Carnivores Research Articles

Going through changes: A longitudinal study of meat reduction over time in the UK

There are increasing moral, environmental and public health imperatives to curb meat consumption. While research on meat reduction has proliferated in recent years, the majority of empirical work has taken cross-sectional and/or experimental approaches. Therefore, this study sought to understand the process of dietary change through an observational longitudinal survey of 1,529 UK residents over the course of one year. An online questionnaire was used to take measures of diet, exposure to animal advocacy, exposure to animals and animal-lovers, the transtheoretical model of change, the COM-B model (capability, opportunity, motivation → behaviour), and demographics at 0, 6, and 12 months. While no support was found for predictions made on the COM-B model, some support was found for hypotheses made on the transtheoretical model - in particular, there was some evidence that those at later stages who still ate meat were more likely to give it up, and those at earlier stages who had given up meat were more likely to start eating it again. There were also generally stronger measures of decisional balance (i.e. conviction in the decision to give up meat) and self-efficacy for those at more advanced stages. Analyses also indicate that increases in consumption of animal product alternatives were significantly correlated with decreases in animal products in the same category. Ordinal regression models yielded low predictive ability, meaning that information on the interventions which may influence animal product consumption was limited. Findings are discussed in the context of previous literature and recommendations for future research.

Role of salinity on zooplankton assemblages in the tropical Indian estuaries during post monsoon

The estuary is the transition zone between the riverine and marine environments, in which the zooplankton act as a trophic connector in the energy transfers from primary producers to secondary consumers. Zooplankton biovolume and species assemblages with reference to physical, chemical and biological properties in the Indian estuaries are rarely studied. To examine the zooplankton variability in abundance and diversity, we therefore, investigated seventeen Indian estuaries during the post monsoon of the year 2012. Based on salinity conditions, estuaries were classified into oligohaline, mesohaline and polyhaline. A marked spatial gradient in salinity was observed between the upstream and downstream estuaries. Relatively, salinity was high in downstream areas, resulting in high zooplankton biovolume and diversity perceived in downstream areas. In contrast, nutrient concentrations were higher in the upstream than the downstream estuaries, resulting in high phytoplankton biomass (in terms of chlorophyll-a) perceived in the upstream estuaries. Zooplankton abundance was numerically dominated by Copepoda, constituting approximately 76 % of the total zooplankton count. Zooplankton population was highly similar between upstream and downstream in the oligohaline estuaries. In contrast, heterogeneous assemblages were noticed between upstream and downstream in the mesohaline and polyhaline estuaries. Under oligohaline conditions, surface waters dominated by Acartia clausi, A. dane, A. plumosa, Cyclopina longicornis, Oithona rigida and Tigriopus sp. In contrast, under mesohaline and polyhaline conditions, Acartia tonsa, Acartia southwelli, Acartia spinicauda, Paracalanus spp. Centropages typicus, Temora turbinate, Oithona spinirostris and O. brevicornis become the key dominant species. Eucalanus spp., and Corycaeus spp. were indicator species in the downstream estuaries. Our findings suggest that zooplankton diversity and numerical abundance were chiefly governed by salinity rather than phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a) in the Indian estuaries during the post monsoon.

Gradual behaviour change towards meat reduction: Development and validation of a novel decisional balance scale

Meat reduction is gaining attention among consumers, marketers, policymakers and scientists. Yet little is known about decision-making processes and behaviour change towards meat reduction. This paper explores the applicability of the decisional balance (DB) framework to the field of meat reduction. A novel DB scale to measure the perceived importance of beliefs about meat reduction at different stages of behaviour change was developed and validated in two studies with German meat eaters. In Study 1 (N = 309), the item inventory was tested using an exploratory factor analysis and then validated in Study 2 (N = 809). The results yielded two higher-order DB factors (pros and cons), which were subdivided into five lower-order factors (perceived benefits of a plant-based diet, downsides of factory farming, health barriers, legitimation barriers and feasibility barriers). The pros and cons were summarised in a DB index. All DB factors and the DB index were tested for internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥.70) and aspects of validity. The typical DB pattern of the pros and cons of behaviour change was confirmed: the cons outweighed the pros for consumers who did not intend to reduce meat consumption, while the pros outweighed the cons for consumers who intended to reduce meat consumption. The new DB scale for meat reduction has proven to be a suitable measure to gain insights into consumers' decision making and could be used to develop targeted meat reduction interventions.

