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Conservation status and protection of three Antillean endemic damselflies

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Abstract

Hypolestes (Odonata, Zygoptera) is a damselfly genus endemic to the Greater Antilles. The genus comprises three species: H. clara from Jamaica, H. trinitatis from Cuba, and H. hatuey from Hispaniola, which are currently evaluated by the IUCN as Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU) and Data Deficient, respectively. Here, we re-assess the conservation status of these species based on their extent of occurrence, as estimated from ecological niche models. In addition, we analyse the coverage offered to each of the three species by the protected areas from Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti. Our results support the maintenance H. trinitatis in the category of VU, and suggest the re-classification of H. hatuey as Near Threatened. The estimated extent of occurrence for H. clara is 6422 km2, a value close to the threshold of 5000 km2 between VU and EN. Therefore, we recommend keeping H. clara as EN, until new evidence based on population size and trend could support a change from this category to VU. We found that 14 % of the extent of occurrence for H. clara and H. hatuey, and 33 % for H. trinitatis, are within protected areas. However, the ongoing extensive deforestation in Hispaniola, coupled with the lack of protection in Haiti, could cause a decrease of the extent of occurrence of H. hatuey in the future.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Chris Hassall, R. Isabel Aguirre-Alcolea and two anonymous referees for their valuables comments and suggestions on early versions of the manuscript. YT-C was supported by a project Ciencia y Conciencia funded by Universidad de Oriente (Project Code 9617) and a WDA Conservation Research Grant. MOL-C is funded by the European Commission, through an Individual European Marie Curie Fellowship (PIEFGA-2013-626504—ODOGEN). AC-R was funded by grants from the Spanish Ministry with competences in science, which included FEDER Funds (CGL2008-02799 and CGL2010-11959E).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Universidad de Oriente, Patricio Lumumba s/n, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

    Yusdiel Torres-Cambas

  2. Departamento de Bioloxía Animal, Bioloxía Vexetal e Ecoloxía, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade de A Coruña, Campus Universitario de A Zapateira s/n, 15071, A Coruña, Spain

    Martiño Cabana-Otero

  3. Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK

    M. Olalla Lorenzo-Carballa

  4. ECOEVO Lab, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, EUE Forestal, Campus Universitario A Xunqueira s/n, 36005, Pontevedra, Spain

    M. Olalla Lorenzo-Carballa & Adolfo Cordero-Rivera

Authors
  1. Yusdiel Torres-Cambas
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  2. Martiño Cabana-Otero
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  3. M. Olalla Lorenzo-Carballa
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  4. Adolfo Cordero-Rivera
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Correspondence to Yusdiel Torres-Cambas.

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Torres-Cambas, Y., Cabana-Otero, M., Lorenzo-Carballa, M.O. et al. Conservation status and protection of three Antillean endemic damselflies. J Insect Conserv 20, 277–284 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-016-9862-1

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