Module 11 Flashcards
Flying insects measured in Germany
The insects were measured over 26 years and the amount caught greatly decreased over the time of the study
Bumblebee populations have greatly
Decreased and it is an important pollinator
Ants and termites
Facilitate movement of organic and inorganic materials in and out of the ground
Enriches soil
Insect decomposers promote the
nutrient cycle
Disturbance of insect populations greatly affect
Predator populations
Study shows that bird population decreases with decreasing insect population
Spotted flycatcher bird
Population decreased by 90 percent because of insect population decrease
Insects can be used for
Biomonitoring
they can represent overall health of an ecosystem and respond quickly to environmental change
Biomonitoring
Monitoring ecosystem using indicator species
Butterflies can serve as
Indicator species because they are sensitive to changes and easily spotted
Biomonitoring may help us
Understand natural processes that affect ecosystems
Can also help use identify human impacts
Largest cause of insect loss
Habitat loss and fragmentation
Deforestation over the past 56 years is the size of
Russia
Grasslands have been lost to
Livestock production and overgrazing
Overgrazing makes
dessert like habitats
Aquatic ecosystem being affected by humans
Construction of canals and reservoirs influence groundwater saturation in a region
This affects soil characteristics that affects plants and therefore insects that need those plants
Dams often affects
Aquatic insects negatively
Habitat fragmentation
The process by which continuous habitats are fragmented by human intervention
Inbreeding depression
Inbreeding happens so much that the health of the population is greatly impacted
Common when habitat fragmentation has occurred
Habitat fragmentation occurs mostly from
Agricultural devleopment and urbanization
Highly modified landscapes come from the need of
Agriculture
Agriculture leads to
local extinction of insects
agriculture Situation is more dire for insects that have
low dispersal abilities like small bodied insects
special habitat requirements like aquatic insects
Forest tent caterpillar
Fragmented forests
Parasitoid wasps that infect forest tent caterpillar will not enter fragmented forests, so the caterpillars become an outbreak when left unchecked and clear forests
Fragmentation can also occur from
Formation of survey or seismic lines
removing long strips of forests
Urbanization
The process of which people go from rural areas to urban areas
As urbanization increases
Footprint of people increase and habitats are lost
Roads fragment
Natural habitats
Vehicle emissions and other human emissions
Affect insect habitat and wellbeing
Heat from urban environments leads to
Higher than normal temp in habitats
Negatively affects insects because they are ectotherms and respond to heat
Diurnal insects (day insects) exposed to light at night by urbanization leads to them
Have their circadian rhythms interrupted
Interrupted rest cycles which lead to altered reproductive cycles
Nocturnal insects can be fooled into
Movement towards an unnatural light source that moves them away from their habitat, exposing them to predators
Light pollution is a form of
habitat loss
Dung beetles use
light from the stars at night to know where to move their dung
When light pollution is present
dung beetles
Move sporadically and ended up carrying dung back to source
Temp beyond the range of survival
Slows growth
Warmer temp promotes
Faster development towards sexual maturity