Designing monitoring protocols to measure population trends of threatened insects: A case study of the cryptic, flightless grasshopper Brachaspis robustus

Statistically robust monitoring of threatened populations is essential for effective conservation management because the population trend data that monitoring generates is often used to make decisions about when and how to take action. Despite representing the highest proportion of threatened animals globally, the development of best practice methods for monitoring populations of threatened insects is relatively uncommon. Traditionally, population trend data for the Nationally Endangered New Zealand grasshopper Brachaspis robustus has been determined by counting all adults and nymphs seen on a single ~1.5 km transect searched once annually. This method lacks spatial and temporal replication, both of which are essential to overcome detection errors in highly cryptic species like B. robustus. It also provides no information about changes in the grasshopper’s distribution throughout its range. Here, we design and test new population density and site occupancy monitoring protocols by comparing a) comprehensive plot and transect searches at one site and b) transect searches at two sites representing two different habitats (gravel road and natural riverbed) occupied by the species across its remaining range. Using power analyses, we determined a) the number of transects, b) the number of repeated visits and c) the grasshopper demographic to count to accurately detect long term change in relative population density. To inform a monitoring protocol design to track trends in grasshopper distribution, we estimated the probability of detecting an individual with respect to a) search area, b) weather and c) the grasshopper demographic counted at each of the two sites. Density estimates from plots and transects did not differ significantly. Population density monitoring was found to be most informative when large adult females present in early summer were used to index population size. To detect a significant change in relative density with power > 0.8 at the gravel road habitat, at least seventeen spatial replicates (transects) and four temporal replicates (visits) were required. Density estimates at the natural braided river site performed poorly and likely require a much higher survey effort. Detection of grasshopper presence was highest (p(g) > 0.6) using a 100 m x 1 m transect at both sites in February under optimal (no cloud) conditions. At least three visits to a transect should be conducted per season for distribution monitoring. Monitoring protocols that inform the management of threatened species are crucial for better understanding and mitigation of the current global trends of insect decline. This study provides an exemplar of how appropriate monitoring protocols can be developed for threatened insect species.