Insect Ecology and Conservation

• Description

This biotic jewel we call Earth is a rare phenomenon in terms of its molecular complexity relative to the monotony of the universe. Insects, in turn, add a further nuance of variety and diversity to that extraordinarily rare veneer of food webs. Yet we know all is not well with this hexapod diversity, with perhaps a quarter of the species heading towards extinction in the next few decades. In a mere blink of a geological eyelid, the ecological impact of us humans, is casting overboard a vast amount of genetic uniqueness.

But how do we know insects are so diverse? Diverse in which way? Taxonomically, morphologically, phylogenetically? How is this diversity being rearranged with the geometrification of the landscape? What are the population and species declines? If we stop these precipitations, how do we measure our success in doing so? These are some of the pressing questions in insect ecology and conservation. As with other books in the series, there is an important need to summarize the techniques available for measuring this insect diversity for developing ways of conserving it. The aim here is to have a handbook for aspiring entomological researchers, with the intention of fulfilling the IUCN species survival's mission of "maintaining diversity at current levels."