Previous studies deduced negative effects of urbanization on insect conservation from decline in species richness with increasing built-up areas. This is the first study that investigates insect extinction determined by urbanization using a long-time temporal data set from hidden literature data and museum collections. Analyses were conducted for four insect groups in urban Rome: butterflies, coprophagous scarabaeids, non-coprophagous scarabaeids and tenebrionids. A reconstruction of extinction trends from 1885 to 1999 indicates impressive declines in species richness, with differences according to the ecological characteristics of each insect group.
Source:
Simone Fattorini, Biological Conservation, Volume 144, Issue 1, January 2011, Pages 370-375
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320710003952
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