Conference Agenda

In the current human-triggered biodiversity crisis, conservation biology research has gained additional importance. The research by conservation biologists generates public interest, and conservation biology in general has come under increased scrutiny. This extends to the use of public funds, the setting of priorities, the efficiency and effectiveness of research but also to the application of study methods. Against that changing set of settings and expectations, conservation biologists need to re-evaluate their methodological toolkit. This is also required in the light of new findings about animal sentience, perception of pain, and changing ethical awareness and attitudes. Entomological research does not seem to be fully aware of these new developments, and the use of destructive or harmful methods are common. Invertebrate conservation research, if it does not embrace non-lethal methods whenever possible, risks alienating the public and thus undermining its own aims to conserve vitally important components of global biodiversity.

Entomological research has traditionally relied on destructive techniques which kills countless organisms, including beneficial and non-target species. While ethical and effective monitoring tools exist, they are rarely used by entomologists and do not receive sufficient attention. Ethically acceptable entomological research can be conducted in several ways: using techniques that harm but do not kill the organism (e.g., mutilation), that disrupt the activity of an organism but do not directly harm it (e.g., live light traps), or that neither harm nor disturb the organism (e.g., camera traps). The reuse of already dead material (e.g., museum collections, bycatch) is also an indirect way to decrease the killing of arthropods. Automated monitoring systems based on artificial intelligence are also becoming increasingly popular and their usefulness is likely to rapidly grow in the near future. Identifying species without having a physical specimen available remains the biggest challenge to overcome. However, even in cases where lethal methods are irreplaceable, it is possible to reduce unnecessary killing by carefully considering the necessary sample sizes and maximising the use of bycatch. Lethal methods can also be sidestepped if the research focuses on the effects resulting from the activity of the species and the ecosystem services they provide.

Radio telemetry with very high-frequency transmitters is a potential tool for investigating animal movement patterns, widely applied to various vertebrates. However, its utilization in large-bodied insect species is limited. Some beetles, with their relatively large bodies, robust exoskeletons, and established ecological backgrounds, stand out as a popular insect group for radio-tracking. We reviewed the available literature on radio telemetry in beetles with a focus on methodological strengths and limitations in recording their movement as well as how this method can assist in understanding various ecological aspects of beetle life history. Despite the method's potential, only 13 beetle species across five families, predominantly in the Western Palearctic region, have been tracked. Studies have been primarily descriptive, focusing on trajectory parameters and single-strategy movement behavior. Ecological aspects have been accessed to a lesser extent, especially concerning the effects of abiotic factors and habitat use. There are still conceptual knowledge gaps: promising statistical approaches for movement analyses can connect movement patterns with specific habitat utilization but they are not yet used by entomologists. Moreover, knowing the movement patterns of many individuals and species can assist us in understanding the composition and dynamics at the community level.

Population declines have been recorded in many invertebrates worldwide, but assessment often requires lethal sampling. Nests of adult female desert widow spiders, Latrodectus revivensis, are highly visible in the desert shrubland and preserve a complete record of individual productivity that can be monitored and compared over the years. During 1992-2000, a yearly survey was conducted of L. revivensis nests in the Negev highlands, Israel, in which abundance, foraging success and reproductive output were assessed non-destructively. We counted L. revivensis nests at the end of the reproductive season and recorded the number of egg-sacs present in each. A subset of nests was collected to analyze prey remains, and egg-sacs were opened to count the contents (eggshells or young). The abundance of L. revivensis declined sharply in 1994 and did not recover during the following years, yet neither foraging success nor reproduction was affected. Causes for the decline are discussed.

Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate on Earth. As a first step to more effectively combat this process we need efficient methods to monitor biodiversity changes. Recent methodological advance can provide powerful tools (e.g. camera traps, digital acoustic recorders, satellite imagery, social media records, citizen science) that can speed up the collection of biological data. Apart from speed these tools also provide non-invasive means to monitor biodiversity. Nevertheless, the processing steps of the raw data served by these tools are still painstakingly slow. A new computer technology, deep learning based artificial intelligence, might, however, help. In the first part of our talk we briefly oversee recent technological advances in conservation biology, highlight problems of processing their data, briefly describe deep learning technology and show case studies of its use in conservation biology. Then we report our preliminary results on using deep learning to predict species distribution maps of an invasive mosquito by satellite imagery.

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is recovering both numbers and range, which is why it has been recently reclassified from the IUCN Red List report as Vulnerable instead of Endangered. Nevertheless, the species distribution is still unclear in most of the Central and Western Mediterranean Sea, where both species density and monitoring efforts are very low. Based on environmental DNA monitoring and verified sightings, we give insights into its presence in the understudied regions of the Southern Adriatic and Norther Ionian Seas between Italy, Albania and Greece. The study period was from September to December 2022, which corresponds to the monk seal peak of the reproduction period. Results suggest a more constant and spread seal presence than previously thought, which bodes well for the nature-positive goal considering the seal's ecological role as a predator. We identified seven “distinct signal clusters” and three locations with a high probability of breeding activity that need to be further investigated with other techniques. The study also corroborates that eDNA can foresee or confirm seal sightings. Overall, we highlight the need to monitor monk seal presence in data-deficient areas and update its official distribution.