Effect of forest fires on a Mediterranean Odonata assemblage

Large-scale forest fires have shaped the Mediterranean landscape for millennia, causing a recurrent disturbance that constitutes a serious environmental issue. Following a devastating forest fire, changes in the Odonata larvae assemblage of a headwater stream were analysed during six consecutive years.

The importance of tropical mountain forests for the conservation of dragonfly biodiversity: A case from the Colombian Western Andes

Forests have been widely recognized as key habitats for odonate (dragonflies and damselflies) biodiversity, but the importance of forests for holding odonate biodiversity remains understudied in tropical mountains, one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Here we describe the odonate assemblage composition along the elevation gradient in the Tatamá Mountains (Colombian Cordillera Occidental).

A scientometric analysis on pre- and post-copulatory traits in Odonata

In the last decades, studies on sexual selection in odonates have shown a relationship between mating success and costly sexual ornaments, mainly male characters. Here, we conducted a scientometric analysis to assess the state of art of studies on sexual selection in odonates, especially on the role of male ornamentation (pre-copulatory traits) and sperm competition (post-copulatory traits).

Odonata species diversity, distributions, and status in a rare sand prairie-savanna wetscape

Inland sand areas scattered across the North American eastern deciduous forest and western tallgrass prairie ecotone are known for supporting pyrogenic early-successional vegetation and specially adapted terrestrial faunas. Many of these globally and regionally rare systems contain functionally connected wetland networks (“wetscapes”) potentially important for aquatic insects.

Partial submergence: An undescribed behavioral adjustment for thermoregulation at high ambient temperature in Aeshnidae

Many insects including odonates thermoregulate using a combination of behavioral and physiological mechanisms. At high ambient temperature (Ta), these mechanisms include decreased heat production and increased heat loss. Heat production can be reduced by decreasing activity. Heat loss can be enhanced by perching in a shaded microhabitat where temperature is cooler than in the surrounding environment.

Odonata drift: a reassessment

More than 400 scientific journal articles and gray literature reports that addressed macroinvertebrate drift were reviewed and 63 articles were found that reported on the natural drift of Odonata at some taxonomic level. Forty-three species and 44 genera within 15 families (nine Zygoptera; six Anisoptera) were documented in the drift. Drift of another 13 species…

Determinants of adult odonate community structure at several spatial scales: effects of habitat type and landscape context

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…