Odonata enter the biodiversity crisis debate: The first global assessment of an insect group

The conservation status of the world’s reptiles

“…Levels of data deficiency in reptiles (21%) were lower than those reported for amphibians (25%; IUCN, 2011a), dragonflies and damselflies (35%; Clausnitzer et al, 2009) and freshwater crabs (49%; Cumberlidge et al, 2009), but still exceeded those of the more charismatic or conspicuous birds and mammals (less than 1% and 15% respectively;BirdLife International, 2008b;Schipper et al, 2008). Patterns of regional or taxonomical data deficiency could be used to prompt research programmes on specific local faunas or taxonomical groups.…”

“…Threat levels have been reported in this way in similar studies (e.g., Clausnitzer et al, 2009;Hoffmann et al, 2010;Schipper et al, 2008), representing the current consensus among conservation biologists about how the proportion of threatened species should be presented, while also accounting for the uncertainty introduced by DD species. The approach is likely to result in a conservative estimate of threat proportions, since Data Deficient reptiles are often rare and restricted in range, thus likely to fall within a threatened category in future based on additional data [although in other taxa, indications are that DD species will often fall into Least Concern categories (e.g., birds; Butchart and Bird, 2010) or remain largely Data Deficient (e.g., mammals; Collen et al, 2011)].…”

Evaluating the effects of landscape configuration on site occupancy and movement dynamics of odonates in Iowa

“…Odonates are an under-studied group and are useful for monitoring biodiversity of aquatic habitats (Clausnitzer et al 2009). Invertebrates currently face the highest extinction risk and the greatest loss to biodiversity (Thomas et al 2004).…”

“…Dispersal of adult odonates depends largely on their ecological requirements. Species with narrow niches tend to disperse and colonize new areas poorly, whereas species that are habitat generalists tend to disperse long distances and colonize new habitats well (Clausnitzer et al 2009). In addition to dispersal, some species will migrate from north to south to avoid harsh climatic conditions (Paulson 2011).…”

“…Along with other invertebrates, odonates contribute highly to global biodiversity and are considered good indicators of environmental quality, particularly for aquatic habitats (Corbet 1999;Cruden and Gode 2000;Roush and Anon 2003;Clausnitzer et al 2009). Several populations of odonates are of conservation concern due primarily to habitat destruction and fragmentation (Paulson 2011).…”