P & aacute;ramos are unique ecosystems located in the highest parts of tropical mountains. Despite harboring great biological diversity, they are also considered one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Rhionaeschna caligo is an endemic and threatened species that inhabits these ecosystems in the north of Colombia's Central and Occidental Cordilleras. This study presents the first demographic assessment for the species using the Mark-Recapture method. The population size (50 +/- 15 individuals; 186 +/- 27 individuals), life expectancy (11.3 days; 14.5 days), probability of survival (0.90; 0.92), and detectability (0.08; 0.1) were estimated on two climatic seasons. Activity patterns in the wetlands were recorded in both seasons, finding differences between sexes, with male activity starting around 9 a.m. and finishing around 4 p.m., and female activity beginning around 4 p.m. and finishing at around 6 p.m. at dusk. Also, the effects of size and sex on survival and detectability were tested; no statistical support was found. The demographic parameters of survival-detectability and life expectancy are like those reported in the literature for other aeshnids. A negative effect of rainy weather conditions and low water levels on survival is suggested. High mortality among larvae inhabiting the wetland was observed after days of high radiation and low cloud cover.
The reduction and modification of the Atlantic Forest and Campo Rupestre make it urgent to conduct inventory studies that provide data on the distribution of biota. However, many areas lack information, including those within Conservation Units (CUs) considered priorities for conservation, such as the Pico do Itamb & eacute; State Park (PEPI) in the Espinha & ccedil;o Range, Minas Gerais, which lacks information regarding its odonatofauna. In this context, the objective of this study is to record the Odonata community in this CU. Collections were carried out from May 2024 to February 2025. A total of 59 species from 10 families were collected, including a new species of the genus Hetaerina, recently described, a species considered vulnerable, Heteragrionflavovittatum, and four new records for the state of Minas Gerais: Limnetron antarcticum, Progomphus adaptatus, Libellula herculea and Metaleptobasis selysi. These data demonstrate the need for the protection of Campo Rupestre associated with the Atlantic Forest for the maintenance of the odonatofauna of Minas Gerais, as well as the water resources within PEPI. The recorded Odonata community justifies public investment in this Conservation Unit.
A new species of damselfly, Lestes paloti sp. n. (Odonata: Lestidae) is described from Keralam on the western slopes of the Western Ghats, southern India. Although superficially resembling L. garoensis Lahiri, 1987 and L. nodalis Selys, 1891, the new taxon can be readily distinguished by the structure of the male anal appendages, particularly the form of the inner inflations of the cerci bearing a sharply pointed spine, and by the morphology of the secondary genitalia. This study also clarifies that previous records of L. nodalis from southern India were based on misidentifications of this new species. Notes on habitat, distribution, and ontogenetic and seasonal color variations are provided. A preliminary classification of species-groups within Lestes of Western Ghats is proposed, along with a diagnostic key to closely related species.
Paleopteran insects (Odonata and Ephemeroptera) occupy a crucial position in insect evolution and are ecologically significant indicators of freshwater ecosystem health. Recent improvement in the number of publicly available genomes and transcriptomes have advanced understanding of genome size evolution, morphological innovation, and ecological responses in these orders. Here we present genome assemblies for the damselfly Argia emma (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) and the mayfly Epeorus albertae (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae), two ecologically and culturally significant species from the Salmon River, Idaho, USA. Both species play essential roles in regional aquatic food webs, including supporting salmon populations central to Nez Perce cultural lifeways. These genomes provide valuable comparative resources for approximating genetic diversity and reconstructing historical demographic change. Both genomes represent high-quality assemblies as measured by contiguity and completeness. Demographic models built from both assemblies show how the populations of these two species have generally trended in similar directions through time, consistent with the hypothesis that these species respond similarly to environmental change and may be useful complementary bioindicators. The genome assembly of A. emma further suggests that similar genome sizes in the family Coenagrionidae are not correlated with similar profiles of repetitive elements. These genomes provide a timely baseline for future study of how proposed land-use change in the Salmon River watershed may affect aquatic insects, are an important resource for navigating freshwater biodiversity conservation efforts in the American West, and, by filling taxonomic gaps, will be important tools for further study into the evolution of Paleoptera.
As human activities increasingly threaten biodiversity, scientists require new strategies and approaches to face the growing need for information to guide environmental management, conservation planning, and policy development. However, assessing global shifts in the distribution and diversity of living organisms requires extensive datasets, with collaborative efforts involving thousands of individuals. Most insect observations come from unstructured and opportunistic citizen science (CS) sources that merely associate a taxonomic entity with a specific time and location and consequently, these data are prone to many biases. In our research, we investigated two CS platforms, Ornitho.it and iNaturalist, which are utilized for recording species presences, but which pose different constraints and which have different user bases. We assessed how the difficulty of photographing Odonata species influences their recording frequency and the potential over- or under-representation of species of these platforms, analysing each within its specific limitations. Our results reveal a complex interaction of species (and family) characteristics, such as size, difficulty to photograph, behaviour, and habitat preferences, which significantly influence the likelihood of a species being recorded. Although the two platforms showed a general agreement between their relative numbers of observations of the various species, every record on either platform is subject to numerous biases at different levels (e.g., site selection, taxonomic interest, species detectability). Despite the numerous biases, CS records offer valuable distribution data and today are a crucial resource for advancing biodiversity research and conservation initiatives.
