Journal of Insect Conservation 

About: Journal of Insect Conservation is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Animal ecology & Biodiversity. It has an ISSN identifier of 1366-638X. Over the lifetime, 1715 publications have been published receiving 37249 citations.

Terrestrial invertebrates as bioindicators: an overview of available taxonomic groups

Abstract: Bioindicators, as taxa or functional groups, are widely used as indicators of environmental change, specific ecological factors or taxonomic diversity. The use of ecological, environmental and biodiversity indicators, is reviewed here. Although indicator taxa are considered to be generally unreliable as broad indicators of biodiversity, they may serve a useful function in identifying ecological characteristics or monitoring the effects of habitat management. Use of only a narrow range of taxa may be unreliable, and is particularly vulnerable to distortion by a small number of invasive species. Taxa also need to be selected to reflect the specific ecosystem being studied. It is recommended that isopods be used for soil systems (if there is sufficient local diversity), in some areas earthworms or mites may be useable but are generally too difficult to identify to be practically useful. In the ground layer indicator sets could include ants, millipedes, molluscs (snails in particular), ground beetles, harvestmen and gnaphosid spiders. Foliage-inhabiting indicators could comprise ants, chrysomelid leaf beetles, theridiid spiders and arctiid moths. Ants, orthopterans and butterflies may be appropriate for use in open habitats. These basic sets should be supplemented by other taxa where appropriate resources and taxonomic expertise are available.

Diversity, disturbance, and sustainable use of Neotropical forests: insects as indicators for conservation monitoring

Abstract: Sustainable use of tropical forest systems requires continuous monitoring of biological diversity and ecosystem functions. This can be efficiently done with ‘early warning‘ (short-cycle) indicator groups of non-economical insects, whose population levels and resources are readily measured. Twenty-one groups of insects are evaluated as focal indicator taxa for rapid assessment of changes in Neotropical forest systems. Composite environmental indices for heterogeneity, richness, and natural disturbance are correlated positively with butterfly diversity in 56 Neotropical sites studied over many years. Various components of alpha, beta and gamma-diversity show typical responses to increased disturbance and different land-use regimes. Diversity often increases with disturbance near or below natural levels, but some sensitive species and genes are eliminated at very low levels of interference. Agricultural and silvicultural mosaics with over 30% conversion, including selective logging of three or more large trees per hectare, show shifts in species composition with irreversible loss of many components of the butterfly community, indicating non-sustainable land and resource use and reduction of future options. Monitoring of several insect indicator groups by local residents in a species-rich Brazilian Amazon extractive reserve has helped suggest guidelines for cologically, economically, and socially sustainable zoning and use regimes.

Biotope Use and Trends of European Butterflies

Abstract: Europe has undergone substantial biotope loss and change over the last century and data are needed urgently on the rate of decline in different wildlife groups in order to identify and target conservation measures However, pan-European data are available for very few taxonomic groups, notably birds We present here the first overview of trends for an insect group within different biotopes across Europe, based on data from the Red Data Book of European Butterflies The most important biotopes for Europe’s 576 butterfly species, including threatened species, are man-made or man-influenced, notably types of grassland or heath/scrub communities Our results show that butterflies are declining substantially across Europe, with a decline in distribution of −11% over the last 25 years The distributions of the 25 most “generalist” species are declining only slowly (−1%) compared to specialist butterflies of grassland (−19%), wetlands (−15%), and forests (−14%) On average, grassland butterflies have declined somewhat slower than farmland birds (annual decrease −08% compared to −15%), but woodland butterflies have decreased more rapidly (−001% to −06%) than woodland birds, which are more or less stable The sensitivity of butterflies to environmental changes and the availability of data across Europe suggest that they are very good candidates to build biodiversity indicators and, along with other major groups such as birds, suitable to monitor progress towards the EU target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010

Efficiency of Malaise traps and colored pan traps for collecting flower visiting insects from three forested ecosystems

Abstract: Pan and Malaise traps have been used widely to sample insect abundance and diversity, but no studies have compared their performance for sampling pollinators in forested ecosystems. Malaise trap design and color of pan traps are important parameters that influence insect pollinator catches. We compared pan trap (blue, yellow, white, and red) and Malaise trap catches from forests in three physiographic provinces (Piedmont, Coastal Plain, and Blue Ridge) of the southeastern United States. Similarities in trap performance between sites were observed with blue pan traps being most effective overall. Our results showed that various pollinator groups preferred certain pan trap colors and that adding color to Malaise traps influenced insect pollinator catches. However, pan traps generally caught more pollinators than Malaise traps. Because of their low cost and simplicity, using several colors of pan traps is an effective way to sample relative abundance and species richness of flower-visiting insects.

The influences of landscape structure on butterfly distribution and movement: a review

Abstract: We review the literature on the influence of landscape structure on butterfly distribution and movement. We start by examining the definition of landscape commonly used in spatial ecology. Landscape-level processes are reviewed before focusing on the impact of the geometry and spatial arrangement of habitat patches on butterflies e.g. the nature of the matrix, patch size and shape, minimum area requirements, immigration and emigration, and temporal habitat dynamics. The role of landscape elements is reviewed in terms of corridors (and stepping-stones), barriers, nodes, environmental buffers, and prominent landmark features.