Biosystematics and conservation biology: critical scientific disciplines for the management of insect biological diversity

Abstract

Biosystematics and conservation biology are critical scientific disciplines that underpin the management of biological diversity. This is because biosystematics provides two basic elements that are fundamental to conservation management: the circumscription of species and the spatial distribution of species. These elements in turn allow conservation biologists to determine the components of biodiversity, such as local species richness (α-diversity), composition and community structure, patterns of spatial turnover and heterogeneity (β-diversity), levels of endemism, and location of 'biodiversity hotspots'. This information ultimately provides a framework for systematic conservation planning for the management of biological diversity and natural resources. In this review, drawing on examples of Australian diurnal Lepidoptera (butterflies and day-flying moths), we discuss three areas of conservation biology that are crucial for insect biodiversity conservation: (1) inventory and estimation of faunal richness; (2) monitoring for conservation management and the selection and use of bioindicators; and (3) assessment of conservation status and recovery of threatened species. We then explore the capacity of biosystematics to complement and enhance these programmes. Major challenges for biosystematics are to catalogue and map the Earth's known species, to discover and describe new or as-yet-unknown species, to reconstruct the evolutionary history or tree of life and to incorporate phylogenetic diversity (taxonomic distinctiveness) as a component of biodiversity into conservation planning and practical nature conservation. The first two tasks, which need to be completed relatively urgently in an era of biodiversity crisis and a limited and declining pool of taxonomic expertise, are required in order to optimise conservation effort of the world's biodiversity. It is recommended that to overcome the taxonomic impediment for insect conservation taxonomic attention should focus on a limited set of 'priority' taxa, and the rate at which new species are discovered and described needs to be accelerated (by at least an order of magnitude). An agenda for future research in biosystematics and conservation biology is proposed as a guideline for biodiversity conservation for Australian entomology.

The tiger beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) of the southern Levant and adjacent territories: from cybertaxonomy to conservation biology

“…This is of particular importance in regions such as the southern Levant, where species diversity has not yet been thoroughly studied in terms of taxonomy and systematics (cf. Braby and Williams 2016). Additional intensive sampling, especially of protected areas, is needed across the region.…”

“…However, these criteria are sometimes criticized, especially for the classification of insects (e.g. Braby and Williams 2016). To allow for more convenient comparison with vertebrates and plants, we plan to apply the IUCN criteria in a future publication.…”

Vertebrates are poor umbrellas for invertebrates: cross‐taxon congruence in an Australian tropical savanna

“…Despite their importance, invertebrates are often overlooked in faunal surveys for informing conservation planning, owing in a large part to their extreme taxonomic and biological diversity that makes comprehensive surveys impracticable (New 1999, Cardoso et al 2011, Braby and Williams 2016, Braby 2017. Land managers often rely on the notion that areas designed to protect species of greatest conservation priority (i.e., vertebrates or plants) are simultaneously conserving co-occurring species-the umbrella species concept (Noss 1990, Roberge andAngelstam 2004).…”

Estimación de la riqueza de coleópteros epigeos de la Reserva Nacional Pingüino de Humboldt (Regiones de Atacama y Coquimbo, Chile)

“…Esta evaluación en una escala temporal más amplia podría permitir registrar especies raras con ciclos biológicos particulares y/o distribuciones restringidas que no han sido registradas a la fecha por nuestros muestreos. La necesidad de un mayor número de muestreos dirigidos en esta área protegida tiene una real importancia desde el punto de vista del conocimiento taxonómico, el cual es un aspecto fundamental para ayudar a priorizar esfuerzos de conservación de la biota tanto local como global (Braby & Williams 2016). En los últimos años diversos autores han documentado nuevas entidades taxonómicas de artrópodos para esta reserva OjangurenAffi lastro et al 2007;Grismado & Pizarro-Araya 2016), lo que refl eja la importancia de estas islas como áreas que han promovido eventuales procesos de especiación locales.…”