NYC NOW - September 4, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: September 4, 2023

wnyc, new york, bronx, queens, brooklyn, manhattan, staten island, new york city, local news, fireflies

This is NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. Happy Labor Day. I'm Jenae Pierre. Today, we look at one of the mainstays of summer, fireflies. Sadly, they may be disappearing. Firefly populations in North America are in decline due to a variety of threats like climate change, habitat laws, and light pollution. A research and conservation effort is underway in New York. State to figure out what exactly is happening in the region and to suss out which species of fireflies might need the most help. For more, WNYC's Sean Carlson talked with science reporter Sarah Slott.

That conversation after the break. So can we start with fireflies on the national level and work our way down to New York? What trends are scientists seeing in the U.S. and Canada? Scientists are in the early days of understanding what's going on. Anecotal reports do suggest firefly populations in North America are in decline. More and more people are starting to say that they've seen fewer fireflies now than in years past. But the research we do have suggests trouble. In an assessment of 132 species, researchers found at least 18 species or 14% are threatened with extinction. But it's extremely possible that this is.

a low estimate because they also observed that there wasn't enough data to know what's really going on with 53% or more than half of these species. So while experts say this decline is very likely to continue, it's difficult to know what's going on because of the lack of data, which is a problem some scientists are working to remedy. Do scientists know what is harming the firefly populations? Yes. Fireflies are affected by various pressures, including habitat, loss, especially wetlands loss, light pollution, pesticide use, and climate change. Drought and severe weather are both major issues for fireflies. So, okay, researchers in New York saw this trend.

They launched a program a couple of years ago. Tell us more about it. So researchers are now surveying New York looking for rare species and quantifying all the fireflies that come across during the process. It's thought that New York is home to 30 species, but a few of them haven't been seen in a very long time. The dot-dash firefly, for example, hasn't been seen in 20 years. Wow.

Yeah. And so this survey is being conducted by the New York Natural Heritage Program in partnership with the State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation. They just wrapped up the first year of a three-year effort, and now they're hunting for these fireflies across state parks. And fireflies visas are identified by their flash patterns and the color of their glow, So it's a really tricky process that the survey team says requires a good sense of humor. You know, on the best days, they're treated to these really gorgeous light shows out in nature.

And at the same time, climate change-related issues can make it difficult to survey. During the wildfire smoke surge in June, it was difficult to see the color of firefly light. Wow. Yeah, the glow looked more white than orange or green. We don't have a ton of details yet from the project. that wrapped up its first year, but some fireflies seem more threatened than others. Can you tell us more about it? That's exactly right. And it's too soon to come to any conclusions, but so far it seems that some species are able to withstand or are adapting to these pressures better than others.

So some animals are specialists. They require really specific circumstances to thrive while others are generalists. They can make do with what they got. And we need all of these species. for healthy ecosystems. And in other cases, it also seems to do with where they are in a dark park, for example. There are greater numbers and different species in the same space, which is great. But in places where there's more light pollution, there's far fewer. And light pollution is especially bad for fireflies because they need dark spaces so they could use their flash to attract a mate.

And if it's too bright, they can't find each other. I'm sure a lot of folks are listening and saying, oh, man, I wish there was something that I could do. But what I'm hearing here is climate change and habitat loss. These things can feel a lot bigger than any one person and what they might be able to do. So what do scientists say people could do to help? Luckily, there really are a handful of things that the everyday person can do to help fireflies and to help insects overall. Insect decline is happening fast and it's caused by similar issues. but the solutions are pretty much the same.

You know, experts say you could help out by limiting pesticide use, having a garden with native plants, mowing the yard and cleaning up the yard less frequently. Firefly larva, for example, need that leaf litter to survive. And it could also help to have outdoor lights that cast light that's more yellowish than warm than LED blue, or even better you could leave the lights off at night. These things can all help. At the same time, experts like Dr. Jessica Ware, an associate curator at the American Museum of Natural History, who studies insect evolution and decline, says one of the most helpful things people could do is get policymakers to care. One of the most effective things we can do, really, is to vote with insects in mind.

We should really hold the people who are making decisions accountable and we should encourage them to think about insects. Because if insects decline at the rate that we think that they're declining, and this doesn't change, the future of humanity is actually at stake. So it's not too late to support this bug that's really a source of summertime joy. You know, so many people bring up the word magic when they think about fireflies. And researchers are hopeful that because fireflies are so beloved, they'll inspire people to care more about the disappearance of insects at large. Sarah Sloat is a science reporter covering declining firefly populations in New York for WNMI C.

As part of this coverage, we all. also asked our listeners to send us their own special moments with fireflies in the city. Here are some of them. I unexpectedly saw a lone firefly flickering at about eye level above the otherwise deserted sidewalk. We were more than a half mile from the park, so I asked it, where did you come from, little one? It just flashed its tiny light on and off, on and off. An ordinary miracle on East 81st Street. I grew up in the semi-arid climate of Salt Lake City, and I'd always believed

that fireflies were imaginary creatures like fairies or trolls. So when I first traveled to the South as a teenager, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that fireflies are real. What else was I wrong about? This memory gives me hope that life can always surprise you and that magic exists. I heard about an organization called Group Muse on Morning Edition, where you can host classical musicians to have a little concert in your heart. home. I turned on my little garden fairy lights and then as it got dark, the fireflies came out.

I so enjoyed not only listening to the music, but as the host, watching people sort of looking around the yard and how enchanting it was with the plants and the music and the lights and then the fireflies. And so many people told me that that just made it so magical. I'm so glad that I'm able to host these concerts again and go back to something that I really loved doing before COVID. And I think the fireflies were kind of a ambassador for nature telling me to come back and live life again. Thanks to our listeners, Reda Blaney, Christopher Borg, and Jennifer Goodnow, all for Manhattan. And thank you. for listening to NYC Now from WMYC.

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