Estimation of the Recent Expansion Rate of Ruspolia nitidula (Orthoptera) on a Regional and Landscape Scale

Abstract

Recent changes in insect distribution are consistent with the expected interacting effects of climate and habitat change. The orthopteran Ruspolia nitidula has expanded its area of distribution in Western and Central Europe in recent decades. Because males emit a sound that is easily detected at a distance of up to 40 m, it is possible to detect spreading individuals and to therefore document routes and rates of spread. Using occurrence data at the landscape scale and three methods, including least-cost path analysis with habitat suitability, we estimated the R. nitidula expansion rate from 2006 to 2020 in the Czech Republic; this involved estimating distances between two origin occurrences in 2006 and two occurrences on the area margin in 2020. For comparison, we directly monitored expansion based on detection of singing males at the regional scale at the areal margin in the Odra River basin (2016–2020). The estimated maximum expansion rate ranged from 13.8 to 16.2 km/year based on occurrence data at the landscape scale and from 11.1 to 11.7 km/year based on the monitoring of males in the Odra River basin. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the direct monitoring of individual spreading males to detect changes in the distribution of an orthopteran.

The role of community science in orthopteran research

“…Although community science initiatives usually provide fine-scale data at a local level, they can cover large regions collectively (Theobald et al 2015). This allows community science projects to gather much more data than a small group of scientists would alone (Pocock et al 2015, Kaláb et al 2021. For example, organized initiatives led by passionate amateur scientists are valuable in tracking changes in populations over time (Pocock et al 2015).…”

“…For example, organized initiatives led by passionate amateur scientists are valuable in tracking changes in populations over time (Pocock et al 2015). Locals have the ability to record data year-round, which would be difficult and costly for scientists who are based far from their study sites (Kaláb et al 2021). Moreover, local knowledge of an area can be invaluable to scientists conducting fieldwork (Penone et al 2013, Medin andBang 2014).…”

“…The geographic scale and depth of community science surveys are particularly valuable in the context of anthropogenic change-the scale and speed at which humans are impacting biodiversity require the collection of as much data as possible as quickly as possible (Theobald et al 2015). Community science initiatives have been successful in monitoring conservation efforts (Barlow et al 2015, Kallimanis et al 2017, sighting species thought to be extinct (Woller andHill 2015, Buzzetti et al 2021), discovering new species (Kasalo et al 2021b, Trewick 2021, locating occurrences of range expansion (Beckmann 2017, Paiero et al 2020, Kaláb et al 2021, and invasive species (Okayasu et al 2020, Ahnelt et al 2021, Kasalo et al 2021a). In some taxa, most newly discovered species are first described by people who are not professional scientists (Fontaine et al 2021).…”

“…Because many male orthopterans sing to attract mates, community science studies quantifying species richness, abundance, and emergence times in Orthoptera are relatively simple. Species can be identified by their acoustic profiles, and acoustic survey data can be recorded from trails and roadsides (Fischer et al 1997, Riede 1998, Penone et al 2013, Jeliazkov et al 2016, McNeil and Grozinger 2020, Paiero et al 2020, Kaláb et al 2021. This is particularly useful in fragile habitats or for threatened species, where scientists must balance effective monitoring with reducing disruption in conservation spaces (Moran et al 2014, McNeil andGrozinger 2020).…”

Assessing non-native invasive Orthoptera in Europe

“…Most of the traits that allow an individual to disperse, survive the potentially wide array of encountered environmental lters (Renault et al 2018), and ultimately to establish, may also contribute to magnifying their impacts (Ricciardi & Cohen, 2007). With the climatic warming, several insect species are expanding their range size and distribution northerly in Europe (Olsen et al 2022;Pélissié et al 2022) and Orthoptera species are no exception (Burton, 2003;Ćato & Zagorac, 2021;Kaláb et al 2021;Bauer et al 2022). In Europe, both Ensifera and Caelifera are considered phytosanitary pests (Bauer et al 2022), meaning that extension of range sizes may further increase their economic burden.…”