The potential of native damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera) as bioindicators of insecticide contamination of freshwater

This thesis investigated if and how New Zealand damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera) could be used as bioindicators of insecticide contamination of freshwater. Two damselfly species are common throughout New Zealand: Xanthocnemis zealandica and Austrolestes colensonis. The sensitivity of larvae of both species to azinphos-methyl and carbaryl was estimated. X. zealandica was more sensitive to both compounds than was A. colensonis and was chosen for more detailed studies. The LC₅₀ values for azinphos-methyl did not correlate with the larval instar. The most susceptible stage was instar 7 and the least susceptible were instars 2 and 13. In contrast, LC₅₀ values for carbaryl were related to larval instar. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is defined as minor, nondirectional deviations from bilateral symmetry and has been suggested as a biomonitoring tool. FA in the wings of adult X. zealandica was analysed as a potential indicator as described below. Exposure of the last instar of X. zealandica to carbaryl at 40 ppb increased the level of FA compared with the control. Larvae that had already completed more than half their development when the experiment started did not show significant differences in the level of FA. However, damselflies that were exposed for more than half the final instar showed increased levels of FA compared with controls. The exposure of the penultimate larval instar to carbaryl at 100 ppb killed more than 90% of the individuals, whereas no increased mortality occured at 10 ppb. However, this lower concentration increased the level of FA. In a replicated, artificial-pond experiment, carbaryl at 100 ppb reduced emergence success of X. zealandica 10 days after application, whereas carbaryl at 10 ppb had no effect after more than 120 days. Levels of FA were not affected by carbaryl at 10 ppb in this system over any experimental time period. To investigate the practicability of FA as a bioindicator in the field, levels of asymmetry in damselflies caught at sites of high pesticide usage were compared with those from control sites. Evolutionary and behavioural ecology of damselflies suggests that FA differs between different sub-groups of damselfly populations. The importance of these differences in relation to pollution-induced asymmetry has hardly been addressed. Hypotheses (H1 - H3) on how evolutionary and behavioural ecology could influence the level of FA in different sub-groups of damselfly populations were formulated in this thesis. Four ponds (two sites of high pesticide usage and two control sites) were visited twice in one summer and damselflies were sampled to address the hypotheses. FA in wing length tended to be higher in animals from sites of high pesticide usage, whereas none of the comparisons of meristic (numerical) traits was significant. No difference in asymmetry levels was found between paired and unpaired males (H1), whereas males were significantly more symmetrical than females (H2). Damselflies caught earlier in the year were more symmetrical than those caught later (H3). These findings suggest that evolutionary and behavioural ecology interferes with the suitability of FA in mature damselflies as a biomonitoring tool. It was concluded that emerging damselflies should best reflect the levels of stress present in the aquatic environment rather than mature adults

Attraction of different types of wood for adults of Morimus asper (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae)

Volume: 19Start Page: 135End Page: 14

Monitoring of Insects with Public Participation. Layman’s Report

Although Italy hosts a very important part of Europe’s biodiversity, at the same time however many species are threatened. The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), one of the pillars of European nature conservation, safeguards biodiversity through the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. It imposes to maintain or restore a favourable conservation status of habitats and populations. A further important obligation deriving from this Directive is the set-up of a European ecological network of special areas of conservation, entitled Natura 2000. Additionally, the Habitats Directive requires the Member States to carry out monitoring to determine the conservation status of the protected habitats and species. The Directive lists a total of 117 species of insects; of these 49 species are present in Italy. However, there is still no nationally accepted and widely applied monitoring system for these insects. In addition, for many insect species listed in the Habitats Directive, the current knowledge of their distribution in Italy is fragmentary and many records are outdated

