Despite a high number of incidental online records of spiders predating upon dragonflies/damselflies, studies on these interactions are scarce. Here, we describe the predatory behavior of Argiope trifasciata on the two most common odonate species in the study area.
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.
Urbanization has considerable impacts on stream ecosystems. Streams in urban settings are affected by multiple stressors such as flow modifications and loss of riparian vegetation. The richness and abundance of aquatic insects, such as odonates, directly reflect these alterations and can be used to assess urban impacts on streams.
Demography and territorial behavior of Hetaerina cruentata was studied along three lowland streams located at Norte de Santander department in the Colombian Andean region. Adult damselflies (N: 278) were individually marked, and using their recapture histories we estimated survival, longevity, sex ratio, age groups and population size at each location.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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…
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…