To ensure the effective conservation of biodiversity the distribution of species needs to be accurately characterized and areas of high species richness located. For many taxa this can be achieved only by experienced taxonomists. Taxonomic research has a large input from non‐professional or amateur researchers, in addition to professionals working at museums or universities. The decline of taxonomy and the number of taxonomists within the professional community has been widely publicized, but the trends in the activities of amateur taxonomists are unclear. Because amateurs contribute many valuable records of species occurrence this may have a disproportionate impact upon the information available for conservation planning and represents an underappreciated threat to conservation planning. We use taxonomic research by UK entomologists in order to evaluate the changing role of both amateur and professional taxonomists. We reviewed contributions by British‐based authors to Entomologist's Monthly Magazine over the past century. Our results show that both amateur and professional taxonomy have undergone a long and persistent decline since the 1950s, in terms of both the number of contributors and the number of papers contributed. It is argued that the conservation community needs to help try and reverse the decline of taxonomy.
Summary 1.Coenagrion mercuriale is a rare damselfly in Britain and mainland Europe and has been declining in the last 30 years. It has specialized habitat requirements and has been viewed, traditionally, as a poor disperser. Knowledge of its dispersal ability was considered in its Biodiversity Species Action Plan as essential for the formulation of appropriate conservation management strategies. 2. Mark-release-recapture (MRR) studies of C . mercuriale in two large UK heathland populations were undertaken. Mature adults had a low rate of movement within continuous areas of habitat (average < 25 m movement), low emigration rates (1·3-11·4%) and low colonization distances (maximum 1 km), all comparable to similarly sized coenagrionids. 3. Movements were more likely within than between patches of suitable habitat over short to medium distances (50-300 m). Between-patch movements were more likely between patches that were close together. Scrub barriers reduced dispersal. 4. The probability of dispersal between two recaptures depended on the length of the time interval between them. Coenagrion mercuriale performed considerable betweenpatch movements within a small fraction (1-2 days) of its mean mature adult life span (7-8 days). 5. Qualitative comparison of field colonization distances measured here and distances between UK sites occupied by C . mercuriale revealed that empty sites within large clusters of sites would probably be recolonized rapidly and dispersal events would be frequent. However, such events would occur rarely within small isolated sites or clusters of sites, leaving local populations prone to extinction. 6. Synthesis and applications. These data show that management effort should be directed towards maximizing the likelihood of C . mercuriale recolonizing sites naturally within 1-3 km of other populations (particularly within large clusters). Scrub boundaries should be removed between existing populations and empty, but suitable, sites to facilitate stepping-stone dispersal movements.
1. The nymphs of the aphid Monaphis antennata occupy an unusual feeding niche, being restricted to the upper surfaces of leaves and petioles. The possibility that this is a predator‐avoidance strategy was investigated. 2. Nymphs could be induced to feed on the under surfaces of petioles and the mortality of these nymphs was then compared with the mortality of nymphs feeding from the upper surfaces when exposed to coccinellid predators. 3. Coccinellid larvae spent less time foraging on the upper surfaces of leaves and petioles than on the under surfaces of leaves and petioles. 4. The nymphs occupying the upper surfaces of petioles, the normal feeding position, were encountered by the coccinellids later and less often, and fewer were attacked compared with those occupying the under surfaces. 5. It is concluded that the feeding niche of the nymphs of this aphid is adaptive in that it reduces exposure to foraging predators and is the result of selection to occupy enemy‐free space.
1. Natural enemies may determine the seasonal occurrence of insect herbivores by restricting the presence of their vulnerable life-stages to periods of low natural enemy activity.2. A tropical leaf-mining moth, Bucculatrix sp., feeding on the understorey plant Forsteronia spicata, normally occurs only in the early-wet season in the tropical dry forests of Costa Rica, this period coinciding with a time when natural enemy activity is thought to be lowest and when young leaves are most abundant.3. A manipulative experiment was run to establish whether the Bucculatrix sp. can undergo another generation in the late-wet season if suitable leaves are present. If the restricted phenology of this species is due to predator avoidance, then its larvae should experience elevated levels of mortality during this late-wet season generation.4. An artificial second flush of young leaves was induced on F. spicata by stripping them of leaves after the natural first flush of leaves. Bucculatrix sp. larvae were found on the plants induced to flush but none were found on natural plants. No significant difference in pre-adult mortality was found between the larvae on the natural early-wet season and the artificial late-wet season leaves.5. The primary factor restricting the seasonal occurrence of Bucculatrix sp. is concluded to be the availability of suitable leaves and there is no evidence to suggest that natural enemies play a role in determining its phenology.
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