Tourism and urban settlement are directly linked to a massive decline in insect species on oceanic islands. Scientists from the University of Bayreuth recently discovered this through research on the Maldives. On urban islands, they documented on average 48 percent fewer insect species than on uninhabited islands, on tourist islands even 66 percent fewer insect species. The research team led by Prof. Dr. Christian Laforsch at the University of Bayreuth reports on its findings in the journal „Royal Society Open Science“.