Natural selection and convergent evolution of the HOX gene family in Carnivora

HOX genes play a central role in the development and regulation of limb patterns. For mammals in the order Carnivora, limbs have evolved in different forms, and there are interesting cases of phenotypic convergence, such as the pseudothumb of the giant and red pandas, and the flippers or specialized limbs of the pinnipeds and sea otter. However, the molecular bases of limb development remain largely unclear. Here, we studied the molecular evolution of the HOX9 ~ 13 genes of 14 representative species in Carnivora and explored the molecular evolution of other HOX genes. We found that only one limb development gene, HOXC10, underwent convergent evolution between giant and red pandas and was thus an important candidate gene related to the development of pseudothumbs. No signals of amino acid convergence and natural selection were found in HOX9 ~ 13 genes between pinnipeds and sea otter, but there was evidence of positive selection and rapid evolution in four pinniped species. Overall, few HOX genes evolve via natural selection or convergent evolution, and these could be important candidate genes for further functional validation. Our findings provide insights into potential molecular mechanisms of the development of specialized pseudothumbs and flippers (or specialized limbs).

Parliamentary Dress

Parliamentary Dress

Multi-trophic occupancy modeling connects temporal dynamics of woodpeckers and beetle sign following fire.

In conifer forests of western North America, wildlife populations can change rapidly in the decade following wildfire as trees die and animals respond to concomitant resource pulses that occur across multiple trophic levels. In particular, black-backed woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) show predictable temporal increases then declines following fire; this trajectory is widely believed to be a response to the woodpeckers' main prey, woodboring beetle larvae of the families Buprestidae and Cerambycidae, but we lack understanding of how abundances of these predators and prey may be associated in time or space. Here, we pair woodpecker surveys over 10 years with surveys of woodboring beetle sign and activity, collected at 128 survey plots across 22 recent fires, to ask whether accumulated beetle sign indicates current or past black-backed woodpecker occurrence, and whether that relationship is mediated by the number of years since fire. We test this relationship using an integrative multi-trophic occupancy model. Our results demonstrate that woodboring beetle sign is a positive indicator of woodpecker presence 1-3 years following fire, an uninformative indicator from 4-6 years after fire, and a negative indicator beginning 7 years following fire. Woodboring beetle activity, itself, is temporally variable and dependent on tree species composition, with beetle sign generally accumulating over time, particularly in stands with diverse tree communities, but decreasing over time in Pinus-dominated stands where faster bark decay rates lead to brief pulses of beetle activity followed by rapid degradation of tree substrate and accumulated beetle sign. Altogether, the strong connections of woodpecker occurrence to beetle activity support prior hypotheses of how multi-trophic interactions govern rapid temporal dynamics of primary and secondary consumers in burned forests. While our results indicate that beetle sign is, at best, a rapidly shifting and potentially misleading measure of woodpecker occurrence, the better we understand the interacting mechanisms underlying temporally dynamic systems, the more successfully we will be able to predict the outcomes of management actions.

<em>You say yes, I say no</em>: Investigating the link between meaning and form in response particles

Response particles, like English ‘yes’ and ‘no’, are used to respond to polar questions or assertions and are found in all languages. However, the number of particles and the specific meanings they convey vary across languages. For example, in some languages particles mainly convey whether the response itself is positive or negative, while in others they convey whether the response is agreeing or disagreeing with previous discourse. Further, some languages have two response particles, while others have three, or even four. Recent work suggests that how meanings tend to be mapped to forms cross-linguistically might nevertheless be constrained. Roelofsen & Farkas (2015) suggest that indicating disagreement with a negative question or assertion (e.g., A: ‘Ally doesn’t eat meat.’ B: ‘Yes, he does.’) is more marked than indicating agreement with a positive assertion (e.g., A: ‘Ally eats meat.’ B: ‘Yes, he does’.). This difference in semantic markedness is argued to lead to a difference in form: more marked meanings are mapped to more specialized forms. Here we investigate this hypothesis in a series of behavioral experiments. Across our experiments, we find that participants are indeed sensitive to the differences in meaning that particles can convey. However, not all of the differences implicated by the hierarchy hypothesized in Roelofsen & Farkas (2015) are supported by our results, and we find evidence highlighting an unexpected special role for Positive Agreement—the least marked meaning.

