Read more
Informationen zum Autor Tim New is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Melbourne. He has written extensively on insectconservation, including volumes on Hymenoptera (2012) and beetles (2010) both published by Wiley-Blackwell. An entomologist with wide interests in insect conservation, systematics and ecology, he is recognised as one of the leading advocates for the importance of insects in conservation. Klappentext Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths, is the leading flagship group for advancing interest in insect conservation. One of the largest insect orders, with numerous intricate ecological interactions, their long aesthetic attraction to naturalists and collectors has contributed to a unique cumulative historical record of information on diversity, biology, habitat relationships, distribution, and interactions with people. Collectively, this information has ensured that many declines and extinctions of species - particularly of butterflies in the northern hemisphere - have been brought forcefully and unambiguously to human notice. Both theoretical and practical aspects of their conservation have proliferated in recent decades, and the relevant scientific literature on Lepidoptera ecology and conservation (both peer-reviewed and in unpublished reports) continues to burgeon in extent and complexity. This book is a global overview of Lepidoptera conservation and its roles in providing lessons for wider insect conservation. It brings together some of the highly scattered information into a synthesis for research workers, conservation managers, naturalists and students, in a manner that assumes little previous knowledge, and provides a substantial list of relevant references for further information. The book emphasises the contrasts between the progress possible for the better-documented northern temperate regions and for the rest of the world, but examples and cases noted demonstrate also the increasing urgency and novel initiatives that continue to develop. Zusammenfassung The third in a trilogy of global overviews of conservation of diverse and ecologically important insect groups. The first two were Beetles in Conservation (2010) and Hymenoptera and Conservation (2012). Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface viii Acknowledgements xiii 1 Lepidoptera and Invertebrate Conservation 1 Introduction 1 Biological background 3 Sources of information 11 2 The Diversity of Lepidoptera 16 Introduction 16 Distinguishing taxa 19 Drivers of diversity 28 3 Causes for Concern 32 Introduction: Historical background 32 Extinctions and declines 33 4 Support for Flagship Taxa 40 Introduction 40 Community endeavour 41 Flagships 44 5 Studying and Sampling Lepidoptera for Conservation 48 Introduction 48 Sampling methods 50 Interpretation for conservation 64 Priorities amongst species 66 Priority for conservation 71 Species to areas 76 Critical faunas 82 Related approaches 85 6 Population Structures and Dynamics 94 Introduction: Distinguishing populations 94 Metapopulation biology 97 Vulnerability 108 7 Understanding Habitats 117 Introduction: The meaning of 'habitat' 117 Habitat loss 123 8 Communities and Assemblages 142 Introduction: Expanding the context 142 'Vulnerable groups' 144 Habitats and landscapes 147 Assessing changes 152 Forests 152 Agriculture 153 Urbanisation 155 9 Single Species Studies: Benefits and Limitations 161 Introduction 161 Some case histories 168 The Large blue butterfly, Maculinea arion, in England 169 The Large copper butterfly, Lycaena dispar, in England 1...
