Darren J. Mann

Developing and enhancing biodiversity monitoring programmes: a collaborative assessment of priorities

Summary Biodiversity is changing at unprecedented rates, and it is increasingly important that these changes are quantified through monitoring programmes. Previous recommendations for developing or enhancing these programmes focus either on the end goals, that is the intended use of the data, or on how these goals are achieved, for example through volunteer involvement in citizen science, but not both. These recommendations are rarely prioritized. We used a collaborative approach, involving 52 experts in biodiversity monitoring in the UK, to develop a list of attributes of relevance to any biodiversity monitoring programme and to order these attributes by their priority. We also ranked the attributes according to their importance in monitoring biodiversity in the UK. Experts involved included data users, funders, programme organizers and participants in data collection. They covered expertise in a wide range of taxa. We developed a final list of 25 attributes of biodiversity monitoring schemes, ordered from the most elemental (those essential for monitoring schemes; e.g. articulate the objectives and gain sufficient participants) to the most aspirational (e.g. electronic data capture in the field, reporting change annually). This ordered list is a practical framework which can be used to support the development of monitoring programmes. Peoples ranking of attributes revealed a difference between those who considered attributes with benefits to end users to be most important (e.g. people from governmental organizations) and those who considered attributes with greatest benefit to participants to be most important (e.g. people involved with volunteer biological recording schemes). This reveals a distinction between focussing on aims and the pragmatism in achieving those aims. Synthesis and applications. The ordered list of attributes developed in this study will assist in prioritizing resources to develop biodiversity monitoring programmes (including citizen science). The potential conflict between end users of data and participants in data collection that we discovered should be addressed by involving the diversity of stakeholders at all stages of programme development. This will maximize the chance of successfully achieving the goals of biodiversity monitoring programmes.

A chromosomal analysis of 15 species of Gymnopleurini, Scarabaeini and Coprini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

A previous publication (Wilson & Angus 2005) gave information on the karyotypes of species of Oniticellini and Onthophagini studied by C. J. Wilson in her Ph. D. research (Wilson 2002). The present paper reports on the remaining Scarabaeidae (Gymnopleurus geoffroyi Illiger, Copris lunaris (Linnaeus) and Onitis belial Fabricius) included in that research, with additional material collected by R. B. Angus (European and Cypriot material) and D. J. Mann (Malaysian material).

Specimens as primary data: museums and 'open science'.

In 1977, Eugene Odum advocated a synthetic approach if ecology were to rise above the level of explanation afforded by independent, individual studies [1]. Today, Odums wish is being fulfilled, and important advances are being made by synthesising data derived from great numbers of studies, either by scaling up temporally or geographically [2]. However, to allow effective, creative, and reproducible integration of ecological and environmental results, the methods and data used need to be made freely accessible and combinable.

Elevational Distribution and Conservation Biogeography of Phanaeine Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in Bolivia

Insect macroecology and conservation biogeography studies are disproportionately scarce, especially in the Neotropics. Dung beetles are an ideal focal taxon for biodiversity research and conservation. Using distribution and body size data on the ecologically important Phanaeini, the best-known Neotropical dung beetle tribe, we determined elevational patterns of species richness, endemism, body size, and elevational range in Bolivia, specifically testing Bergmann’s and Rapoport’s rule. Richness of all 39 species and of 15 ecoregional endemics showed a hump-shaped pattern peaking at 400 m, but overall declined strongly with elevation up to 4000 m. The relationship between endemic and total species richness appeared to be curvilinear, providing only partial support for the null hypothesis that species-rich areas are more likely to be centers of endemism by chance alone. An elevational increase in the proportion of ecoregional endemics suggests that deterministic factors also appear to influence endemism in the Andes. When controlling for the effect of area using different species-area relationships, the statistically significant richness peak became more pronounced and shifted upslope to 750 m. Larger species did not have higher elevational mid-points, and mean body size decreased significantly with elevation, contradicting Bergmann’s rule. Rapoport’s rule was supported: species with higher elevational mid-points had broader elevational ranges, and mean elevational range increased significantly with elevation. The elevational decrease of phanaeine richness is in accordance with studies that demonstrated the combined influence of temperature and water availability on species diversity, but also is consistent with niche conservatism. For invertebrates, confirmation of Rapoport’s and refutation of Bergmann’s rule appear to be scale-invariant general patterns. Analyses of biogeographic patterns across elevational gradients can provide important insights for identifying conservation priorities. Phanaeines with narrow elevational ranges on isolated low-elevation mountains in eastern Bolivia are at greatest climate-change related extinction risk from range-shift gaps and mountaintop extinctions.

Rapid assessments of tropical dung beetle and butterfly assemblages: contrasting trends along a forest disturbance gradient

Abstract.  1. We carried out rapid assessments of the richness and diversity of fruit‐feeding butterflies (sampled with baited traps) and dung beetles (sampled with buffalo dung‐baited pitfall traps) at 20 sites across an anthropogenic forest disturbance gradient in Ba Be National Park, Vietnam.

Biogeographic patterns and conservation priorities for the dung beetle tribe Phanaeini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in Bolivia

The New World Phanaeini are the best known Neotropical dung beetle tribe and a conservation priority among the Scarabaeinae, an ideal focal taxon for biodiversity research and conservation. We compiled a comprehensive distributional database for 39 phanaeine species in Bolivia and assessed patterns of species richness, body size and endemism in relation to abiotic variables and species richness and body mass of medium to large mammals across nine ecoregions. Pair‐wise linear regressions indicated that phanaeine richness, mean size and endemism are determined by different factors. In all cases mammal body mass had greater explanatory power than abiotic variables or mammal richness. Phanaeine richness was greater in ecoregions with on average smaller mammals and greater mammal richness. Mean phanaeine size increased with mean body mass of the largest herbivorous and omnivorous mammals. Endemism was greater in ecoregions with on average smaller herbivorous and omnivorous mammals. On average, smaller phanaeines had more restricted distributions than larger species; ecoregional endemism and mean body size were negatively correlated. Large phanaeines probably depend on large mammals to provide adequate food resources. Greater richness of smaller mammal species may allow for greater temporal and spatial resource partitioning and therefore greater phanaeine species richness. Low numbers of large mammal species may favour the persistence of geographically restricted phanaeine species by reducing interspecific competition with larger, more geographically widespread and presumably dominant phanaeines. Cerrado, Southwest Amazonia and Yungas are priority ecoregions for phanaeine conservation due to high total and endemic species richness.

Small sample, substantial contribution: additions to the Honduran hawkmoth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) fauna based on collections from a mountainous protected area (Cusuco National Park)

With the largest part of diversity in the world absorbed by invertebrates, ignoring invertebrates in biodiversity surveys and monitoring of areas under conservation would give a strongly incomplete image. The poor knowledge of most invertebrate taxa and their enormous diversity limits most surveys to the better-studied groups. Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) are one of the more charismatic and well-known groups among the Lepidoptera and hence a valuable group commonly used in biodiversity research. In this small-scale study, 42 museum specimens of sphingids from Cusuco National Park (Cortés, Honduras) were identified and compared to recent published accounts. This yielded three new country records and, in addition, four new regional records for the park. Some of the additions to the Honduran fauna probably result from recent taxonomic changes. However, the several contributions using a small collection of this well-studied group in an area which has attracted previous research interest, demonstrate the incomplete data availability and the necessity for more rigorous surveying. Several new records concern high altitude species, indicating the data gap in mountains. As elevation is an important determinant of sphingid community structure, sampling across an altitudinal range is recommended. This study also underpins the usefulness of a reference collection-based approach in particular, as many hawkmoth species are identified using subtle diagnostic characters.

Alfred Russel Wallace and His Collections in the Malay Archipelago, with a Proposal for International Cooperation to Produce a Digital Catalogue

