Stable Isotopes from Museum Specimens May Provide Evidence of Long-Term Change in the Trophic Ecology of a Migratory Aerial Insectivore

English, Philina A.; Green, David J.; Nocera, Joseph J.

doi:10.3389/fevo.2018.00014

Cited by 42 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(126 reference statements)

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“…The study showed that chimney swifts are in decline due to widespread use of the pesticide DDT in the 1960s, which correlated with a significant change in prey and therefore nutrients (Nocera et al ., ). Further, an isotope analysis of Eastern whip‐poor‐will ( Caprimulgus vociferus ) over ~130 years found some evidence of a shift in diet away from higher trophic level insect prey (English et al ., ). Clearly, more research is needed to examine species diversity and community composition, concentrating at the field level over long periods of time and measuring covariates like weather, insecticide usage, landscape and habitat change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are insects declining and at what rate? An analysis of standardised, systematic catches of aphid and moth abundances across Great Britain

Bell

Blumgart

Shortall

2020

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Although we have known anecdotally that insects have been declining in Great Britain for more than 100 years, insect declines have only been statistically estimated over the last 20 years. Estimation of the rate of those declines is still hotly debated, fuelled by a lack of standardised, systematically collected data. More than 24 million individual moths and aphids collected from 112 light traps and 25 12.2 m suction‐traps, respectively, were analysed using mixed models. Our objective was to estimate the long‐term trends in both groups based on annual totals recorded every year between 1969 and 2016. The models showed that two paradigms existed: Over 47 years, long‐term linear trends showed that moths had declined significantly by −31%, but short‐term trends indicated that there were periods of significant decline and recovery in most decades since the 1960s. Conversely, despite aphid annual totals fluctuating widely, this group was in a steady state over the long‐term, with a non‐significant decline of −7.6%. Sensitivity analysis revealed that moth trends were not driven by a group of abundant species, but the sign of the overall aphid trends may have been driven by three of the most abundant species. The spatial extent of moth trends suggests that they are extremely heterogeneous. Uniquely, moth declines were different among several habitat types, with robust significant declines found in coastal, urban and woodland habitats, but notably not in agricultural, parkland and scrubland habitats. Conversely, aphid trends showed spatial synchrony extending to 338 km, albeit with local variation.

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“…R. Soc. B 374: 20170387 [93], mammals [94][95][96] and birds [89,[97][98][99], with ratios of isotopic nitrogen and carbon, in particular, providing insight into shifts in dietary regime over the past several decades. Isotopes can also be used to create 'isoscapes', maps of isotope isoclines across the landscape, allowing researchers to connect breeding and wintering ranges of migratory species [100], among other inferences such as elevational migration [101].…”

Section: Museum Specimens Record Historical Changes In Diet Migratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Museum specimens of terrestrial vertebrates are sensitive indicators of environmental change in the Anthropocene

Schmitt

Cook

Zamudio

et al. 2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Natural history museums and the specimen collections they curate are vital scientific infrastructure, a fact as true today as it was when biologists began collecting and preserving specimens over 200 years ago. The importance of museum specimens in studies of taxonomy, systematics, ecology and evolutionary biology is evidenced by a rich and abundant literature, yet creative and novel uses of specimens are constantly broadening the impact of natural history collections on biodiversity science and global sustainability. Excellent examples of the critical importance of specimens come from their use in documenting the consequences of environmental change, which is particularly relevant considering the alarming rate at which we now modify our planet in the Anthropocene. In this review, we highlight the important role of bird, mammal and amphibian specimens in documenting the Anthropocene and provide examples that underscore the need for continued collection of museum specimens. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene’.

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“…Integrative studies that fully use NHCs, now enabled via digitization, are still emerging. One of the most exciting research avenues will require more than just digital products: physical specimens offer untapped potential for isotopic studies [85]. Ratios of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in specimen tissues provide a record of diet and habitat change through time and allowed English et al [85] to infer a decline in the contribution of insects to insectivorous bird diets over a 125-year period.…”

Section: (B) Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the most exciting research avenues will require more than just digital products: physical specimens offer untapped potential for isotopic studies [85]. Ratios of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in specimen tissues provide a record of diet and habitat change through time and allowed English et al [85] to infer a decline in the contribution of insects to insectivorous bird diets over a 125-year period. More common applications of cutting edge imaging techniques such as micro-computed tomography scanning, promise to provide dense internal and external morphological data [86] coupled with three-dimensional morphometric approaches.…”

Section: (B) Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using insect natural history collections to study global change impacts: challenges and opportunities

Kharouba

Lewthwaite

Guralnick

et al. 2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 16 to a theme issue 'Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene'.Over the past two decades, natural history collections (NHCs) have played an increasingly prominent role in global change research, but they have still greater potential, especially for the most diverse group of animals on Earth: insects. Here, we review the role of NHCs in advancing our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary responses of insects to recent global changes. Insect NHCs have helped document changes in insects' geographical distributions, phenology, phenotypic and genotypic traits over time periods up to a century. Recent work demonstrates the enormous potential of NHCs data for examining insect responses at multiple temporal, spatial and phylogenetic scales. Moving forward, insect NHCs offer unique opportunities to examine the morphological, chemical and genomic information in each specimen, thus advancing our understanding of the processes underlying species' ecological and evolutionary responses to rapid, widespread global changes.This article is part of the theme issue 'Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the anthropocene'.

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“…With many specimens dating back 100 years or more, natural history collections provide a historic record of unprecedented value (Holmes et al, 2016;McCormack, Rodríguez-Gómez, Tsai, & Faircloth, 2017), one that can serve as a baseline against which to contrast data from contemporary populations. As new methodological, sample storage, and archival tools and protocols are developed, our ability to access the wealth of information housed in natural history collections is steadily increasing (Holmes et al, 2016;McCormack et al, 2017), helping to broaden our understanding of conservation (English, Green, & Nocera, 2018;Hansen, 2002), evolution (Kitano et al, 2008;Parks et al, 2015), ecology (Tingley, Monahan, Beissinger, & Moritz, 2009), and phylogenetic relationships (Besnard et al, 2016;Bruxaux et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical DNA as a tool to address key questions in avian biology and evolution: A review of methods, challenges, applications, and future directions

Billerman

Walsh

2019

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Museum specimens play a crucial role in addressing key questions in systematics, evolution, ecology, and conservation. With the advent of high‐throughput sequencing technologies, specimens that have long been the foundation of important biological discoveries can inform new perspectives as sources of genomic data. Despite the many possibilities associated with analyzing DNA from historical specimens, several challenges persist. Using avian systems as a model, we review DNA extraction protocols, sequencing technologies, and capture methods that are helping researchers overcome some of these difficulties. We highlight empirical examples in which researchers have used these technologies to address fundamental questions related to avian conservation and evolution. Increasing accessibility to new sequencing technologies will provide researchers with tools to tap into the wealth of information contained within our valuable natural history collections.

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Stable Isotopes from Museum Specimens May Provide Evidence of Long-Term Change in the Trophic Ecology of a Migratory Aerial Insectivore

Cited by 42 publications

References 92 publications

Are insects declining and at what rate? An analysis of standardised, systematic catches of aphid and moth abundances across Great Britain

Museum specimens of terrestrial vertebrates are sensitive indicators of environmental change in the Anthropocene

Using insect natural history collections to study global change impacts: challenges and opportunities

Historical DNA as a tool to address key questions in avian biology and evolution: A review of methods, challenges, applications, and future directions

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