Examining the Management of Rare Insects Through the Lens of Biotic Interactions: A Comparative Case Study of Nicrophorus americanus (Coleoptera: Silphidae) and Gryllotalpa major (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae)

Abstract

Recovery plans for rare and endangered insects most commonly focus on identifying critical abiotic habitat requirements for focal species, and then using these criteria in developing species management portfolios. Biotic interaction data are rarely available, and when produced are seldom integrated into management plans due to their complexity of interpretation. Here we examine advances in our understanding of biotic factors that regulate behavior and life history in two rare insect species of conservation focus: the carrion-breeding American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus (Olivier) and the lek mating Gryllotalpa major (Saussure). Current recovery and conservation plans for both species are heavily weighted by abiotic habitat considerations, despite the likely regulation of populations by critical biotic interactions such as interspecies competition, symbioses, predation, and behavioral variation. Examples presented here support a more cohesive approach to constructing conservation management plans to prioritize the integration of ecological interaction data, and to incentivize related research leading to more effective species recovery outcomes.