Why do bugs perish? Range size and local vulnerability traits as surrogates of Odonata extinction risk.

ABSTRACT: Despite claims of an insect decline worldwide, our understanding of extinction risk in insects is incomplete. Using bionomic data of all odonate (603 dragonflies and damselflies) North American species, we assessed (i) regional extinction risk and whether this is related to local extirpation; (ii) whether these two patterns are similar altitudinally and latitudinally; and (iii) the areas of conservation concern. We used geographic range size as a predictor of regional extinction risk and body size, thermal limits and habitat association as predictors of local extirpation. We found that (i) greater regional extinction risk is related to narrow thermal limits, lotic habitat use and large body size (this in damselflies but not dragonflies); (ii) southern species are more climate tolerant but

SUBMITTER: Rocha-Ortega M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7209059 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature