Terrestrial Arthropod Biodiversity Projects

This book brings together a wide range of sampling methods for investigating different arthropod groups. Each chapter is organized to describe and evaluate the main sampling methods (field methods, materials and supplies, sampling protocols, effort needed, and limitations); in addition, some chapters describe the specimen preparation and conservation, species identification, data collection and management (treatment, statistical analysis, interpretation), and ecological/conservation implications of arthropod communities. The book aims to be a reference for zoologists, entomologists, arachnologists, ecologists, students, researchers, and for those interested in arthropod science and biodiversity. We hope the book will contribute to advance knowledge on field assessments and conservation strategies. Arthropods represent the most speciose group of organisms on Earth, with a remarkable number of species and interactions still to be described. These invertebrates are recognized for playing key ecological roles in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Because of the increasing and relentless threats arthropods are facing lately due to a multitude of human induced drivers, this book represents an important contribution to assess their biodiversity and role in ecosystem functioning and generation of ecosystem services worldwide.

Arthropods are invertebrates that constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom, and their bio-ecology is closely linked with global functioning and survival. Arthropods play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, provide livelihoods and nutrition to human communities, and are important indicators of environmental change. Yet the population trends of several arthropods species show them to be in decline. Arthropods constitute a dominant group with 1.2 million species influencing earth’s biodiversity. Among arthropods, insects are predominant, with ca. 1 million species and having evolved some 350 million years ago. Arthropods are closely associated with living and non-living entities alike, making the ecosystem services they provide crucially important. In order to be effective, plans for the conservation of arthropods and ecosystems should include a mixture of strategies like protecting key habitats and genomic studies to formulate relevant policies for in situ and ex situ conservation. This two-volume book focuses on capturing the essentials of arthropod inventories, biology, and conservation. Further, it seeks to identify the mechanisms by which arthropod populations can be sustained in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and by means of which certain problematic species be managed without producing harmful environmental side-effects. This edited compilation includes chapters contributed by over 80 biologists on a wide range of topics embracing the diversity, distribution, utility and conservation of arthropods and select groups of insect taxa. More importantly, it describes in detail the mechanisms of sustaining arthropod ecosystems, services and populations. It addresses the contribution of modern biological tools such as molecular and genetic techniques regulating gene expression, as well as conventional, indigenous practices in arthropod conservation. The contributors reiterate the importance of documenting and understanding the biology of arthropods from a holistic perspective before addressing conservation issues at large. This book offers a valuable resource for all zoologists, entomologists, ecologists, conservation biologists, policy makers, teachers and students interested in the conservation of biological resources.

"The overarching goal of this thesis was to describe patterns of terrestrial arthropod biodiversity and community structure in northern Canada, and to explore the underlying drivers and mechanisms that are responsible for these patterns. The term "biodiversity" is used here in a broad sense that includes both taxonomic (TD) and functional (FD) diversity. Ground-dwelling arthropods, especially beetles (Coleoptera), were used as model taxa, and were collected using standardized methods from twelve locations in the three northernmost ecoclimatic zones of Canada. Beetle biodiversity changes over time and space. Over the course of one active season, rapid species and functional turnover were observed in two major habitats in one subarctic location (Kugluktuk, Nunavut). While some functional groups were apparent only for brief periods of time, entomophagous predators consistently dominated the assemblage structure in biomass and abundance. This dominance by carnivores was observed consistently throughout the study, regardless of spatial or taxonomic scope. This inverted trophic structure suggests that predators may rely on alternative, non-epigeic prey items. A natural history study of previously unknown host-parasite interactions between beetles and nematomorphs (Gordionus n. sp.) suggests that beetles use alate insects with aquatic larval stages as an important nutrient subsidy. Across the entire study region, beetle TD and FD, as well as overall assemblage structure, display strong negative relationships with latitude, which conforms to the classical latitudinal gradient of diversity. After considering many spatial, environmental and climatic variables, the most significant driver of beetle biodiversity and assemblage structure over time and space was climate, particularly temperature. When the taxonomic scope of the research was expanded to include all ground-dwelling macroarthropod taxa, and the functional scope refined with a multidimensional functional trait-based approach, the same patterns and processes were observed. Additionally, it was found that functional redundancy was greater in the high arctic than in the warmer ecoclimatic zones further south, despite a paucity of taxa in the high arctic. This supports the hypothesis that environmental constraints are more important in regions with harsh climates, and play a greater role in diversity and community assembly processes than niche differentiation. The biodiversity (TD and FD) and structure of terrestrial macroarthropod communities in northern Canada have several consistent patterns: (1) large-scale negative relationships between biodiversity/assemblage structure and latitude; (2) strong correlations between TD and FD; and (3) the dominance of active predatory taxa. The most important finding of this study is that climate (temperature) gradients provide the best explanation for the variability observed in arthropod biodiversity and assemblage structure over time and across space. Lastly, the effects of climate on biodiversity and community assembly seem to be more pronounced in the high arctic than in more southerly biomes. Given the rapid and significant rise in temperature projected for northern biomes and the fact that predatory taxa are often more sensitive to changes in their environments, major changes to arthropod diversity are expected in the north, with implications for the stability of northern ecosystems. " --

Arthropods are invertebrates that constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom, and their bio-ecology is closely linked with global functioning and survival. Arthropods play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems, provide livelihoods and nutrition to human communities, and are important indicators of environmental change. Yet the population trends of several arthropods species show them to be in decline. Arthropods constitute a dominant group with 1.2 million species influencing earth’s biodiversity. Among arthropods, insects are predominant, with ca. 1 million species and having evolved some 350 million years ago. Arthropods are closely associated with living and non-living entities alike, making the ecosystem services they provide crucially important. In order to be effective, plans for the conservation of arthropods and ecosystems should include a mixture of strategies like protecting key habitats and genomic studies to formulate relevant policies for in situ and ex situ conservation. This two-volume book focuses on capturing the essentials of arthropod inventories, biology, and conservation.Further, it seeks to identify the mechanisms by which arthropod populations can be sustained in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and by means of which certain problematic species be managed without producing harmful environmental side-effects. This edited compilation includes chapters contributed by over 80 biologists on a wide range of topics embracing the diversity, distribution, utility and conservation of arthropods and select groups of insect taxa. More importantly, it describes in detail the mechanisms of sustaining arthropod ecosystems, services and populations. It addresses the contribution of modern biological tools such as molecular and genetic techniques regulating gene expression, as well as conventional, indigenous practices in arthropod conservation. The contributors reiterate the importance of documenting and understanding the biology of arthropods from a holistic perspective before addressing conservation issues at large. This book offers a valuable resource for all zoologists, entomologists, ecologists, conservation biologists, policy makers, teachers and students interested in the conservation of biological resources.

This book is intended as a textbook for 3rd year undergraduate students, as well as postgraduate students. It comprises a review of the current opinion regarding the evolution and adaptation of terrestrial arthropods, beginning with the paleontological, embryological, morphological and physiological evidence. The implication of size is then considered in relation to life on land. A discussion of insect phylogeny and the origin of flight is followed by an account of evolutionary trends in reproduction. Further chapters cover adaptations to extreme environments, dispersal and migration, defensive mechanisms and, finally, present arguments for the success of the terrestrial arthropods in general.