Dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) are often used as indicators of habitat type and quality due to their varied use of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Species differ in their preferences for lotic and lentic waters, but community changes across ecotones, or transitional zones between distinct habitats (e.g. lotic and lentic), are not well understood. We quantified dragonfly…
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…
We isolated and characterized a total of 13 microsatellite loci from Cordulegaster sarracenia (Odonata: Cordulegastridae). Loci were screened in 24 individuals from Louisiana and Texas. Within C. sarracenia, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 0 to 5, and observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 0.556 and 0.000 to 0.613, respectively. Overall
The poorly known Ceriagrion mourae is redescribed based on the first material from Zambia and compared with the similar C. banditum, C. junceum and C. suave. Molecular data place C. mourae as a sister taxon to the clade (C. bakeri (C. banditum, C. junceum)). Genetic distances between the above-mentioned species are similar at c.7–9% (K2P)….
A new species of Ceylonosticta from the wet zone of Sri Lanka is described and illustrated, namely Ceylonosticta goodalei sp. nov. (Kuruwita-Erathana foot path, Seethagangula, Adam’s Peak, Samanala Nature Reserve, Ratnapura, 6.8196°N, 80.4615°E, 1109 m asl). The species is described from male specimens only and the genital ligula is described and illustrated. Females are as…
Recent studies have indicated that frequent anthropogenic disturbances in tropical developing countries are primary drivers of reduction in community diversity and local extinction of many arthropods, including dragonflies. We assessed the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on odonate assemblages across three different land use types, in a biodiverse nature reserve in Ghana. A total of 37…
The insects of the order Odonata have an aquatic larval stage and land-dwelling adults. These insects play an important role in aquatic ecosystems and are excellent bioindicators. The present study was based on a scientometric analysis of the research available on the Odonata, which aimed to identify the principal trends and gaps in the database…
Although a full life cycle approach is optimally needed to make conservation decisions, the egg stage is often neglected for insect species of special conservation interest. Water management and related abiotic factors are relevant factors to consider in aquatic species. Lestes macrostigma is a threatened damselfly restricted to temporary brackish waters. Here we provide detailed…
The dragonfly genus Ischnura has been the subject of numerous studies and is well studied in Europe and the Middle East. Nevertheless, information on the ecology, habitat preferences and phylogenetic relationships of some species is deficient. One species lacking such data is Ischnura intermedia, a near endemic species of the Middle East, found for the…
Three new species of Ceylonosticta are described and illustrated: Ceylonosticta nancyae sp. nov., Ceylonosticta rupasinghe sp. nov. and Ceylonosticta alwisi sp. nov. from Samanala Nature Reserve (Adam’s Peak), Kuruwita-Erathna footpath, Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka. Ceylonosticta subtropica has been recorded for the first time after 83 years and the first depiction of its genital ligula is…