Monitoraggio di Insetti con la Partecipazione Pubblica. Layman’s Report

L’Italia possiede un immenso patrimonio naturale, ma molte specie si trovano in condizioni di criticità. La Direttiva Habitat (92/43/CEE), uno dei pilastri della politica Europea per la conservazione della natura, ha come scopo la salvaguardia della biodiversità mediante la tutela degli habitat naturali, nonché della flora e della fauna selvatiche. A tal fine la Direttiva ha istituito una rete ecologica europea, chiamata Rete Natura 2000, e stabilisce che ogni Stato deve assicurare il mantenimento o il ripristino, in uno stato di conservazione soddisfacente, degli habitat e delle specie elencati nei suoi allegati. Per accertare lo stato di conservazione di questi habitat e specie la Direttiva richiede agli Stati membri di garantire il loro monitoraggio. A livello Europeo, la Direttiva ha elencato 117 specie di insetti; di queste, 49 sono presenti in Italia. Tuttavia, non esiste ancora un sistema di monitoraggio per questi insetti, accettato e applicato su scala nazionale. Inoltre per molte specie di insetti elencati nella Direttiva Habitat anche l’attuale conoscenza della loro distribuzione in Italia è molto lacunosa perché molte segnalazioni sono storiche

Training of a dog for the monitoring of Osmoderma eremita

One aim of the MIPP Project (http://www.lifemipp.eu) was to develop non-invasive monitoring methods for selected saproxylic beetles. In this paper, a method is proposed for monitoring the larvae of Osmoderma eremita in their natural habitat (i.e. hollow trees), using a conservation detection dog (CDD). Wood mould sampling (WMS), the standard method to detect hermit beetles and other saproxylic insects inside tree hollows, is time-consuming and exposes the target species and the whole saproxylic communities to some risks. In contrast, CDDs pose no risk to the species living inside trees while, at the same time, offer a powerful tool for surveying the insects. In this paper, the methods applied to train the dog are presented, together with the results for accuracy (the overall proportion of correct indications), sensitivity (the proportion of correct positive indications) and specificity (the proportion of correct negative indications) obtained once the CDD had been fully trained. Results are presented for nitrocellulose filters with the odour of the target species, for larvae living inside hollow trees, for frass and for the remains of adults. A comparison of the efficiency between CDD and WMS showed that employing the dog was much less time-consuming than WMS. The literature on training CDDs for nature conservation tasks, with particular reference to cases involving Coleoptera, was also reviewed

The use of a sniffer dog to monitor the endangered saproxylic beetle Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli, 1763).

Over the last 15 years sniffer dogs have been widely employed in nature conservation. Using dogs allows to detect cryptic or elusive species; to locate the target species in unreachable habitats (e.g. inside wood, high up in a tree); to reduce labor costs; to decrease the risk of disturbance to the target species. We trained a sniffer dog to detect larvae of Osmoderma eremita. The training and the activity in the field was developed in a number of steps: firstly, we trained the dog to locate the target species and to signal to the handler; subsequently we assessed the “accuracy” of the dog. The final step will be to employ the dog for surveying O. eremita in the field. The first step (training period: 2 years, October 2013 – October 2015), was started by training the dog in a fenced area using live larvae of O. eremita. Subsequently, the dog was trained in urban parks using small supports of nitrocellulose with the smell of the target species, which were hidden in trees suitable for O. eremita (mainly oaks and willows). We evaluated the accuracy of the dog in two ways: 1) working in "Osmoderma-free" areas and with a “double blind test” (positioning the nitrocellulose target in trees which were unknown to dog and trainer). A total of 231 trees were tested, with 30 nitrocellulose targets; 2) tests were carried out in areas where the presence of O. eremita was known. Here we confirmed the presence of larvae by means of "wood mould sampling" after the dog had signaled the trees. Further tests are scheduled for the spring of 2016, in particular a survey will be carried out on 169 trees, where the presence of larvae of O. eremita had been ascertained by wood mould sampling. The accuracy of the dog was estimated as the percentage of successes (number of targets identified/total number of targets) in relation to the percentage of failures (number of false signaling + number of targets which are not identified). These two methods of evaluation were compared. The study is part of the project MIPP (LIFE11 NAT/IT/000252), which aims to develop standard methods for the monitoring of saproxylic beetles listed in the Habitats Directive