Villalobos-Jimenez, G, Dunn, A and Hassall, C (2016) Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) in urban ecosystems: A review. European Journal of Entomology, 113. pp. 217-232. ISSN 1210-5759
Abstract
The expansion of urban areas is one of the most significant anthropogenic impacts on the natural landscape. Due to their sensitivity to stressors in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, dragonflies and damselflies (the Odonata) may provide insights into the effects of urbanisation on biodiversity. However, while knowledge about the impacts of urbanisation on odonates is growing, there has not been a comprehensive review of this body of literature until now. This is the fi rst systematic literature review conducted to evaluate both the quantity and topics of research conducted on odonates in urban ecosystems. From this research, 79 peer-reviewed papers were identifi ed, the vast majority (89.87%) of which related to studies of changing patterns of biodiversity in urban odonate communities. From the papers regarding biodiversity changes, 31 were performed in an urban-rural gradient and 21 of these reported lower diversity towards built up city cores. Twelve of the cases of biodiversity loss were directly related to the concentrations of pollutants in the water. Other studies found higher concentrations of pollutants in odonates from built-up catchments and suggested that odonates such as Aeshna juncea and Platycnemis pennipes may be candidate indicators for particular contaminants. We conclude by identifying current research needs, which include the need for more studies regarding behavioural ecology and life-history traits in response to urbanisation, and a need to investigate the mechanisms behind diversity trends beyond pollution.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice. An Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
Keywords: | Odonata; urban ecology; city; anthropogenic stressors; odonates; dragonflies; damselflies; biodiversity; ecotoxicology; behaviour; life history; phenotypic variation; ecological traps; bioindicators |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Feb 2016 11:15 |
Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2018 15:49 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.14411/eje.2016.027 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | European Journal of Entomology |
Identification Number: | 10.14411/eje.2016.027 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:95215 |