Talk Of Today

The topic of today has an importance in our lives than most of us may be unaware of: global insect populations. While these creepy crawlies may inspire disgust in some of us, the value insects bring to the natural world, and of course, to our world cannot be understated — they are inextricable, vital components of our global ecosystem, and the existence of up to 40% of insect species is threatened. Joining me in this episode to talk about this ecological catastrophe is scientist Dr. Francicso Sanchez-Bayo. Francisco is an environmental scientist and ecologist at the University of Sydney. He focuses on the the risk assessment of pesticide contaminants on organisms, particularly their affects on birds and aquatic ecosystems, and the fate and transport of contaminants in the environment. He's been the author or co-author of over 80 articles and book chapters — one of which is the focus of today's discussion. Earlier this year he published a paper titled: Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its driv