Using the ecological relationships of Odonata with a habitat integrity index to test the biodiversity ecosystem function framework

Survey of Odonata from two Conservation Units in western Paraná, southern Brazil

“…Odonates are distributed in the environment according to a wide range of ecophyisiological requirements ( Vilela et al 2016), and the sampled areas were shown to be highly heterogenous, mainly due to the following characteristics: i) the presence of lentic and lotic freshwater environments with more or less exposure to light, which directly affects the thermoregulation of these animals ( De Marco et al 2005; Vilela et al 2016); ii) degree of conservation, diversity of ecosystems, and integrity of riparian vegetation ( Carvalho et al . 2013; Rodrigues et al 2016; Brasil et al 2020); iii) the existence of areas with greater or lesser human impact; and iv) a mosaic of regeneration stages, represented by areas of reforestation and primary forests, which influences the composition of Odonata communities ( Brito et al 2021; Silva et al 2021; Gomez-Tolosa et al 2022).…”

Use of the Zygoptera/Anisoptera Ratio (Insecta: Odonata) for Habitat Alteration Assessment in Cerrado Streams

“…Therefore, the effects for Anisoptera would be exactly the inverse of those found for Zygoptera (Supplementary Material 4). To analyze whether the Zygoptera/Anisoptera ratio is robust enough to reflect differences in the pattern of Odonata response to habitat degradation, we compared the performance of Zygoptera/Anisoptera with ratios at a finer scale (i.e., at the family and genus levels) following the proposals of Šigutová et al (2019) and Gómez-Tolosa et al (2022). To do so, we identified the family and genera with the greatest abundance of individuals and highest species richness for all the assemblage.…”

“…This emphasizes the significance of examin-ing both community structures and specificities at a regional scale so that the most appropriate indicator can be employed. For instance, studies conducted by Gómez-Tolosa et al (2022) in Mexico and Mendoza-Penagos et al (2021) in the Brazilian Amazon utilized family and genera level for analysis. In ours, we demonstrated the robustness of the Zygoptera/Anisoptera ratio in capturing shifts within Odonata communities caused by habitat degradation.…”