Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.2
3.0
Journals
Insects
Special Issues
Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in Islands
share announcement

Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in Islands

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Other Arthropods and General Topics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 5825

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Paulo A. V. Borges

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CE3C—Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and the Environment, University of the Azores, PT-9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Interests: macroecology; community ecology (SADs, SARs); island biogeography; conservation; beetle taxonomy; bioespeleology; termite control; insect pollination
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mário Boieiro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, University of Azores, PT-9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal
Interests: insect biodiversity of Macaronesian islands; island endemics conservation; insect-plant interactions; invasive ant species

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Islands are key ecosystems for global biodiversity conservation, being the home for high numbers of endemic species, unique evolutionary lineages, and interesting species interactions. Indeed, islands contribute only around 7% of land surface area, but they harbor around 20% of the Earth’s biodiversity. Nevertheless, island biodiversity is under threat due to a variety of biodiversity erosion drivers such as climate change, invasive species, habitat destruction, and disturbance. Such factors may have considerable effects on arthropod diversity, ecological interactions, and even species survival. Therefore, it is essential to improve our understanding of the drivers of island arthropod biodiversity to inform and adopt the most appropriate conservation management practices in island ecosystems.

In this Special Issue, we aim to analyze island biodiversity patterns and their drivers, assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of species diversity, abundance, and distribution and evaluate changes in species interactions due to human disturbance and invasive species. Furthermore, we also aim to assess the effects of conservation-related activities on valuing and protecting arthropod biodiversity at species and community levels. Both original research articles and reviews are welcome to this Special Issue.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Paulo A. V. Borges
Dr. Mário Boieiro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • island biodiversity
  • arthropods
  • archipelagos
  • endemism
  • invasion biology
  • species interactions
  • biodiversity hotspots
  • endemic species conservation
  • conservation threats
  • evolutionary uniqueness
  • invasive species impact and control
  • biodiversity drivers
  • conservation management
  • conservation priorities
  • extinction
  • global change
  • island biogeography theory
  • island macroecology, species abundance distribution (SAD), species area relationship (SAR)

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 3186 KiB  
Article
A New Species of Megastigmus and First Record of the Genus and Megastigmidae Family from the Paradise of the Maldives Archipelago
by Irinel Eugen Popescu and Irina Neta Gostin
Insects 2023, 14(8), 677; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14080677 - 31 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1231
Abstract
Megastigmidae comprises more than 200 species in 12 genera. Megastigmus has a worldwide distribution with more than 150 species. Over 80% of these species are recorded from the Australian and Palearctic region, with a few from Afrotropical and Oriental regions, but none from [...] Read more.
Megastigmidae comprises more than 200 species in 12 genera. Megastigmus has a worldwide distribution with more than 150 species. Over 80% of these species are recorded from the Australian and Palearctic region, with a few from Afrotropical and Oriental regions, but none from the Neotropical region. We describe a new species of Megastigmus obtained from the seeds of Pemphis acidula in the Maldives Archipelago. This is the first mention of Megastigmidae having as a host plant a species from Lythraceae. It is also the first recorded association of Chalcidoidea with the genus Pemphis and the first mention of Megastigmidae and Megastigmus in the Maldives Archipelago. We provide a detailed description of the species, focusing on its morphology, using both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Megastigmus irinae Popescu n. sp. is a strictly phytophagous species, with each larva consuming a single seed. Currently, M. irinae is an endemic species found only in the Maldives Archipelago. However, considering the distribution of its host plant, P. acidula, which ranges from East Africa to Southeast Asia, Australia, Micronesia, and French Polynesia, we anticipate that future research could significantly expand the known range of this interesting new species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in Islands)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 3852 KiB  
Article
Functional Niche Partitioning Occurs over Body Size but Not Nutrient Reserves nor Melanism in a Polar Carabid Beetle along an Altitudinal Gradient
by Diane Espel, Camille Coux, Luis R. Pertierra, Pauline Eymar-Dauphin, Jonas J. Lembrechts and David Renault
Insects 2023, 14(2), 123; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14020123 - 25 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1763
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity can favor the emergence of different morphotypes specialized in specific ranges of environmental conditions. The existence of intraspecific partitioning confers resilience at the species scale and can ultimately determine species survival in a context of global changes. Amblystogenium pacificum is a [...] Read more.
Phenotypic plasticity can favor the emergence of different morphotypes specialized in specific ranges of environmental conditions. The existence of intraspecific partitioning confers resilience at the species scale and can ultimately determine species survival in a context of global changes. Amblystogenium pacificum is a carabid beetle endemic to the sub-Antarctic Crozet Islands, and it has two distinctive morphotypes based on body coloration. For this study, A. pacificum specimens of functional niches were sampled along an altitudinal gradient (as a proxy for temperature), and some morphological and biochemical traits were measured. We used an FAMD multivariate analysis and linear mixed-effects models to test whether these traits were related to morphotype, altitude, and sexual dimorphism. We then calculated and compared the functional niches at different altitudes and tested for niche partitioning through a hypervolume approach. We found a positive hump-shaped correlation between altitude and body size as well as higher protein and sugar reserves in females than in males. Our functional hypervolume results suggest that the main driver of niche partitioning along the altitudinal gradient is body size rather than morphotype or sex, even though darker morphotypes tended to be more functionally constrained at higher altitudes and females showed limited trait variations at the highest altitude. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in Islands)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

32 pages, 7503 KiB  
Article
The Intranidal Myrmecophiles of the Maltese Islands with Notes on Messor Nests as Repositories of Biodiversity
by Thomas Cassar, Albena Lapeva-Gjonova and David Mifsud
Insects 2023, 14(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14010045 - 03 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2069
Abstract
The intranidal myrmecophilous arthropod fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed. Thirty species from nine orders are found to be obligate myrmecophiles, of which four species are recorded from the Maltese archipelago for the first time: Phrurolithus sp. (Araneae: Phrurolithidae), Pogonolaelaps canestrinii (Berlese, [...] Read more.
The intranidal myrmecophilous arthropod fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed. Thirty species from nine orders are found to be obligate myrmecophiles, of which four species are recorded from the Maltese archipelago for the first time: Phrurolithus sp. (Araneae: Phrurolithidae), Pogonolaelaps canestrinii (Berlese, 1904), Gymnolaelaps messor Joharchi, Halliday, Saboori & Kamali, 2011 and G. myrmecophilus (Berlese, 1892) (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae). Phrurolithus also represents the first record of the family Phrurolithidae in Malta. Notes on the biology and local distribution of each species are provided, including ant-myrmecophile associations, of which two appear to be previously unknown: the occurrence of Smynthurodes betae Westwood, 1849 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the nest of Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille, 1798) and Phrurolithus in the nest of Pheidole pallidula (Nylander, 1849). Fourteen additional species are found to be either only occasionally myrmecophilic, accidental ant-guests or potentially myrmecophilous, the latter remaining ambiguous due to a lack of knowledge of their biology. Of these, the family Caeculidae (Arachnida: Trombidiformes) represents a new record for the Maltese Islands, on the basis of Microcaeculus sp. occurring in a nest of Camponotus barbaricus Emery, 1905. Preliminary results indicate that Messor nests may be repositories of considerable myrmecophile diversity, with the most unique symbionts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in Islands)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop