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Testing Dragonflies as Species Richness Indicators in a Fragmented Subtropical Atlantic Forest Environment

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
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Abstract

We surveyed 15 bodies of water among remnants of the Atlantic Forest biome in southern Brazil for adult dragonflies and damselflies to test whether an empirical selection method for diversity indicators could be applied in a subtropical ecosystem, where limited ecological knowledge on species level is available. We found a regional species pool of 34 species distributed in a nested subset pattern with a mean of 11.2 species per locality. There was a pronounced difference in species composition between spring, summer, and autumn, but no differences in species numbers between seasons. Two species, Homeoura chelifera (Selys) and Ischnura capreolus (Hagen), were the strongest candidates for regional diversity indicators, being found only at species-rich localities in our surveyed area and likewise in an undisturbed national forest reserve, serving as a reference site for the Atlantic Forest. Using our selection method, we found it possible to obtain a tentative list of diversity indicators without having detailed ecological information of each species, providing a reference site is available for comparison. The method thus allows for indicator species to be selected in blanco from taxonomic groups that are little known. We hence argue that Odonata can already be incorporated in ongoing assessment programs in the Neotropics, which would also increase the ecological knowledge of the group and allow extrapolation to other taxa.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Daniel Martins dos Santos for helping us produce Figs 1 and 2. We would like to thank our field assistants who gave commendable assistance in our sampling efforts and also the landowners who generously gave permission for our team to use their properties during the development and implementation of this study. The project was made possible through a Linnaeus-Palme teacher and student exchange program (The International Programme Office for Education and Training, Stockholm, Sweden) between Halmstad University and Univates. Financial support was provided by FAPERGS (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lab de Evolução e Ecologia, Centro Universitário Univates, Rua Avelino Talini, 171, Bairro Universitário, 95900-000, Lajeado, RS, Brasil

    S Renner & E Périco

  2. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Halmstad Univ, Halmstad, Sweden

    G Sahlén

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  1. S Renner
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  2. G Sahlén
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  3. E Périco
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Correspondence to S Renner.

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Edited Kleber Del Claro – UFU

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Renner, S., Sahlén, G. & Périco, E. Testing Dragonflies as Species Richness Indicators in a Fragmented Subtropical Atlantic Forest Environment. Neotrop Entomol 45, 231–239 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-015-0355-9

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