The movement responses of three libellulid dragonfly species to open and closed landscape cover

This week, The Hot Student Paper features Sarah French, PhD, from Shannon McCauley Lab:

“The movement responses of three libellulid dragonfly species to open and closed landscape cover”. Insect Conservation and Diversity (2019) doi:10.1111/icad.12355

Landscape cover can affect how organisms move. We tested how open and closed land cover impacted the fine-scale movement of adult dragonflies. We released three dragonfly species in forests, fields, and at forest edges. There were species-specific responses, with one species taking flight less often than another at forest edges. Across species, dragonflies flew more towards fields than forests when released at forest edges. Dragonflies’ responses to forests can therefore be species-specific. Open environments, however, likely facilitate the movement of dragonflies in the landscape to both terrestrial habitats and aquatic reproductive habitats.

More about Sarah’s research: https://sarahkfrench.com/