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Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward

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A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Other Arthropods and General Topics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 7271

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Richard V. Glatz

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Guest Editor

1. School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
2. D'Estrees Entomology & Science Services, Kingscote, SA 5223, Australia
3. South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
Interests: insect ecology and conservation; insect–plant interactions; insect molecular biology; parasitology; taxonomy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Invertebrates have long been recognized as having immense ecological and economic importance. In recent times, however, there have been increasing reports of declining invertebrate abundance and diversity at differing spatial scales, and this is reflected in increasing scientific exploration of such declines. There is now an emerging field of science related to invertebrate conservation which not only includes studies of changes in species' populations or biodiversity, but also of the drivers of these changes and methods for mitigating their effects.

Some broad ecological threats have been identified, such as vegetation clearance and fragmentation, land use change, pesticides use, and a rapidly warming atmosphere. In some cases, studies have investigated the effect of specific events on invertebrate populations, such as the 2019–2020 Black Summer fires in Australia. Increasingly, innovative ways of protecting invertebrates are being examined, including the development of species-specific management plans, translocation, ex-situ breeding, improved monitoring, and legislative changes.

The scope of the Special Issue is original research or reviews relating to invertebrate conservation. This could include but is not limited to:

evidence of invertebrate declines (or increases);
evidence regarding threatening processes and their mitigation;
specific case studies in invertebrate conservation;
emerging topics in invertebrate conservation;
novel technology or approaches for invertebrate conservation or assessment of current methods;
conservation ecology;
co-extinctions;
effects of fire, climate warming, light, pesticides and pathogens on individual species or communities;
methods for predicting vulnerable species including and trait-based assessments;
invertebrate abundance and biomass assessments;
invertebrate monitoring for conservation;
long term monitoring of invertebrates;
definition, assessment or comparison of statistics/modelling approaches to determine population size, compare invertebrate communities, determine range, determine presence/absence, predict effects of management actions etc.
regulatory/legislative issues surrounding conservation.

Dr. Richard V. Glatz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

invertebrate conservation
invertebrate monitoring
ecology
invertebrate decline
threatening processes

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2759 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Case for Below-Ground Dispersal? Insights into the Biology, Ecology and Conservation of Blind Cave Spiders in the Genus Troglodiplura (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae)

by Jessica R. Marsh, Steven J. Milner, Matthew Shaw, Andrew J. Stempel, Mark S. Harvey and Michael G. Rix

Insects 2023, 14(5), 449; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects14050449 - 10 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2919

Abstract

Previously described from only fragments of exoskeleton and juvenile specimens, the cave spider genus Troglodiplura (Araneae: Anamidae), endemic to the Nullarbor Plain, is the only troglomorphic member of the infraorder Mygalomorphae recorded from Australia. We investigated the distribution of Troglodiplura in South Australia, collecting and observing the first (intact) mature specimens, widening the number of caves it has been recorded in, and documenting threats to conservation. Phylogenetic analyses support the placement of Troglodiplura as an independent lineage within the subfamily Anaminae (the ‘Troglodiplura group’) and provide unequivocal evidence that populations from apparently isolated cave systems are conspecifics of T. beirutpakbarai Harvey & Rix, 2020, with extremely low or negligible inter-population mitochondrial divergences. This is intriguing evidence for recent or contemporary subterranean dispersal of these large, troglomorphic spiders. Observations of adults and juvenile spiders taken in the natural cave environment, and supported by observations in captivity, revealed the use of crevices within caves as shelters, but no evidence of silk use for burrow construction, contrasting with the typical burrowing behaviours seen in other Anamidae. We identify a range of threats posed to the species and to the fragile cave ecosystem, and provide recommendations for further research to better define the distribution of vulnerable taxa within caves and identify actions needed to protect them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward)

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19 pages, 3783 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Interaction Networks Help to Infer the Vulnerability of the Saproxylic Beetle Communities That Inhabit Tree Hollows in Mediterranean Forests

by Javier Quinto, Cecilia Díaz-Castelazo, Alfredo Ramírez-Hernández, Ascensión Padilla, Esther Sánchez-Almodóvar, Eduardo Galante and Estefanía Micó

Insects 2023, 14(5), 446; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects14050446 - 09 May 2023

Viewed by 1898

Abstract

Insect communities are facing contrasting responses due to global change. However, knowledge on impacts of communities’ reorganizations is scarce. Network approaches could help to envision community changes in different environmental scenarios. Saproxylic beetles were selected to examine long-term variations in insect interaction/diversity patterns and their vulnerability to global change. We evaluated interannual differences in network patterns in the tree hollow–saproxylic beetle interaction using absolute samplings over an 11-year interval in three Mediterranean woodland types. We explored saproxylic communities’ vulnerability to microhabitat loss via simulated extinctions and by recreating threat scenarios based on decreasing microhabitat suitability. Although temporal diversity patterns varied between woodland types, network descriptors showed an interaction decline. The temporal beta-diversity of interactions depended more on interaction than on species turnover. Interaction and diversity temporal shifts promoted less specialized and more vulnerable networks, which is particularly worrisome in the riparian woodland. Network procedures evidenced that saproxylic communities are more vulnerable today than 11 years ago irrespective of whether species richness increased or decreased, and the situation could worsen in the future depending on tree hollow suitability. Network approaches were useful for predicting saproxylic communities’ vulnerability across temporal scenarios and, thus, for providing valuable information for management and conservation programs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward)

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Graphical abstract

7 pages, 859 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

A Chemical Lure for Trapping Both Sexes of Amata phegea L.

by Szabolcs Szanyi, Antal Nagy, István Szarukán, Zoltán Varga, Júlia Katalin Jósvai and Miklós Tóth

Insects 2022, 13(11), 1051; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/insects13111051 - 15 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1433

Abstract

The addition of synthetic eugenol and benzyl acetate to the known floral chemical and moth attractant phenylacetaldehyde synergized the attraction of Amata phegea (Lepidoptera: Amatidae). Traps baited with the ternary blend caught ca. four times more A. phegea moths than traps baited with phenylacetaldehyde alone. Both female and male moths were attracted; in a preliminary test, the female numbers caught were almost double compared to the males. Most A. phegea were caught when the blend was formulated in a dispenser with medium release rates. Traps baited with the ternary lure in polyethylene bag dispensers detected a single well-pronounced peak in seasonal trapping, suggesting that this multicomponent bisexual lure could be efficient enough to be applied to the detection and monitoring of female and male A. phegea. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Invertebrate Conservation: Challenges and Ways Forward)

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