Romain Garrouste

Biography

Romain Garrouste is a researcher at the Institut de systématique évolution biodiversité (ISYEB) of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN), specializing in insect ecology and evolution. He has taken part in numerous expeditions to inventory and explore biodiversity and paleobiodiversity in over twenty countries, from the tropics to the polar regions, and is the inventor and co-inventor of several fossil deposits. He is also involved in biodiversity conservation and the dissemination of knowledge to the general public. He is a member of the Society of French Explorers.

Conference: Are insects a thing of the past?

We live on the planet of insects, the most diverse of all organisms, which have also conquered the oceans. Since the deep time of the Carboniferous, insects have shaped our planet’s terrestrial ecosystems, and seem less affected by biological crises than other organisms. Today, however, even insects seem to be suffering from man’s imprint on ecosystems, and are threatened by a 6th extinction crisis. What does the future hold for insects? Is the time of insects over?