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Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Predicting the distribution of endemic insects is vital to continual study and conservation efforts. Here we used ecological niche models and pH data to determine which environmental factors may be influencing the distribution of a group of damselflies in Vanuatu. We tested the utili...

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Autores principales: Saxton, Natalie A., Paxman, Erica M., Dean, Abigail M., Jensen, Colin R., Powell, Gareth S., Bybee, Seth M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8396446/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34442236
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12080670
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author Saxton, Natalie A.
Paxman, Erica M.
Dean, Abigail M.
Jensen, Colin R.
Powell, Gareth S.
Bybee, Seth M.
author_facet Saxton, Natalie A.
Paxman, Erica M.
Dean, Abigail M.
Jensen, Colin R.
Powell, Gareth S.
Bybee, Seth M.
author_sort Saxton, Natalie A.
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Predicting the distribution of endemic insects is vital to continual study and conservation efforts. Here we used ecological niche models and pH data to determine which environmental factors may be influencing the distribution of a group of damselflies in Vanuatu. We tested the utility of niche models in this context and found pH to be a strong predictor for this genus. ABSTRACT: Vanuatubasis Ober and Staniczek is a genus of damselfly endemic to Vanuatu. Little is known about the distribution and general natural history of the genus. We present the results of 14 weeks of fieldwork in Vanuatu to provide a better understanding of the biology of this genus. Specifically, we tested ecological niche models to predict the presence of Vanuatubasis throughout the region and explored how water pH may play a role in their distribution and ecology. The results of this fieldwork refined our model and further predicted the presence of this genus on additional islands. We also found stream pH as a strong predictor for the presence of Vanuatubasis, with their presence in alkaline streams significantly higher (p < 0.001). The mean pH for those streams where the genus was collected was 8.44 (n = 53).
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spelling pubmed-83964462021-08-28 Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu Saxton, Natalie A. Paxman, Erica M. Dean, Abigail M. Jensen, Colin R. Powell, Gareth S. Bybee, Seth M. Insects Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Predicting the distribution of endemic insects is vital to continual study and conservation efforts. Here we used ecological niche models and pH data to determine which environmental factors may be influencing the distribution of a group of damselflies in Vanuatu. We tested the utility of niche models in this context and found pH to be a strong predictor for this genus. ABSTRACT: Vanuatubasis Ober and Staniczek is a genus of damselfly endemic to Vanuatu. Little is known about the distribution and general natural history of the genus. We present the results of 14 weeks of fieldwork in Vanuatu to provide a better understanding of the biology of this genus. Specifically, we tested ecological niche models to predict the presence of Vanuatubasis throughout the region and explored how water pH may play a role in their distribution and ecology. The results of this fieldwork refined our model and further predicted the presence of this genus on additional islands. We also found stream pH as a strong predictor for the presence of Vanuatubasis, with their presence in alkaline streams significantly higher (p < 0.001). The mean pH for those streams where the genus was collected was 8.44 (n = 53). MDPI 2021-07-26 /pmc/articles/PMC8396446/ /pubmed/34442236 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12080670 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Saxton, Natalie A.
Paxman, Erica M.
Dean, Abigail M.
Jensen, Colin R.
Powell, Gareth S.
Bybee, Seth M.
Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu
title Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu
title_full Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu
title_fullStr Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu
title_full_unstemmed Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu
title_short Factors Influencing the Distribution of Endemic Damselflies in Vanuatu
title_sort factors influencing the distribution of endemic damselflies in vanuatu
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8396446/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34442236
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects12080670
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