The effect of meat-shaming on meat eaters’ emotions and intentions to adapt behavior

Eating meat can have detrimental effects on the environment, animal welfare, and a person’s health. However, consumers are often reluctant to reduce their meat consumption and public information-based awareness campaigns show little effect. As an alternative, some vegan activists and pressure groups employ emotion-based campaigns using meat-shaming techniques in the hope to change people’s meat consumption behavior. By publicly and often drastically criticizing consumers, they try to make them experience negative emotions and ultimately change their behavior. In three experimental studies, we explore whether a confrontational approach of putting meat-shaming messages on products is likely to affect consumer behavior. Specifically, we find that meat-shaming messages trigger shame but also other negative emotions that translate into reduced purchase intentions. The content of the message largely determines the different emotions that are evoked. The messages can activate both restore and protect motivations, either stimulating or hindering behavioral change. Interestingly, it does not seem to matter whether the meat-shaming message stems from a governmental organization, activist group, or private person and whether it is framed with a personal or informational appeal. If the source looks credible, the message influences consumer experience and behavioral intentions.

Pluripotent Stem Cells of Order Carnivora: Technical Perspective.

Human and mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are widely used for studying early embryonic development and for modeling of human diseases. Derivation and studying of PSCs from model organisms beyond commonly used mice and rats may provide new insights into the modeling and treating human diseases. The order Carnivora representatives possess unique features and are already used for modeling human-related traits. This review focuses on the technical aspects of derivation of the Carnivora species PSCs as well as their characterization. Current data on dog, feline, ferret, and American mink PSCs are summarized.

Metabolic effects of diclofenac on the aquatic food chain - 1H-NMR study of water flea-zebrafish system.

In the environment, aquatic organisms are not only directly exposed to pollutants, but the effects can be exacerbated along the food chain. In this study, we investigated the effect of the food (water flea) on the secondary consumer (zebrafish) with the exposure diclofenac (DCF) Both organisms were exposed to an environmentally relevant concentrations (15µg/L) of diclofenac for five days, and zebrafish were fed exposed and non-exposed water fleas, respectively. Metabolites of the water fleas were directly analyzed using HRMAS NMR, and for zebrafish, polar metabolite were extracted and analyzed using liquid NMR. Metabolic profiling was performed and statistically significant metabolites which affected by DCF exposure were identified. There were more than 20 metabolites with variable importance (VIP) score greater than 1.0 in comparisons in fish groups, and identified metabolites differed depending on the effect of exposure and the effect of food. Specifically, exposure to DCF significantly increased alanine and decreased NAD + in zebrafish, which means energy demand was increased. Additionally, the effects of exposed food decreased in guanosine, a neuroprotective metabolite, which explained that the neurometabolic pathway was perturbated by the feeding of exposed food. Our results which short-term exposed primary consumers to pollutants indirectly affected the metabolism of secondary consumers suggest that the long-term exposure further study remains to be investigated.

Bypassing the animal: Plant-based meat and the communicative constitution of a moral market

The food industry occupies a large portion of the plate in the study of moral markets. Moral markets for food include fair trade goods, organic products, family farmers initiatives, as well as plant-based meat alternatives, the focus of this paper. Driven by a growing concern for animal welfare, sustainability and the responsible use of resources, various companies launched products that successfully duplicate the taste, look and overall experience of meat eating, without the dire impacts of the meat industry on human, animal and environmental health. In this paper, we explore the formation of a market for plant-based meat as a communicative accomplishment. To do so, we analyse the rhetoric of one of its leading companies: Beyond Meat. By tracing the development of this food-tech company, we show that Beyond Meat’s activist-like rhetoric has contributed to the formation of a market based on the moral criterion of efficiency, which is achieved by bypassing the animal in meat production and by creating a transcending collective identity for meat-eaters of all sorts. Contrary to the more common process where moralized products move from social movement to market, we here theorize the formation of a moralized market that is depicted as a movement.

Trophically integrated ecometric models as tools for demonstrating spatial and temporal functional changes in mammal communities

