Diversity of Nearctic Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata)

Rarely have studies assessed Odonata diversity for the entire Nearctic realm by including Canada, the United States, and Mexico. For the first time, we explored Odonata diversity in this region according to a definition of natural community assemblages and generated species distribution models (SDMs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDiversity (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 7; p. 575
Main Authors Abbott, John C., Bota-Sierra, Cornelio A., Guralnick, Robert, Kalkman, Vincent, González-Soriano, Enrique, Novelo-Gutiérrez, Rodolfo, Bybee, Seth, Ware, Jessica, Belitz, Michael W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2022
Subjects
Aquatic habitats
Aquatic insects
Biodiversity
biogeography
Biota
Conservation status
Endangered & extinct species
Endemic species
Endemism
Geographical distribution
glaciation
Habitats
Mountains
Museums
Niche overlap
North America
Odonata
species occurrence
Species richness
Wildlife conservation
Canada
United States > US
Mexico
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Summary:Rarely have studies assessed Odonata diversity for the entire Nearctic realm by including Canada, the United States, and Mexico. For the first time, we explored Odonata diversity in this region according to a definition of natural community assemblages and generated species distribution models (SDMs). Species occurrence data were assembled by reviewing databases of specimens held by significant Odonata repositories and through an extensive search of literature references. Species were categorized as forest-dependent or non-forest-dependent, as lentic or lotic-dependent, and according to conservation status. Predicted distributions were stacked for all species across their entire ranges, including areas outside of the Nearctic. Species richness and corrected weighted endemism (CWE) were then calculated for each grid cell. We found a pattern of greater species richness in the eastern portion of the Nearctic, which can be explained by the higher aquatic habitat diversity at micro and macroscales east of the Rocky Mountains, promoting niche partitioning and specialization. In the Nearctic region, the southeastern US has the highest number of endemic species of dragonflies and damselflies; this degree of endemism is likely due to glacial refuges providing a foundation for the evolution of a rich and unique biota.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d14070575