Abstract
Habitat loss and fragmentation causes a decline in insect populations. Odonata (both dragonflies and damselflies) are especially threatened by the destruction of both aquatic and terrestrial environment. Moreover, effects of large-scale habitat heterogeneity on Odonata assemblages are poorly studied. In a two years study along East-European lowland watercourses both aquatic and terrestrial environment were studied to reveal the importance of local (e.g. water depth, macrovegetation cover, etc.) and landscape-scale (e.g. farmland patch size, forest patch proportion, etc.) variables to Odonata (as well as to dragonflies and damselflies separately) through increasing spatial sampling scales. The specimens were sampled using 500 m long transects from May to September. Results, both on local and landscape scales emphasized the importance of terrestrial environment on Odonata. Local variables influence damselflies, while dragonflies are more sensitive to landscape variables. Damselfly’s diversity decreased with increasing macrovegetation cover, while dragonfly’s diversity decreased with the increasing degree of land use intensification, but increased with the length of watercourses. It is thus vital to stress the importance of partial watercourse clearing, and moderate maintenance of traditional farm management based on small parcel farming near watercourses to maintain diverse and healthy Odonata assemblages.
Highlights
Habitat loss and fragmentation causes a decline in insect populations
The watercourses were found to have a relatively high-water surface macrovegetation cover: it varied from 6% to 95%, with an average of 72% (±27%)
The cover of emergent vegetation was the variable with the highest relative importance (both local and landscape-scale in explaining the Odonata species diversity; it was followed by the farmland patch size on the 5 km scale (Table 4)
Summary
Habitat loss and fragmentation causes a decline in insect populations. Odonata (both dragonflies and damselflies) are especially threatened by the destruction of both aquatic and terrestrial environment. In a two years study along East-European lowland watercourses both aquatic and terrestrial environment were studied to reveal the importance of local (e.g. water depth, macrovegetation cover, etc.) and landscape-scale (e.g. farmland patch size, forest patch proportion, etc.) variables to Odonata (as well as to dragonflies and damselflies separately) through increasing spatial sampling scales. The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of local (i.e. aquatic) and landscape variables (length of watercourses, forest patch proportion, and farmland patch size) on Odonata assemblages along lowland watercourses in two Central-Eastern European countries. Considering both the features of local habitat, and the surrounding landscape, the variables that were essential for the maintenance of rich Odonata assemblages were identified. The aim of this study was to conclude: (i) Which local biotic variables affect Odonata species diversity? (ii) Which landscape variables affect Odonata species diversity? (iii) Is there any difference in the sensitivity of the two suborders regarding the local and landscape variables?
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