Biogeography of Dragonflies and Damselflies: Highly Mobile Predators

Herrera, Melissa Sánchez; Ware, Jessica L.

doi:10.5772/33750

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…). These shared ecological requirements mean that damselflies are often found in dense guilds around still water ponds, which represent clearly defined, distinct habitat patches (Wilson ; Sánchez‐Herrera & Ware ). Diurnal patterns of flight with damselflies are also highly synchronized (Corbet & May ), allowing for accurate sampling of all species within a community.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, most damselfly species in the UK are restricted to still water ponds and lakes, where they have the opportunity to compete for thermally preferred habitats at all stages of their life cycles (Cham et al 2014). These shared ecological requirements mean that damselflies are often found in dense guilds around still water ponds, which represent clearly defined, distinct habitat patches (Wilson 1999;S anchez-Herrera & Ware 2011). Diurnal patterns of flight with damselflies are also highly synchronized (Corbet & May 2008), allowing for accurate sampling of all species within a community.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Range shifting species reduce phylogenetic diversity in high latitude communities via competition

Fitt

Lancaster

2017

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Range shifting species reduce phylogenetic diversity in high latitude communities via competition

Fitt

Lancaster

2017

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…Odonate biodiversity varies with latitude and longitude, and the Neotropical region holds the highest species richness (∼1800 spp. ; Sánchez Herrera & Ware, ). Despite its high diversity, this region is understudied in comparison to our current knowledge of taxonomic diversity and behaviour for temperate fauna.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A molecular systematic analysis of theNeotropical banner winged damselflies (Polythoridae:Odonata)

Herrera

Beatty

Nunes

et al. 2017

Systematic Entomology

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The Neotropics are a hotspot of global diversity for many groups of organisms, including the dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata). While the number of biodiversity surveys and new species descriptions for Neotropical odonates is increasing, diversity in this region is still under-explored, and very few studies have looked at the genetic and morphological diversity among (and within) species. Here, we present an overview of the evolutionary history of the Neotropical damselfly family Polythoridae. The family comprises 57 species across seven genera: Chalcopteryx Selys, Chalcothore De Marmels, Cora Selys, Euthore Selys, Miocora Calvert, Polythore Calvert and Stenocora Kennedy. Using a multi-locus approach, mitochondrial (COI, ND1, 16S) and nuclear (18S, 28S, EF1-alpha) genes were concatenated to estimate phylogenetic relationships. Our results support five monophyletic clades, which were not always congruent with the genera previously considered to be monophyletic. Only Polythore was recovered as monophyletic, and within it there was geographical structure. We propose the following new genus-level classification: Chalcothore, Chalcopteryx, Cora s.s., Cora s.l., Miocora, Euthore s.l and Polythore. In addition, we proposed the following new combinations: Miocora aurea comb.n., Miocora chirripa comb.n., Euthore confusa comb.n., Euthore klenei comb.n., and Euthore terminalis comb.n., based on our phylogenetic analyses, our evaluation of morphological characters and their geographical distribution: these data each support the monophyletic entities we recover here. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid: zoobank.org:pub:E9E10CD8-6A04-4F2E-A632-1B998BAFB193.

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“…As both adults and larvae typically occupy high trophic positions, these insects are often used as indicators of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem health (Collins & McIntyre, 2015). Odonates possess some of the best dispersal capabilities of all insects (S anchez-Herrera & Ware, 2012), yet these acrobatic flyers are not found everywhere. Teasing apart the relative importance of factors that determine the geographic distributions of odonates (Collins & McIntyre, 2015), as well as of organisms in general (De Ara ujo, Marcondes-Machado, & Costa, 2014;Endler, 1982), still represents a major challenge for ecologists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispersal barriers and climate determine the geographic distribution of the helicopter damselfly Mecistogaster modesta

2017

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Species’ ranges are typically constrained by the interplay of physical barriers to dispersal, environmental requirements such as suitable climatic conditions and biotic constraints such as from predation or competition. However, teasing apart the relative importance of these constraints in determining species distributions still represents a major challenge for ecologists. The Neotropical damselfly Mecistogaster modesta (Coenagrionidae: Odonata) inhabits wet and moist forests in mainland Central America and north‐western South America. This habitat specialist spends its larval development exclusively in tank bromeliads, where it acts as a keystone predator within the aquatic food web. Although tank‐forming bromeliads occur from the southern United States throughout most of South America, M. modesta is absent from the Caribbean islands and South America south‐east of the Andes mountain chain. We employed species distribution models to explore the relative importance of physical barriers (Andes mountain range and oceanic barriers), climate (mean annual temperature and annual precipitation) and biotic interactions (competition from other bromeliad‐dwelling odonates) in limiting the geographic distribution of M. modesta. We found that dispersal barriers strongly limit the geographic distribution of M. modesta. In addition, its range is restricted by low temperatures and low precipitation. Competition from other bromeliad‐dwelling odonates was not important in limiting the damselfly's range. Because of the physical barriers to dispersal, M. modesta does not occupy its full potential geographic range. Specifically, our model predicted suitable habitat on the Caribbean islands and throughout most of South America, where the species is currently absent. These findings have important conservation implications, particularly as the aridification of rainforests and subsequent localised extinctions due to climate change continue. On the other hand, the species may respond to warming temperatures by tracking climate to higher elevations, with subsequent effects on naïve high‐elevation bromeliad food webs. An upwards migration could also increase the probability of M. modesta overcoming the dispersal barrier presented by the Andes, enabling the damselfly to invade large areas of suitable habitat in South America.

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Biogeography of Dragonflies and Damselflies: Highly Mobile Predators

Cited by 14 publications

References 51 publications

Range shifting species reduce phylogenetic diversity in high latitude communities via competition

Range shifting species reduce phylogenetic diversity in high latitude communities via competition

A molecular systematic analysis of theNeotropical banner winged damselflies (Polythoridae:Odonata)

Dispersal barriers and climate determine the geographic distribution of the helicopter damselfly Mecistogaster modesta

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