We are in a modern biodiversity crisis that will restructure community compositions and ecological functions globally. Large mammals, important contributors to ecosystem function, have been affected directly by purposeful extermination and indirectly by climate and land-use changes, yet functional turnover is rarely assessed on a global scale using metrics based on functional traits. Using ecometrics, the study of functional trait distributions and functional turnover, we examine the relationship between vegetation cover and locomotor traits for artiodactyl and carnivoran communities. We show that the ability to detect a functional relationship is strengthened when locomotor traits of both primary consumers (artiodactyls, n= 157 species) and secondary consumers (carnivorans, n= 138 species) are combined into one trophically integrated ecometric model. Overall, locomotor traits of 81% of communities accurately estimate vegetation cover, establishing the advantage of trophically integrated ecometric models over single-group models (58 to 65% correct). We develop an innovative approach within the ecometrics framework, using ecometric anomalies to evaluate mismatches in model estimates and observed values and provide more nuance for understanding relationships between functional traits and vegetation cover. We apply our integrated model to five paleontological sites to illustrate mismatches in the past and today and to demonstrate the utility of the model for paleovegetation interpretations. Observed changes in community traits and their associated vegetations across space and over time demonstrate the strong, rapid effect of environmental filtering on community traits. Ultimately, our trophically integrated ecometric model captures the cascading interactions between taxa, traits, and changing environments.

Exploring within-ecodistrict lake organic matter variability and identifying possible environmental contaminant biomarkers using sedimentomics

Sedimentomics methods offer insight into the physiological parameters that influence freshwater sediment organic matter (sedOM). To date, most sedimentomics studies characterized variations across large spatial and environmental gradients; here we examine whether sedimentomics methods capture subtle sedOM variations within a relatively homogeneous study area in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. Additionally, we explore the lake sedimentome for candidate biomarkers related to ongoing carnivorous animal farming in the region. Sediment cores were recovered from seven lakes across a trophic (oligo- to eu- trophic) and anthropogenic land use gradient (carnivorous animal farming in catchment, downstream of farming, no farming nearby). Subsamples that dated prior to 1910 (pre-carnivorous animal farming) and later than 2010 (during carnivorous animal farming) were analyzed using UHPLC-HRMS in both negative (ESI−) and positive (ESI+) electrospray ionization modes. Cluster analysis (k-means) showed replicate samples from a given lake clustered distinctly from one another in both ESI modes, indicating sedOM captured subtle variations between lake systems. PCA combined with multiple linear regression indicated carnivorous animal farming and OM source explained most of the observed variation in lake sedOM. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) of ESI− and ESI+ data sets identified 103 unique candidate biomarkers. Ten strong candidate biomarkers were identified using graphical methods; more research is required for biomarker verification and molecular characterization. Our results indicate sedimentomics could be used in environmentally homogeneous areas, offering insight into the controls of sedOM cycling. Additionally, we identified prospective biomarkers related to carnivorous animal farming that could be used to understand relative contributions of farming to ongoing eutrophication issues in southwestern Nova Scotia.

An experimental, behavioral, and chemical analysis of food limitations in mutualistic Crematogaster ant symbionts inhabiting Macaranga host plants.

Obligate mutualistic plant-ants are often constrained by their plant partner's capacity to provide resources. However, despite this limitation, some ant partners actively reject potential prey items and instead drop them from the plant rather than consuming them, leaving the ants entirely reliant on host plant-provided food, including that provided indirectly by the symbiotic scale insects that ants tend inside the plants. This dependency potentially increases the efficiency of these ants in defending their host. We hypothesize that if this ant behavior was beneficial to the symbiosis, prey rejection by ants would be observed across multiple plant host species. We also hypothesize that plant-provided food items and symbiotic scale insects from other ant plants should be rejected. We address these hypotheses in the Crematogaster ant-Macaranga plant system, in which plants provide living space and food, while ants protect plants from herbivory. We observed food acceptance and rejection behavior across five ant species and three plant host species. Ants were offered three types of food: termites as a surrogate herbivore, symbiotic scale insects, and nutritious food bodies (FB) produced by different host plant species. The unique ant species living in M. winkleri was the most likely to reject food items not provided by the plant species, followed by ants in M. glandibracteolata, while ants in M. pearsonii accepted most items offered to them. Using stable isotopes, chemical cues, and proteomic analyses, we demonstrate that this behavior was not related to differences between plant species in nutritional quality or composition of FB. Isotopic signatures revealed that certain species are primary consumers but other ant species can be secondary consumers even where surrogate herbivores are rejected, although these values varied depending on the ant developmental stage and plant species. Macaranga pearsonii and M. glandibracteolata, the two most closely related plant species, had most similar surface chemical cues of FB. However, M. glandibracteolata had strongest differences in food body nutritional content, isotopic signatures, and protein composition from either of the other two plant species studied. Taken together we believe our results point toward potential host coercion of symbiont ants by plants in the genus Macaranga Thouars (Euphorbiaceae).