During 8 years (1854–1862) spent in the Malay Archipelago, Alfred Russel Wallace’s main object was to acquire specimens of ‘natural history’ for his personal collections and for sale to museums and amateur enthusiasts. His final list amounted to 310 specimens of mammals, 8050 birds, 100 reptiles (a group in which he included amphibians), 7500 molluscan shells, 13,100 Lepidoptera, 83,200 Coleoptera and 13,400 other insects, totalling 125,660 “specimens of natural history”. His field records of these collections held by the libraries of the Natural History Museum and the Linnean Society of London have been digitised and are available on line, as is his Journal, a chronological record of his travels from Bali to Buru. As an alternative archive of Wallace’s achievement, this paper focuses on the origin and later history of his specimens, their impact on the scientific and naturalist community and their permanent significance in zoological nomenclature. His collecting practices and field skills are examined, along with the contribution of his assistants. His London agent Samuel Stevens played an important role in publicising Wallace’s achievements during his travels and, as his specimens arrived, in disposing of duplicates to wealthy buyers, while retaining the best for his personal collection. Many new scientific names were described in lists and catalogs by authors Including, in some instances, Wallace himself. Records are traced to confirm the present whereabouts of specimens that can be located and authenticated. These specimens are still valuable for regional and national policy-making in matters such as nature conservation and species protection, and useful for practical applications, e.g. in integrated pest management. A bold initiative is proposed to make this resource widely available where it is needed by providing digitised images of these specimens and making these available on the web. It is suggested that the Sarawak State government, in co-operation with the Natural History Museum, London, and Oxford University Museum, could take a lead, perhaps through ASEAN scientific cooperation. An exercise to compile and disseminate a comprehensive digitised catalog of Wallace’s Archipelago collections, with emphasis on the irreplaceable type specimens, would be a fitting centennial memorial for his indefatigable enterprise. It would also provide an invaluable asset for regional biologists, zoogeographers, conservationists and wildlife managers.

The first record of Exopalaemon modestus (Heller, 1862) (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) in Kazakhstan

Exopalaemon modestus (Heller, 1862), the Siberian prawn, is widely distributed in the People’s Republic of China (Li et al., 2003), with its native range also encompassing Korea (Kim, 1985), Taiwan (Shy & Yu, 1998) and the Primorsky Krai region in the Russian Far East (Holthuis, 1980). Within P.R. China, the species is known to occur in the following provinces: Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang (northeastern P.R. China), Hebei, Henan, Shandong (northern P.R. China), Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi (central P.R. China), Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui (eastern P.R. China), Sichuan, Guangdong and Yunnan (southwestern P.R. China) (Li et al., 2003; Guo et al., 2005). The species has also established viable populations along the western seaboard of the U.S.A., being first noted in the Columbia River in 1995 (Emmet et al., 2002), and since spread to the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers in California (C. Rogers, pers. commun.) and more recently the Snake River in Idaho (Haskell et al., 2006). Throughout much of its native range, the species is extensively fished for, both for human consumption as well as fishing bait and is one of the most important commercial species in China (Holthuis, 1980). Li et al. (2007) also briefly mention that the species is extensively cultivated in the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangshu and Yunnan, but no further details are given as to whether this consists of ongrowing of wild caught stock or full aquaculture rearing. During entomological fieldwork in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan, the second author encountered a population of Exopalaemon modestus in the Ili River, a considerable range extension for the species. The specimens are registered in the Zoological Collection of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, under registration number OUMNH.ZC.2012-01-068. A total of 144 specimens were collected in a single location, Kalkan (43°50′48′′N 78°44′57′′E), Altyn Emel National Park, Almaty Oblast, 482 m asl,

Tropical dung beetle morphological traits predict functional traits and show intraspecific differences across land uses

Abstract Functional traits and functional diversity measures are increasingly being used to examine land use effects on biodiversity and community assembly rules. Morphological traits are often used directly as functional traits. However, behavioral characteristics are more difficult to measure. Establishing methods to derive behavioral traits from morphological measurements is necessary to facilitate their inclusion in functional diversity analyses. We collected morphometric data from over 1,700 individuals of 12 species of dung beetle to establish whether morphological measurements can be used as predictors of behavioral traits. We also compared morphology among individuals collected from different land uses (primary forest, logged forest, and oil palm plantation) to identify whether intraspecific differences in morphology vary among land use types. We show that leg and eye measurements can be used to predict dung beetle nesting behavior and period of activity and we used this information to confirm the previously unresolved nesting behavior for Synapsis ritsemae. We found intraspecific differences in morphological traits across different land use types. Phenotypic plasticity was found for traits associated with dispersal (wing aspect ratio and wing loading) and reproductive capacity (abdomen size). The ability to predict behavioral functional traits from morphology is useful where the behavior of individuals cannot be directly observed, especially in tropical environments where the ecology of many species is poorly understood. In addition, we provide evidence that land use change can cause phenotypic plasticity in tropical dung beetle species. Our results reinforce recent calls for intraspecific variation in traits to receive more attention within community ecology.