Naturally Kiawah Magazine Volume 41 | Page 57

• • Continue to engage scientists, like the Town of Kiawah Island wildlife biologists, to carefully monitor insects, wildlife, water quality, and habitat. • • Avoid using outdoor lighting. • • Use screen porches instead of chemicals to provide mosquito and insect-free areas for outdoor enjoyment. • • Participate in or support Citizen Science projects, such as those monitoring butterflies and other pollinators—www.xerces.org/citizen- science. percent of our crops, spin silk, make honey, help with the decomposition of dead stuff, help disperse seeds, and even have some medicinal uses. Many animals, such as bats, birds, frogs, lizards, and some marine wildlife depend upon insects in their diet. Without insects, it is likely that our entire ecosystem would collapse. Some scientists believe that within 50 years if insects are still around, they will become a significant part of the human diet. Fortunately for me, I won’t be here to verify that. Although I have yet to meet a person who comes to Kiawah for the bugs, without insects, we wouldn’t have our lush flora and abundant wildlife. Insects have been on Earth for over 350 million years. It isn’t too late to reverse the devastating insect population trends. We can do it, and you can help. NK Kotz The Kiawah Conservancy, the Town of Kiawah Island, and the Kiawah Island Community Association engage in multiple research projects to monitor the health of Island habitat and wildlife. One current project is studying invertebrates (many invertebrates are insects) at the edge of the dunes along the beach. Careful research and an environmentally-friendly master plan before initial development on Kiawah in the 1970s have allowed Kiawah to maintain a healthy, balanced ecosystem. A commitment to nature preservation has been the foundation of Kiawah from its initial stages of development. In addition to new homes on Kiawah needing building approval, all new landscape plans have to meet the high standards of preserving and enhancing native habitat. Consequently, Kiawah has one of the healthiest ecosystems of a developed coastal community on the east coast. Insects are the foundation of our ecosystem and are primarily responsible for its stability. They pollinate 75 Scientists have identified: 91 thousand different species of bugs in the United States; 1.5 million different species worldwide, They believe that the actual numbers are two to four times those amounts. WINTER/SPRING 2019 • VOLUME 41 55