Disjunct biogeographic patterns of similar species remain enigmatic within evolutionary biology. Disparate distributions typically reflect species responses to major historical events including past climate change, tectonics, dispersal, and local extinction.
Natural landscapes of Latin America, such as the Cerrado biome, are increasingly changing due to conflicting development models between economic growth and biodiversity conservation. In cases of total or partial suppression of natural vegetation, more sunlight reaches the streams, leading to changes in Odonata assemblages.
Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) use both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the abundance and diversity of odonates should be good indicators of habitat integrity. To determine which environmental variables affect odonates, we sampled adult dragonflies three times at 12 sites in Pickens and Greenville Counties, SC, USA, in different habitats, at different spatial scales, across a…
Habitat loss and fragmentation induce a decline and endangerment of freshwater organisms such as Aeshna viridis, an endangered dragonfly species characterised by a specific insect–plant association to the macrophyte Stratiotes aloides. In order to implement conservation measures, a good level of knowledge about the occurrence, habitat requirements and quality, as well as patch size of…
The increasing use of dragonflies and damselflies as models in studies on biodiversity in the last decades has unraveled several features of natural processes and mechanisms for species conservation. Nevertheless, biodiversity is a polysemic concept that resolves multiple dimensions that, together, enroll what we observe as species and lineages diversity. One of these dimensions is Ethodiversity, which may represent the individual diversity of behavioral traits and higher organization levels.
Aquatic macroinvertebrates are a primary component of freshwater ecosystems and one of the most threatened by anthropogenic pressures. Among them, dragonflies are a charismatic group of growing scientific and social interest. However, little is known about the natural history of several species. One paradigmatic example is the declining Orthetrum nitidinerve, a Western Mediterranean endemic anisopteran….
Although understanding of geographic range shifts of many species in response to global climate change is expanding steadily, little is known about the Himalayan fauna, which in particular is affected by relatively faster warming rates than other parts of the world. Anticipated increases in temperature and changes in hydrological regimes will have significant adverse impacts…
It is expected that climate change will have a great impact on many species and habitats. This will be greater if populations are found at the edge of their range or are isolated, and could lead to regional extinction. Here we investigate the possible impact on two boreo-alpine dragonfly species, Somatochlora alpestris and S. arctica,…