A Novel Universal Primer Multiplex Real-Time PCR (UP-M-rtPCR) Approach for Specific Identification and Quantitation of Cat, Dog, Fox, and Mink Fractions Using Nuclear DNA Sequences.

Adulteration of meat with carnivorous animals (such as cats, dogs, foxes, and minks) can cause ethical problems and lead to disease transmission; however, DNA quantitative methods for four carnivorous species in one tube reaction are still rare. In this study, a carnivore-specific nuclear DNA sequence that is conserved in carnivorous animals but has base differences within the sequence was used to design universal primers for its conserved region and corresponding species-specific probes for the hypervariable region. A novel universal primer multiplex real-time PCR (UP-M-rtPCR) approach was developed for the specific identification and quantitation of cat, dog, fox, and mink fractions in a single reaction, with a 0.05 ng absolute limit of detection (LOD) and 0.05% relative LOD. This approach simplifies the PCR system and improves the efficiency of simultaneous identification of multiple animal-derived ingredients in meat. UP-M-rtPCR showed good accuracy (0.48-7.04% relative deviation) and precision (1.42-13.78% relative standard deviation) for quantitative analysis of cat, dog, fox, and mink DNA as well as excellent applicability for the evaluation of meat samples.

Diversity of Large and Medium Sized Mammals and Their Challenges in Abay (Blue Nile) Gorge in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia

The diversity and threats of medium and large‐sized mammals was studied in Abay (Blue Nile) Gorge, Amhara Region, Ethiopia using direct and indirect survey techniques on transect lines crossing natural forest, riverine forest and woodlands. Footprints, camera traps and group discussions were used. Data were analyzed using detrended correspondence analysis, cluster analysis, non-metric multidimensional scaling, and diversity indices. A total of 25 medium and large mammal species belonging to 6 orders and 12 families were recorded. Order Carnivora was the most abundant followed by Artiodactyla, whereas Tubulidentata, Lagomorpha and Procaviida were rare. Leopard is threatened species. The plotting of the detrended correspondence analysis between mammal species and districts showed 61% on axis 1 and 22% on axis 2 and Gozamin district stood at the left side of the plot and Andabet, Enebise Sar Midir and Borena at the extreme right, contributing to the observed association. The mammal species were found lined up along axis 1, where Lycaon pictus and Reducna redunca were closely associated to Gozamin. The cluster analysis based on the Bray-Curtis single linkage similarity index showed differences and similarities between the mammals species composition recorded in the six districts. P. anubis, C. pygerythrus, S. grimmia, O. oreotragus, G. genetta, P. pardus pardus, H. hyaena, G. sanguinea, H. brucei, P. capensis, H. cristata stood out clearly separated from the rest of them and showed linkage at almost 50% similarity. The highest similarity (at about 96% similarity) was a cluster of four species, i.e., T. sylvaticus, T.strepsiceros, S. scrofa and K. ellipsiprymnus. Non-metric multidimensional scaling also gave clusters of similar districts but not mammal species. Species diversity (H′) ranged from low (1.1) to average (1.9). Anthropogenic impacts were associated with decline in abundance of species and populations. Conservation schemes (nature reserves) need to be launched as soon as possible.

The price penalty on meat substitutes—Consumers prefer reduced meat portions over novel meat alternatives and authentic vegetarian dishes—Final stage of a registered report

AbstractDue to growing health and environmental problems related to the overconsumption of meat in western diets, we investigated consumer demand for dishes that reduce or replace beef with: (1) plant-based products that mimic the functionality and taste, (2) authentic plant-based ingredients that just mimic the functionality, and (3) halved beef portion sizes. We implemented a peer-reviewed and pre-registered (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252675) conjoint experiment to elicit the WTP across three popular beef dishes and three reduction options each. The conjoint experiment includes the dish configuration, waiting time, CO2 information, and an individually adapted price vector, where the prices depend on previous choices. Consumers favoured the reduced portion sizes when faced with the meat reduction task. This reduction preference is even more prevalent among regular consumers of the meat dish, i.e. consumers with relevant consumption habits to reconsider. We discuss strategies to reformulate meat dishes that are particularly promising with the current bulk market and address regular meat eaters. Lastly, we indicate the type of consumers with high or low preferences for each dish.

