Insect Diversity Conservation

This groundbreaking book is a contemporary global synthesis of the rapidly developing and important field of insect conservation biology. Insects play important roles in terrestrial ecological processes and in maintaining the world as we know it. They present particular conservation challenges, especially as a quarter face extinction within the next few decades. This textbook addresses the ethical foundation of insect conservation, and asks why should we concern ourselves with conservation of a butterfly, beetle or bug? The success of insects and their diversity, which have survived glaciers, is now facing a more formidable obstacle: the meteoric impact of humans. After addressing threats, from invasive alien plants to climate change, the book explores ways insects and their habitats are prioritised, mapped, monitored and conserved. Landscape and species approaches are considered. This book is for undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers and managers in conservation biology or entomology, and the wider biological and environmental sciences.

This handbook outlines the main methods and techniques, both modern and traditional, used to measure insect diversity. With the growing relevance of insect conservation in nature, this guide should assist students in understanding a complicated field.

Insects do not live in isolation. They interact with the abiotic environment and are major components of the terrestrial and freshwater biotic milieus. They are crucial to so many ecosystem processes and are the warp and weft of all terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems that are not permanently frozen. This means that insect conservation is a two-way process: insects as the subjects of conservation, while also they are useful tools for conserving the environment. This book overviews strategic ways forward for insect conservation. It is a general view of what has worked and what has not for the maintenance of insect diversity across the world, as well as what might be the right approaches for the future.

This volume offers extensive information on insect life in dying and dead wood. Written and reviewed by leading experts from around the world, the twenty-five chapters included here provide the most global coverage possible and specifically address less-studied taxa and topics. An overarching goal of this work is to unite literature that has become fragmented along taxonomic and geographic lines. A particular effort was made to recognize the dominant roles that social insects (e.g., termites, ants and passalid beetles) play in saproxylic assemblages in many parts of the world without overlooking the non-social members of these communities. The book is divided into four parts: · Part I “Diversity” includes chapters addressing the major orders of saproxylic insects (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Blattodea), broadly organized in decreasing order of estimated global saproxylic diversity. In addition to order-level treatments, some chapters in this part discuss groups of particular interest, including pollinators, hymenopteran parasitoids, ants, stag and passalid beetles, and wood-feeding termites. · Part II “Ecology” discusses insect-fungal and insect-insect interactions, nutritional ecology, dispersal, seasonality, and vertical stratification. · Part III “Conservation” focuses on the importance of primary forests for saproxylic insects, offers recommendations for conserving these organisms in managed forests, discusses the relationships between saproxylic insects and fire, and addresses the value of tree hollows and highly-decomposed wood for saproxylic insects. Utilization of non-native wood by saproxylic insects and the suitability of urban environments for these organisms are also covered. · Lastly, Part IV “Methodological Advancements” highlights molecular tools for assessing saproxylic diversity. The book offers an accessible and insightful resource for natural historians of all kinds and will especially appeal to entomologists, ecologists, conservationists and foresters.

Volume Two of the new guide to the study of biodiversity in insects Volume Two of Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society presents an entirely new, companion volume of a comprehensive resource for the most current research on the influence insects have on humankind and on our endangered environment. With contributions from leading researchers and scholars on the topic, the text explores relevant topics including biodiversity in different habitats and regions, taxonomic groups, and perspectives. Volume Two offers coverage of insect biodiversity in regional settings, such as the Arctic and Asia, and in particular habitats including crops, caves, and islands. The authors also include information on historical, cultural, technical, and climatic perspectives of insect biodiversity. This book explores the wide variety of insect species and their evolutionary relationships. Case studies offer assessments on how insect biodiversity can help meet the needs of a rapidly expanding human population, and examine the consequences that an increased loss of insect species will have on the world. This important text: Offers the most up-to-date information on the important topic of insect biodiversity Explores vital topics such as the impact on insect biodiversity through habitat loss and degradation and climate change With its companion Volume I, presents current information on the biodiversity of all insect orders Contains reviews of insect biodiversity in culture and art, in the fossil record, and in agricultural systems Includes scientific approaches and methods for the study of insect biodiversity The book offers scientists, academics, professionals, and students a guide for a better understanding of the biology and ecology of insects, highlighting the need to sustainably manage ecosystems in an ever-changing global environment.

The realms of conservationists and entomologists are brought together.

The book discusses the recent advances in basic and applied approaches including research on the genetics of insects, its application in resolving the consequences of world population growth, its impact on agriculture, and control strategies and their implications on the fast-depleting insect resources. The application of insects as a probable nutrient substitute along with the role of sex hormones among insects has been thoroughly discussed. The entire book basically contains five chapters spread over two sections: Section I mainly focuses on diversity, conservation and nutrition, while Section II is concerned with economic importance and up-to-date information on the role of peptides. The book is well illustrated with diagrams, graphical representations and flow charts for easy understanding the important information discussed in the book.

Includes chapters on assessing changes among assemblages and in individual species, the variety of general threats (notably habitat changes and impacts of alien species) and more particularly urban threats. The first global overview and synthesis of the impacts of urbanisation on insects and their relatives and the needs and theoretical and practical background to conserving them in urban environments. Insect dependence on open spaces in built-up areas suggests a wide range of management options for conservation, from individual site (including novel habitats such as green roofs) to landscape-level connectivity. These measures, all discussed with specific examples, involve all sectors of humanity, from government agencies to individual householders and ‘citizen scientist’ groups. Each chapter includes pertinent and recent.