborations that synthesize what we know about the distribution, ecology, and threats of key insect groups, and assess their conservation status. We aim to map critical biodiversity areas for insects and develop campaigns to promote the social importance of insects, their products, and the role they play in fueling ecosystems and feeding humanity.
Though we still have great discoveries to make in insect diversity, and plenty of contributions to deliver to science, we can no longer ignore our responsibility to become directly involved with saving insects and their habitats. If we continue working in our traditional fashion, in 20 years we will know a fraction more of the insects in the region, but little would have been achieved to conserve insects. In 20 years, we will still be asking why entomologists are still sitting on the conservation sidelines.
At the Madagascar Biodiversity Center, we aim to translate our insect focused research to conservation outcomes and benefits for local communities. MBC is leading the entomology community to develop collaborations that synthesize what we know about the distribution, ecology, and threats of key insect groups, and assess their conservation status. We aim to map critical biodiversity areas for insects and develop campaigns to promote the social importance of insects, their products, and the role they play in fueling ecosystems and feeding humanity.
At work
ExplorationBiological exploration across Madagascar
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TeachingTraining the next generation
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Team workEntomologists are doing something bigger and better working together
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