Conserving the digger wasp, Sphex ingens Smith: identification of priority areas and implications for the conservation
摘要
The decline in insect populations and species has been cast doubt on the effectiveness of government policies and actions aimed at conservation. Identifying areas with potential use for the management of threatened, endemic, rare, or unknown specie is essential. Sphex ingens Smith is a little-known, and possibly rare insect. We model the ecological niche of S. ingens in South America from records obtained in different sources. We also evaluated the percentage the area with a probability of presence for S. ingens under the protection of Conservation Units. According to the ecological niche model, suitable distribution areas for S. ingens extend over a short range at low altitude on the Brazilian coast under strong anthropic pressure and an insufficient number of Conservation Units. Future studies at finer scale will be of great relevance for the identification of high-value sites for S. ingens, and to assess additional threats that act synergistically with habitat conversion. Implications for insect conservation: Considering that occurrence of S. ingens is associated with coastal zones, its conservation requires proactive solutions for the preservation of regions under strong anthropic pressure. However, our results have potential to reduce information gaps on the distribution of S. ingens, and direct research to locations of probable occurrence in Brazil, but not yet researched.