Tracking devices have become small enough to be widely applied to arthropods to study their movement. However, possible side effects of these devices on arthropod performance and behaviour are rarely considered. We performed a systematic review of 173 papers about research in which tracking devices—radio frequency identification (RFID), harmonic radar and radio telemetry tags—were attached to terrestrial arthropods. The impact of such tags was quantified in only 12% of the papers, while in 40% the potential impact was completely disregarded. Often‐cited rules of thumb for determining appropriate tag weight had either no empirical basis or were misconstrued. Several properties of a tracking device (e.g. weight, balance, size, drag) can affect different aspects of an arthropod's life history (e.g. energy, movement, foraging, mating). The impact can differ among species and environments. Taken together, these tag effects can influence the reliability of obtained movement data and conclusions drawn from them. We argue that the impact of tracking devices on arthropods should be quantified for each (a) study species, (b) tag type, and (c) environmental context. As an example, we include a low‐effort impact study of the effect of an RFID tag on a digger wasp. Technological advancements enable studying the movement of arthropods in unprecedented detail. However, we should adopt a more critical attitude towards the use of tracking devices on terrestrial arthropods. The benefits of tracking devices should be balanced against their potential side effects on arthropods and on the reliability of the resulting data.

Nature-based solutions to mitigate the impact of future climate change depend on restoring biological diversity and natural processes. Coastal foredunes represent the most important natural flood barriers along coastlines worldwide, but their area has been squeezed dramatically because of a continuing urbanization of coastlines, especially in Europe. Dune development is steered by the development of vegetation in interaction with sand fluxes from the beach. Marram grass (Calamagrostis arenaria, formerly Ammophila arenaria) is the main dune building species along most European coasts, but also in other continents where the species was introduced. Engineering of coastal dunes, for instance by building dunes in front of dikes, needs to be based on a solid understanding of the species’ interactions with the environment. Only quantitative approaches enable the further development of mechanistic models and coastal management strategies that encapsulate these biomorphogenic interactions. We here provide a quantitative review of the main biotic and physical interactions that affect marram grass performance, their interactions with sand fluxes and how they eventually shape dune development. Our review highlights that the species’ spatial organization is central to dune development. We further demonstrate this importance by means of remote sensing and a mechanistic model and provide an outlook for further research on the use of coastal dunes as a nature-based solution for coastal protection.

Nesting in dense aggregations is common in central place foragers, such as group-living birds and insects. Both environmental heterogeneity and behavioral interactions are known to induce clustering of nests, but their relative importance remains unclear. We developed an individual-based model that simulated the spatial organization of nest building in a gregarious digger wasp, Bembix rostrata. This process-based model integrates environmental suitability, as derived from a microhabitat model, and relevant behavioral mechanisms related to local site fidelity and conspecific attraction. The drivers behind the nesting were determined by means of inverse modeling in which the emerging spatial and network patterns from simulations were compared with those observed in the field. Models with individual differences in behavior that include the simultaneous effect of a weak environmental cue and strong behavioral mechanisms yielded the best fit to the field data. The nest pattern formation of a central place foraging insect cannot be considered as the sum of environmental and behavioral mechanisms. We demonstrate the use of inverse modeling to understand complex processes that underlie nest aggregation in nature.

1. Insect populations show strong temporal fluctuations in abundance. This renders classical monitoring studies extremely difficult to provide insights into specific management actions. For rare species of conservation concern, it is not an option to develop large scale experiments to assess and steer landscape-level actions such as grazing management.2. Bembix rostrata (Linnaeus, 1758) is a threatened digger wasp from coastal dunes and inland sandy regions occurring in a limited number of populations in NW Europe. Since coastal dunes are rapidly being encroached by bushes, grazing management (cattle, sheep, and horses) has been implemented to keep this biotope open.3. In order to provide insights for local evidence based conservation, a BACI (before/ after and control/impact) experiment was set up to assess the impact of sheep grazing on B. rostrata. We quantified the number of nests during 3 years at two grazed sites and a control-site excluded from grazing. We additionally assessed grazing pressure.4. The BACI design allowed us to directly adjust the current grazing management. The implemented sheep grazing reduced densities of B. rostrata, but did not lead to its local extinction. We discuss these findings in relation to the biology of the species. 5. Our efficient and effective experimental design allowed a fast assessment of the current grazing management and showed that spatially heterogeneous sheep grazing could be used as a management tool to ensure the conservation of the emblematic digger wasp B. rostrata.

Connectivity is a species- and landscape-specific measure that is key to species conservation in fragmented landscapes. However, information on connectivity is often lacking, especially for insects that are known to be severely declining. Patterns of gene flow constitute an indirect measure of functional landscape connectivity. We studied the population genetic structure of the rare digger wasp Bembix rostrata in coastal and inland regions in and near Belgium. The species is restricted to sandy pioneer vegetations for nesting and is well known for its philopatry as it does not easily colonize vacant habitat. It has markedly declined in the last century, especially in the inland region where open sand habitat has decreased in area and became highly fragmented. To assess within and between region connectivity, we used mating system independent population genetic methods suitable for haplodiploid species. Despite B. rostrata being a poor colonizer, gene flow between existing populations appeared not highly restricted. We found more pronounced genetic structure in the small and isolated inland populations as compared to the well-connected coastal region, including a pattern of asymmetrical gene flow from coast to inland. Most likely, demography within different landscape contexts is the main factor explaining the discrepancy in connectivity and asymmetrical gene flow between the different regions. This illustrates the importance of large populations for the species′ metapopulation persistence. Therefore, to improve the conservation status B. rostrata through increased connectivity, large sites with sand dunes need to be preserved or created, especially in landscapes with small and isolated populations.