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Synopsis The evolution of flight in an early winged insect ancestral lineage is recognized as a key adaptation explaining the unparalleled success and diversification of insects. Subsequent transitions and modifications to flight machinery, including secondary reductions and losses, also play a central role in shaping the impacts of insects on broadscale geographic and ecological processes and patterns in the present and future. Given the importance of insect flight, there has been a centuries-long history of research and debate on the evolutionary origins and biological mechanisms of flight. Here, we revisit this history from an interdisciplinary perspective, discussing recent discoveries regarding the developmental origins, physiology, biomechanics, and neurobiology and sensory control of flight in a diverse set of insect models. We also identify major outstanding questions yet to be addressed and provide recommendations for overcoming current methodological challenges faced when studying insect flight, which will allow the field to continue to move forward in new and exciting directions. By integrating mechanistic work into ecological and evolutionary contexts, we hope that this synthesis promotes and stimulates new interdisciplinary research efforts necessary to close the many existing gaps about the causes and consequences of insect flight evolution.
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Meta-synthesis reveals interconnections among apparent drivers of insect biodiversity loss
Abstract Scientific and public interest in the global status of insects has surged recently; however, understanding the relative importance of different stressors and their interconnections remains a crucial problem. We use a meta-synthetic approach to integrate recent hypotheses about insect stressors and responses into a network containing 3385 edges and 108 nodes. The network is highly interconnected, with agricultural intensification most often identified as a root cause. Habitat-related variables are highly connected and appear to be underdiscussed relative to other stressors. We also identify biases and gaps in the recent literature, especially those generated from a focus on economically important and other popular insects, especially pollinators, at the expense of non-pollinating and less charismatic insects. In addition to serving as a case study for how meta-synthesis can map a conceptual landscape, our results identify many important gaps where future meta-analyses will offer critical insights into understanding and mitigating insect biodiversity loss.
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- PAR ID:
- 10584321
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- BioScience
- ISSN:
- 0006-3568
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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