Britain's wildlife is in an
increasingly fragile state, with animals carrying out vital jobs for
farmers being lost more rapidly than others, say scientists.
Animals
that pollinate crops or fight pests are at risk of disappearing,
putting food production in jeopardy, according to the team.
The research brings together millions of wildlife records spanning 40 years.
It suggests conservation efforts should focus on certain areas, they add.
Dr
Tom Oliver of the University of Reading, who led the research, said it
was the biggest and most comprehensive report ever assembled for any
country in the world.
"By standardising records from an army of
amateur biologists across the country, we have amassed an impressive
array of data, giving us our most complete picture yet of the state of
Britain's wildlife," he told BBC News.
"The picture that emerges is of an increasingly fragile system, particularly in species that do vital jobs for humans.
"Unless
efforts are made to reverse some of these declines, we face a future
where we will be less confident that we can effectively grow our food."
Benefits from nature
The
researchers looked at records of the changing fortunes of more than
4,000 types of plant and animal living in England, Wales and Scotland
between 1970 and 2009.
Species such as bees, dragonflies,
grasshoppers, ladybirds, plants and mosses were put into groups based on
the role they play in nature.
Groups providing pollination and pest control
benefits had undergone declines while those involved in functions such
as decay or mopping up carbon emissions were more stable.
Plants and animals regarded as of cultural importance to humans, such as birds, butterflies and hedgehogs, also fared badly.
Prof
James Bullock, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxfordshire, a
co-researcher on the study, said conservation efforts should focus on
the areas where there was strong evidence of declining fortunes.
"Conservation
actions, such as wildlife friendly farming, can avoid the loss of
biodiversity and the resulting erosion of the pollination, pest control
and other benefits we derive from nature," he said.
And Dr Oliver
said there were a number of measures that individuals could take to help
to improve the future for wildlife in the British Isles.
They include:
- Making gardens wildlife friendly
- Purchasing food grown in a sustainable way to wildlife
- Helping to collect data on wildlife.
The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.