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Insects
Special Issues
Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward
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Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Other Arthropods and General Topics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 10300

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Richard V. Glatz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
2. D'Estrees Entomology & Science Services, Kingscote, SA 5223, Australia
3. South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
Interests: insect ecology and conservation; insect–plant interactions; insect molecular biology; parasitology; taxonomy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Invertebrates have long been recognized as having immense ecological and economic importance. In recent times, however, there have been increasing reports of declining invertebrate abundance and diversity at differing spatial scales, and this is reflected in increasing scientific exploration of such declines. There is now an emerging field of science related to invertebrate conservation which not only includes studies of changes in species' populations or biodiversity, but also of the drivers of these changes and methods for mitigating their effects.

Some broad ecological threats have been identified, such as vegetation clearance and fragmentation, land use change, pesticides use, and a rapidly warming atmosphere. In some cases, studies have investigated the effect of specific events on invertebrate populations, such as the 2019–2020 Black Summer fires in Australia. Increasingly, innovative ways of protecting invertebrates are being examined, including the development of species-specific management plans, translocation, ex-situ breeding, improved monitoring, and legislative changes.

The scope of the Special Issue is original research or reviews relating to invertebrate conservation. This could include but is not limited to:

  • evidence of invertebrate declines (or increases);
  • evidence regarding threatening processes and their mitigation;
  • specific case studies in invertebrate conservation;
  • emerging topics in invertebrate conservation;
  • novel technology or approaches for invertebrate conservation or assessment of current methods;
  • conservation ecology;
  • co-extinctions;
  • effects of fire, climate warming, light, pesticides and pathogens on individual species or communities;
  • methods for predicting vulnerable species including and trait-based assessments;
  • invertebrate abundance and biomass assessments;
  • invertebrate monitoring for conservation;
  • long term monitoring of invertebrates;
  • definition, assessment or comparison of statistics/modelling approaches to determine population size, compare invertebrate communities, determine range, determine presence/absence, predict effects of management actions etc.
  • regulatory/legislative issues surrounding conservation.

Dr. Richard V. Glatz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • invertebrate conservation
  • invertebrate monitoring
  • ecology
  • invertebrate decline
  • threatening processes

