Speaker
Description
Abstract:
Urbanization and agricultural practices account for some of the most drastic modifications to natural habitats as a result of anthropogenic land cover change. The relative importance of different land covers for shaping insect communities, however, remains unclear.
In this study, we combine large spatial scale sampling by using citizen scientists car net data collection (nets installed on vehicle roofs) and DNA metabarcoding to investigate the effect of landscape patterns of insect community composition and richness along with land cover heterogeneity. During June and July in 2018 & 2019 volunteers collected 334 car net samples on 67 roads in 7 federal states of Germany. To estimate taxonomic composition of insect bulk samples, DNA metabarcoding protocols were used, and the results compared to known data on flying insect richness and occurrence. The richness and diversity of flying insects were examined across main land cover types.
Our results indicate a strong negative association of urban cover on insect populations, implying that urbanization may contribute as a main driver to insect decreases. As a consequence, conserving and extending protected natural and semi-natural habitats should be the primary priority for temperate insect diversity conservation.
By conducting a simple, standardized citizen science initiative, we managed to sample flying insects at a broad geographical scale within one month, with a response rate of more than 86% of samples returned. Therefore, car net sampling with citizen scientists can serve as a promising approach for tracking flying insects at a landscape scale.
| Status Group | Doctoral Researcher |
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