Istanbul’s age-old insect collection sheds light on changes to fauna

ISTANBUL

Istanbul University’s zoology collection displays a wide variety of insect species dating back to about a century ago, demonstrating the evolution of the city’s insect fauna and providing researchers with a chance to examine this insightful transition.

Primed by a researcher between the years 1915 and 1925, this scientific collection features approximately 500 insect species.

This substantial collection, therefore, allows researchers and scientists to compare the current insect population in Istanbul with the population of approximately 100 years ago.

With this, the collection makes way for predictions about the future of these species' potential harm, protection and preventative measures.

Thus, the collection is crucial for bridging the gap between the past and the present, according to Fatih Dikmen, the collection’s manager.

Underlining the collection’s significance in supplying data on living specimens in this sense, Dikmen emphasized that it also boasts insect species from all across the country.

“The materials previously gathered on insects go all the way back to the 1920s. It is a very significant collection in terms of establishing a crucial foundation for today's research.”

Studies indicate that there are roughly 1,500 to 2,000 species of insects around the city at present, Dikmen noted.

“We cannot claim to be able to display every inspect found in Istanbul or to be conducting study on them, but we do have the resources to gain a substantial understanding of their circumstances, and we carry on our studies within this scope."

However, Dikmen noted that insect species abruptly start to become extinct from time to time in the city, due to Istanbul's dynamic terrain, its location at a critical juncture in the migration of living things and its increasing urbanization.

In this regard, Dikmen claimed that such conditions lead to destruction of the habitats of living creatures, emphasizing the need for efforts to boast more natural spaces.

Further emphasizing that chemical pollution is another significant issue that affects the habitat of living things, he urged the authorities to conduct appropriate and targeted disinfestation.