Different patterns of changes in free 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations during intermittent fasting among meat eaters and non-meat eaters and correlations with amino acid intake

We prospectively assessed changes in free 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) among overweight adults who followed a pescatarian Orthodox intermittent fasting regimen (n = 59) and controls who followed a low-fat 12:12 diet (n = 46). Total and free 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone, VDBP, anthropometric data, and amino acid intake were evaluated in both groups at three time points: at baseline, 7 weeks after diet implementation, and 5 weeks after participants returned to their usual eating habits (12 weeks from baseline). An increase in amino acid intake between baseline and 12 weeks was independently correlated with higher free 25(OH)D values at 12 weeks for both groups. Our findings suggest that diet can affect free 25(OH)D concentrations, through variations in amino acid intake, independently of exposure to sunlight, providing novel mechanistic insights into the future planning of vitamin D supplementation strategies. However, this hypothesis needs to be tested in larger studies.

Biological responses to change in Antarctic sea ice habitats

Sea ice is a key habitat in the high latitude Southern Ocean and is predicted to change in its extent, thickness and duration in coming decades. The sea-ice cover is instrumental in mediating ocean–atmosphere exchanges and provides an important substrate for organisms from microbes and algae to predators. Antarctic krill,Euphausia superba,is reliant on sea ice during key phases of its life cycle, particularly during the larval stages, for food and refuge from their predators, while other small grazers, including copepods and amphipods, either live in the brine channel system or find food and shelter at the ice-water interface and in gaps between rafted ice blocks. Fish, such as the Antarctic silverfishPleuragramma antarcticum, use platelet ice (loosely-formed frazil crystals) as an essential hatching and nursery ground. In this paper, we apply the framework of the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO) to review current knowledge about relationships between sea ice and associated primary production and secondary consumers, their status and the drivers of sea-ice change in this ocean. We then use qualitative network modelling to explore possible responses of lower trophic level sea-ice biota to different perturbations, including warming air and ocean temperatures, increased storminess and reduced annual sea-ice duration. This modelling shows that pelagic algae, copepods, krill and fish are likely to decrease in response to warming temperatures and reduced sea-ice duration, while salp populations will likely increase under conditions of reduced sea-ice duration and increased number of days of >0°C. Differences in responses to these pressures between the five MEASO sectors were also explored. Greater impacts of environmental pressures on ice-related biota occurring presently were found for the West and East Pacific sectors (notably the Ross Sea and western Antarctic Peninsula), with likely flow-on effects to the wider ecosystem. All sectors are expected to be impacted over coming decades. Finally, we highlight priorities for future sea ice biological research to address knowledge gaps in this field.

Orthoptera (Insecta) fauna of the Kashkadarya region, Uzbekistan

Abstract. Nurjaniv AA, Medetof MZH, Kholmatov BR, Abdullahyev II, Tufliyev NKH, Nurjonov FA. 2023. Orthoptera (Insecta) fauna of the Kashkadarya region, Uzbekistan. Biodiversitas 24: 112-121. More than 30,000 different species of orthoptera insects, most of which are found in the tropics and subtropics, are known to exist in the world's fauna. The most extensive among the orthopteroids is the order Orthoptera, which includes more than 20,000 species of insects. Most are herbivores, while others are predators or have a mixed diet. Large size, jumping abilities, and open lifestyle make orthopteran characters accessible to many landscapes. Orthopterans play a significant role in the movement of the energy flow as an important link in biocenosis, connecting secondary consumers with producers. Many species of Orthopterans, especially grasshoppers, are dangerous pests of agriculture. Harm is especially noticeable from those locust species, which could make swarms. The research was carried out in various agro and natural landscapes to determine the species composition of orthopteran insects in the Kashkadarya region. A total of 1274 samples were collected from 11 coordinates in 10 different landscapes during the scientific trips. They comprised 657 females (51.4%), 403 males (31.6%), and 214 nymphs (16.7%). The distribution of 70 species belonging to 50 genera and 7 families of orthopteran insects is discussed in this research. Samples were taken from 6 coordinates in 6 types (cucurbits, orchards, alfalfa, mulberry, vineyards, and mung bean fields) of agro-landscapes and 6 coordinates in 4 natural (plains of the Karshi desert, hills, mountains, and saxaul forests) landscapes. The highest species diversity has been found in orchards, where 129 samples of 20 orthopteran species have been collected in the Guzar district of the Kashkadarya region. The Karshi desert was identified as the landscape with the lowest number of species, with 41 samples of 9 species collected. The average density of insects in the desert was 0.4 per square meter. Two species were found in all 12 coordinates of 10 different landscapes, and 11 were found only once in one coordinate.