The pivotal question is whether these ecological networks are sustainable in the long term. This would be particularly so in times of climatic adversity, whether from severe drought or severe flood, particularly in this El Niño-prone area. This is why it is so important to obtain baseline data against which future assessments can be made. Additionally, there needs to be a comparative yard- stick that gives a measure to the ‘quality’ of the biodiversity from one site to the next, as well as over time. Ideally, such a measure should encompass qualities, such as ecosystem health (Rapport et al., 1998) and ecological integrity, which could be construed as functional and compositional diversity, respectively.
Such a measure must be relatively easy to use, give repeatable results, be a fair surrogate for biodiversity and must be sensitive enough to measure changes or differences. One problem is that biodiversity has often not been honestly brokered, with great emphasis on vertebrates and plants, and little emphasis on invertebrates, which are often the webmasters of the ecosystem (Coleman and Hendrix, 2000). Once we have a measure, we can see how well we are doing in terms of sustainable forestry, and know whether or not it is smart forestry.
Acknowledgements
Financial support was provided by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), South Africa, National Research Foundation, Mondi Forests and South African Pulp and Paper Industries (SAPPI) Ltd.
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1 Introduction
Bioindication has experienced renewed interest over the last decade, precipi- tated largely by the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (Glowka et al., 1994) and the 2010 target to reduce the rate of global biodiversity loss (United Nations, 2002; UNEP, 2003). The relative dearth of information on biodiversity, particularly in species-rich parts of the world, combined with rapid rates of human-induced species loss remains a significant challenge to conservation. This challenge can only be effectively met with efficient approaches to gather maximal information with minimal resource require- ments. Bioindicators, that both readily reflect and represent the state of the environment, provide such a tool (Table 7.1). Bioindication has become an essential component of conservation strategies aimed at addressing a wide array of biodiversity threats. The use of selected, suitable species, or spe- cies groups, to reflect some component of their environment or biodiversity context is far from new, but has recently undergone critical evaluation in an attempt to establish bioindication as an effective, additional tool for addressing the biodiversity crisis (McGeoch, 1998; Caro and O’Doherty, 1999; Hilty and Merenlender, 2000; Duelli and Obrist, 2003; Niemi and McDonald, 2004).
Insects in particular have been flagged as promising bioindicators for over two and a half decades because of their significant contribution to global species richness, biomass and ecological function, as well as their respon- siveness and extensive life history and behavioural diversity (Lenhard and Witter, 1977; Majer, 1983; Brown, 1991; Erhardt and Thomas, 1991; Holloway and Stork, 1991; Rosenberg and Resh, 1993; Chessman, 1995; Luff and Woiwod, 1995; Davis et al., 2001; Lu and Samways, 2002; Balvanera et al., 2005). However, insects have also been integral in recent efforts to improve the rigour of bioindication and enhance its value to biodiversity conservation (the term ‘insect’ is used for convenience throughout this chapter to more
7 Insects and Bioindication: Theory and Progress
M
ELODIEA. M
CG
EOCHCentre for Invasion Biology, Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
©The Royal Entomological Society 2007. Insect Conservation Biology
144 (eds A.J.A. Stewart, T.R. New and O.T. Lewis)
broadly include a range of freshwater and terrestrial arthropod taxa). This chapter examines current thinking and recent advances in the field of bioin- dication and the position and role of insects within it. It does not aim to pro- vide a comprehensive review, but rather to highlight key concepts and areas of significant progress. Topics that remain important to the field, but that are Table 7.1. Defi nitions and categories of bioindication.
Defi nition Examples and related terms
Bioindicator A species or group of species that readily: refl ects the abiotic or biotic state of an environment;
represents the impact of environmental change on a habitat, community or ecosystem or is indicative of the diversity of a subset of taxa, or of wholesale diversity, within an area
Bioindication A tool to extract biological information system from an ecosystem and to use this
information for making scientifi cally based management decisions (van Straalen and Krivolutsy, 1996)
Policy indicator Indicates the success of policy Examples include: state of the implementation, or the requirement environment indicators, the for intervention, in bringing about living planet index, indicators one or more conservation objectives. of sustainability
This may include bioindicators Three categories of bioindication
1. Environmental A species or group of species that Related terms: Sentinel, indicator responds predictably, in ways that exploiter, bioassay, accu-
are readily observed and quantifi ed, mulator, biomarker to environmental disturbance or to a
change in environmental state 2. Ecological A species or group of species that
indicator demonstrates the effects of environmental change (such as habitat alteration, fragmentation and climate change) on biota or
biotic systems
3. Biodiversity A biodiversity indicator is a group of Related terms: Surrogate, indicator taxa (e.g. genus, tribe, family or umbrella, fl agship, focal
order, or a selected group of species species or taxon from a range of higher taxa), or
functional group, the diversity of which refl ects some measure of the
diversity (e.g. character richness, species richness, level of endemism) of other higher taxa in a habitat or set
of habitats
extensively dealt with elsewhere, include the selection criteria and character- istics of effective indicators (Brown, 1991; Holloway and Stork, 1991; Kremen, 1992; Hammond, 1994; McGeoch, 1998; Andersen, 1999; Buchs, 2003a) and the selection and development of bioindicators in particular environments, such as agriculture (e.g. Bailey et al., 1999; Enami et al., 1999; Fauvel, 1999;
Marc et al., 1999; Paoletti, 1999; Buchs, 2003b; Fox and MacDonald, 2003;
Hoffmann and Greef, 2003; Sauberer et al., 2004; Zalidis et al., 2004; Halberg et al., 2005) and forestry (e.g. Thor, 1998; Ferris and Humphrey, 1999; Jonsson and Jonsell, 1999; Lindenmayer, 1999; Simberloff, 1999; Gustafsson, 2000;
Nilsson et al., 2001; Rempel et al., 2004; Schulze et al., 2004; Dudley et al., 2005). The chapter begins with a brief overview of the field, and synthesis of the taxa, environments and forms of bioindication that appear in recent liter- ature. The methodological process by which bioindication systems are devel- oped is summarized, and significant technical developments in ecological bioindication and progress in biodiversity indication highlighted. Finally, the chapter discusses the bioindication science–policy interface, and, in conclu- sion, provides a perspective on the theory of bioindication.