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2353 KiB  
Article
Duration of Cattle Ranching Affects Dung Beetle Diversity and Secondary Seed Removal in Tropical Dry Forest Landscapes
by Juan J. Morales-Trejo, Wesley Dáttilo, Gustavo Zurita and Lucrecia Arellano
Insects 2024, 15(10), 749; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15100749 - 27 Sep 2024
Viewed by 631
Abstract
Cattle ranching is an economic activity responsible for the loss of large extensions of tropical dry forest around the world. Several studies have demonstrated that the use of inadequate practices of this activity in tropical forests (e.g., fire, agrochemicals, and lack of rotational [...] Read more.
Cattle ranching is an economic activity responsible for the loss of large extensions of tropical dry forest around the world. Several studies have demonstrated that the use of inadequate practices of this activity in tropical forests (e.g., fire, agrochemicals, and lack of rotational grazing systems of cattle in pastures) have negative consequences on dung beetle diversity and their ecological functions. In the present study, the influence of the cattle ranching duration gradient on the diversity of dung beetles and seed removal was evaluated. This study was carried out in pastures with different times of establishment of cattle ranching (between 4 and 40 years) in a tropical dry forest of Mexico. Overall, the species richness of dung beetles was similar along the gradient of grazing ages. However, the diversity of common (q1) and dominant (q2) species decreased and was associated with an increasing abundance of exotic species and a decreasing abundance of native species. Seed removal was mainly carried out by four beetle species, among which the exotic species Digitonthophagus gazella was the most important. The results establish that the duration of cattle ranching primarily influences the composition of dung beetle communities, as reflected in changes in the structure and function of their assemblages in the pastures. Although native dung beetles persist at low abundances along this gradient, the consequences of land use changes are undeniable in other similar ecosystems where these species could definitively disappear. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward)
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22 pages, 2759 KiB  
Article
A Case for Below-Ground Dispersal? Insights into the Biology, Ecology and Conservation of Blind Cave Spiders in the Genus Troglodiplura (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae)
by Jessica R. Marsh, Steven J. Milner, Matthew Shaw, Andrew J. Stempel, Mark S. Harvey and Michael G. Rix
Insects 2023, 14(5), 449; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14050449 - 10 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3710
Abstract
Previously described from only fragments of exoskeleton and juvenile specimens, the cave spider genus Troglodiplura (Araneae: Anamidae), endemic to the Nullarbor Plain, is the only troglomorphic member of the infraorder Mygalomorphae recorded from Australia. We investigated the distribution of Troglodiplura in South Australia, [...] Read more.
Previously described from only fragments of exoskeleton and juvenile specimens, the cave spider genus Troglodiplura (Araneae: Anamidae), endemic to the Nullarbor Plain, is the only troglomorphic member of the infraorder Mygalomorphae recorded from Australia. We investigated the distribution of Troglodiplura in South Australia, collecting and observing the first (intact) mature specimens, widening the number of caves it has been recorded in, and documenting threats to conservation. Phylogenetic analyses support the placement of Troglodiplura as an independent lineage within the subfamily Anaminae (the ‘Troglodiplura group’) and provide unequivocal evidence that populations from apparently isolated cave systems are conspecifics of T. beirutpakbarai Harvey & Rix, 2020, with extremely low or negligible inter-population mitochondrial divergences. This is intriguing evidence for recent or contemporary subterranean dispersal of these large, troglomorphic spiders. Observations of adults and juvenile spiders taken in the natural cave environment, and supported by observations in captivity, revealed the use of crevices within caves as shelters, but no evidence of silk use for burrow construction, contrasting with the typical burrowing behaviours seen in other Anamidae. We identify a range of threats posed to the species and to the fragile cave ecosystem, and provide recommendations for further research to better define the distribution of vulnerable taxa within caves and identify actions needed to protect them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward)
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19 pages, 3783 KiB  
Article
Interaction Networks Help to Infer the Vulnerability of the Saproxylic Beetle Communities That Inhabit Tree Hollows in Mediterranean Forests
by Javier Quinto, Cecilia Díaz-Castelazo, Alfredo Ramírez-Hernández, Ascensión Padilla, Esther Sánchez-Almodóvar, Eduardo Galante and Estefanía Micó
Insects 2023, 14(5), 446; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14050446 - 9 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2320
Abstract
Insect communities are facing contrasting responses due to global change. However, knowledge on impacts of communities’ reorganizations is scarce. Network approaches could help to envision community changes in different environmental scenarios. Saproxylic beetles were selected to examine long-term variations in insect interaction/diversity patterns [...] Read more.
Insect communities are facing contrasting responses due to global change. However, knowledge on impacts of communities’ reorganizations is scarce. Network approaches could help to envision community changes in different environmental scenarios. Saproxylic beetles were selected to examine long-term variations in insect interaction/diversity patterns and their vulnerability to global change. We evaluated interannual differences in network patterns in the tree hollow–saproxylic beetle interaction using absolute samplings over an 11-year interval in three Mediterranean woodland types. We explored saproxylic communities’ vulnerability to microhabitat loss via simulated extinctions and by recreating threat scenarios based on decreasing microhabitat suitability. Although temporal diversity patterns varied between woodland types, network descriptors showed an interaction decline. The temporal beta-diversity of interactions depended more on interaction than on species turnover. Interaction and diversity temporal shifts promoted less specialized and more vulnerable networks, which is particularly worrisome in the riparian woodland. Network procedures evidenced that saproxylic communities are more vulnerable today than 11 years ago irrespective of whether species richness increased or decreased, and the situation could worsen in the future depending on tree hollow suitability. Network approaches were useful for predicting saproxylic communities’ vulnerability across temporal scenarios and, thus, for providing valuable information for management and conservation programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward)
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7 pages, 859 KiB  
Communication
A Chemical Lure for Trapping Both Sexes of Amata phegea L.
by Szabolcs Szanyi, Antal Nagy, István Szarukán, Zoltán Varga, Júlia Katalin Jósvai and Miklós Tóth
Insects 2022, 13(11), 1051; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13111051 - 15 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1838
Abstract
The addition of synthetic eugenol and benzyl acetate to the known floral chemical and moth attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized the attraction of Amata phegea (Lepidoptera: Amatidae). Traps baited with the ternary blend caught ca. four times more A. phegea moths than traps baited [...] Read more.
The addition of synthetic eugenol and benzyl acetate to the known floral chemical and moth attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized the attraction of Amata phegea (Lepidoptera: Amatidae). Traps baited with the ternary blend caught ca. four times more A. phegea moths than traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde alone. Both female and male moths were attracted; in a preliminary test, the female numbers caught were almost double compared to the males. Most A. phegea were caught when the blend was formulated in a dispenser with medium release rates. Traps baited with the ternary lure in polyethylene bag dispensers detected a single well-pronounced peak in seasonal trapping, suggesting that this multicomponent bisexual lure could be efficient enough to be applied to the detection and monitoring of female and male A. phegea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward)
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