Critical species of Odonata in Europe

Sahlén, Göran; Bernard, R; Rivera, Adolfo Cordero; Ketelaar, Robert; Suhling, Frank

doi:10.1080/13887890.2004.9748223

Cited by 32 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Conversely, the lack of records of species, such as Orthetrum cancellatum (L. 1758) and Sympetrum striolatum (Charpentier 1840), previously considered as common within the Maltese Islands, and other less abundant species such as Orthetrum brunneum (Fonscolombe 1837), may suggest that populations of Odonata on the Islands are on the decline. Similar observations have been reported for several European (Sahlén et al 2004) and Mediterranean (Riservato et al 2009) species.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Associations of Dragonflies (Odonata) to Habitat Variables within the Maltese Islands: A Spatio-Temporal Approach

Balzan

2012

Journal of Insect Science

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Relatively little information is available on environmental associations and the conservation of Odonata in the Maltese Islands. Aquatic habitats are normally spatio-temporally restricted, often located within predominantly rural landscapes, and are thereby susceptible to farmland water management practices, which may create additional pressure on water resources. This study investigates how odonate assemblage structure and diversity are associated with habitat variables of local breeding habitats and the surrounding agricultural landscapes. Standardized survey methodology for adult Odonata involved periodical counts over selected water-bodies (valley systems, semi-natural ponds, constructed agricultural reservoirs). Habitat variables relating to the type of water body, the floristic and physiognomic characteristics of vegetation, and the composition of the surrounding landscape, were studied and analyzed through a multivariate approach. Overall, odonate diversity was associated with a range of factors across multiple spatial scales, and was found to vary with time. Lentic water-bodies are probably of high conservation value, given that larval stages were mainly associated with this habitat category, and that all species were recorded in the adult stage in this habitat type. Comparatively, lentic and lotic seminatural waterbodies were more diverse than agricultural reservoirs and brackish habitats. Overall, different odonate groups were associated with different vegetation life-forms and height categories. The presence of the great reed, Arundo donax L., an invasive alien species that forms dense stands along several water-bodies within the Islands, seems to influence the abundance and/or occurrence of a number of species. At the landscape scale, roads and other ecologically disturbed ground, surface water-bodies, and landscape diversity were associated with particular components of the odonate assemblages. Findings from this study have several implications for the use of Odonata as biological indicators, and for current trends with respect to odonate diversity conservation within the Maltese Islands.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Associations of Dragonflies (Odonata) to Habitat Variables within the Maltese Islands: A Spatio-Temporal Approach

Balzan

2012

Journal of Insect Science

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“…Among the many taxa that depend on ponds, perhaps the best known are the 'flagship groups', particularly the amphibians, dragonflies and aquatic plants, which are particularly emblematic of pond biodiversity; all of these groups include numerous critically endangered species (Beebee, 1992;Semlitsch, 2003;Baillie et al, 2004;Sahlen et al, 2004). Other groups, although less studied, can be expected to demonstrate similar trends on the basis of the evidence so far available (e.g.…”

Section: Threats and Conservation Programmes } Why Study Ponds?mentioning

confidence: 84%

Conservation and monitoring of pond biodiversity: introduction

Oertli

Biggs

Céréghino

et al. 2005

Aquatic Conservation

213

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“…2.9.3.2. Habitat requirements from Askew (2004), Rouquette and Thompson (2004) and Dijkstra (2006), threatened habitat from IUCN (www.iucn.org) and Sahlen et al (2004). We assessed the distribution of this genetic variation in space by estimating global theta, regional theta and pairwise F ST s for each species, again using Fstat ver.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large‐scale patterns in genetic variation, gene flow and differentiation in five species of European Coenagrionid damselfly provide mixed support for the central‐marginal hypothesis

et al. 2013

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Recently, an increased effort has been directed towards understanding the distribution of genetic variation within and between populations, particularly at central and marginal areas of a species' distribution. Much of this research is centred on the central-marginal hypothesis, which posits that populations at range margins are sparse, small and genetically diminished compared to those at the centre of a species' distribution range. We tested predictions derived from the centralmarginal hypothesis for the distribution of genetic variation and population differentiation in five European Coenagrionid damselfly species. We screened genetic variation (microsatellites) in populations sampled in the centre and margins of the species' latitudinal ranges, assessed genetic diversity (H S ) in the populations and the distribution of this genetic diversity between populations (F ST ). We further assessed genetic substructure and migration with Bayesian assignment methods, and tested for significant associations between genetic substructure and bioclimatic and spatial (altitude and latitude) variables, using general linearized models. We found no general adherence to the central-marginal hypothesis; instead we found that other factors such as historical or current ecological factors often better explain the patterns uncovered. This was illustrated in Coenagrion mercuriale whose colonisation history and behaviour most likely led to the observation of a high genetic diversity in the south and lower genetic diversity with increasing latitude, and in C. armatum and C. pulchellum whose patterns of low genetic diversity coupled with the weakest genetic differentiation at one of their range margins suggested, respectively, possible range shifts and recent, strong selection pressure.For many species there exists detailed information on distribution ranges, and in some cases also historical distribution records. However, how and why these ranges are maintained, and under what conditions and by which mechanism they change, is highly speculative (Bridle and Vines 2006, Sagarin et al. 2006, Sexton et al. 2009). There has recently been increased interest in range margin dynamics due to global climate change, because species can respond to climate change and ensure their persistence through moving their ranges or adapting in situ (Parmesan et al. 2005). A critical issue in this context is that of population dynamics at range margins, and if they are akin to dynamics in central populations, because of their potential importance for genetic adaptation (Bridle and Vines 2006).The central-marginal hypothesis (Hengeveld and Haeck 1982, Brussard 1984) assumes that populations are most abundant and have higher densities where conditions are optimal for growth, and that populations become smaller and scarcer towards their range margins; since survival and growth becomes more arduous with increasing distance from the environmental optimum (Sagarin and Gaines 2002, Eckert et al. 2008. Based on this, the central-marginal hypothesis makes two pred...

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Critical species of Odonata in Europe

Cited by 32 publications

References 9 publications

Associations of Dragonflies (Odonata) to Habitat Variables within the Maltese Islands: A Spatio-Temporal Approach

Associations of Dragonflies (Odonata) to Habitat Variables within the Maltese Islands: A Spatio-Temporal Approach

Conservation and monitoring of pond biodiversity: introduction

Large‐scale patterns in genetic variation, gene flow and differentiation in five species of European Coenagrionid damselfly provide mixed support for the central‐marginal hypothesis

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