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Project title

Minding the gap: Determining the ecology of the declining and understudied longhorn beetle family (Coleoptera:Cerambycidae)

Primary Funding Agency

Irish Research Council

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

Environmental Protection Agency

Lead Organisation

National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG)

Lead Applicant

Aoife Crowe

Project Abstract

The Living Planet Report (2020), published by the World Wildlife Fund International (WWFI), describes a drop of almost 70% in average wildlife vertebrate populations in the last fifty years. Current predications also indicate that, within a few decades, 40% of insects and their ecosystem services will have disappeared. Marco Lambertini (DG, WWFI) stated in 2020 that: “Humanity’s increasing destruction of nature is having catastrophic impacts not only on wildlife populations but also on human health and all aspects of our lives”. Longhorn beetles, the focus of the proposed research, mirror this decline with over 31% of European species already categorised as endangered/vulnerable. This is of particular concern given that longhorn species deliver essential ecosystem services including pollination, decomposition and nutrient recycling which support the maintenance and conservation of woody habitats on which better known, iconic animal species depend. Despite this, the National Parks & Wildlife Service has highlighted that beetles such as longhorns are data deficient and strongly recommends their inclusion in future woody habitat evaluations. The latter can only be achieved, however, by filling the significant research gaps relating to longhorn species. This comprehensive study will quantify the value of a range of woody habitats to longhorns and the impact of habitat management/loss, while simultaneously determining their contribution to pollination by: determining those habitat features which best support longhorns; measuring responses to historical habitat change and current woodland/hedgerow/forestry practices; quantifying longhorn contribution to pollination services; and determining whether longhorns can be used as bioindicators of habitat quality. Outputs from the project include a citizen science project; the production of woodland/hedgerow/forest management guidelines; a habitat scorecard for practitioners; and the future inclusion of longhorns as bioindicators of habitat quality. The results will also inform urgently required national conservation strategies for longhorns as well as contributing significantly to the All-Ireland-Pollinator Plan.

Grant Approved

�110,000.00

Research Hub

Natural Environment

Research Theme

n/a

Start Date

01/12/2021

Initial Projected Completion Date

30/11/2025