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SUMMARY:Tropical insects in the Anthropocene
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260924T161500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260924T171500
DTSTAMP:20260806T015622Z
UID:24b07dfd-c381-f111-ab0f-7c1e52033aa9
CREATED:20260717T094341Z
DESCRIPTION:Tropical forests have the highest productivity and biodiversit
 y of any terrestrial system. Insects make up a large proportion of that di
 versity and carry out essential ecological processes such as pollination a
 nd nutrient cycling. In our work at the Biodiversity and Environmental Cha
 nge lab at the University of Hong Kong\, we have applied a range of tools 
 including experimental manipulations\, stable isotope analysis and long-te
 rm resampling efforts to better understand the functional roles of tropica
 l rainforest insects\, as well as how they are responding to a range of co
 mpounding anthropogenic stressors including deforestation and climate chan
 ge.\n\nTropical soil fauna\, such as termites and earthworms are essential
  for soil function\, shaping nutrient availably and productivity through t
 heir decomposition and soil bioturbation processes\, however a temperate b
 ias in our understanding means they are often seen as only facilitators of
  microbial decomposition. We developed novel mesocosm methods to quantify 
 decomposition carried out by soil fauna and microbes and the consequences 
 for plant nutrient uptake. We found that in the presence of soil fauna\, p
 lant 15N uptake is 60% higher\, with major differences in nutrient pathway
 s for disturbed\, primary\, tropical and temperate forests. These results 
 highlight the essential roles of insects in ecosystem function and resilie
 nce\, however\, the ways in which insects and their processes are shifting
  in response to global change remain poorly understood.\n\nReports of inse
 ct declines have been widely reported\, with most evidence from heavily mo
 dified temperate landscapes. Some reports are emerging that tropical insec
 ts are also in decline\, even in habitats that are not undergoing habitat 
 transformation. However\, due to a lack of long-term monitoring data of in
 sects in tropical regions\, we have a very poor understanding of how insec
 ts are changing through time. We have been locating and assessing pan-trop
 ical data sets while continuing to re-sample insect diversity across prist
 ine tropical Asian and Australian rainforests to disentangle the effects o
 f climate change from other drivers. Analysis of existing data show that f
 ive major invertebrate groups – spiders\, termites and cockroaches\, bee
 tles\, true bugs\, moths and butterflies\, appear to be in long-term El Ni
 ño- associated declines\, with correlated changes to herbivory and decomp
 osition processes. Our own resampling efforts across an elevational gradie
 nt show moths\, ants\, dung beetles and plants are contracting towards mid
 -elevations\, shaped by increasingly extreme microclimates. These results 
 indicate that even in primary tropical forests\, insects are in trouble\, 
 with wide-scale implications for the future of functioning of tropical eco
 systems.\n\nBiography\nDr. Louise Ashton is an Associate Professor and tro
 pical rainforest ecologist at The University of Hong Kong\, where she lead
 s the Biodiversity and Environmental Change Lab. Her research investigates
  how global threats—including climate change\, habitat loss\, drought\, 
 and pesticide use—impact insect biodiversity\, food webs\, and critical 
 ecosystem functions. By leading international\, field-based projects acros
 s Malaysia\, Thailand\, Australia\, and China\, Dr. Ashton combines biodiv
 ersity monitoring with field-based manipulation experiments to inform cons
 ervation and restoration efforts to protect tropical biomes
LAST-MODIFIED:20260717T095600Z
LOCATION:School of Geography and the Environment\, 9 S Parks Rd   Oxford  
 OX1 3QY
SPEAKER:Dr. Louise Ashton (The University of Hong Kong\,)
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