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A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects
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Latitude shapes diel patterns in insect biodiversity.

Mark K L Wong1

  • 1School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.

Biology Letters
|April 29, 2025
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Summary

Insect communities show fewer nocturnal species and more cathemeral (active day and night) species at higher latitudes. This global pattern in diel activity partitioning has implications for understanding insect declines.

Keywords:
biodiversitycathemeralcommunitydiurnalglobalnocturnal

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Biogeography
  • Zoology

Background:

  • Historical naturalists noted differences in diurnal and nocturnal species between tropical and temperate zones.
  • Ecologists are now systematically exploring global geographic variations in diel (daily) activity patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the geographic variation in diel activity patterns of insect communities globally.
  • To determine how the proportion of nocturnal, diurnal, and cathemeral species changes with latitude.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 60 insect communities across global latitudes.
  • Quantification of the proportion of species active at different times of day (nocturnal, diurnal, cathemeral).

Main Results:

  • The proportion of nocturnal insect species declines from 36% at the equator to 8% at 60° latitude.
  • The proportion of diurnal species shows no significant latitudinal trend.
  • The proportion of cathemeral species increases from 18% at the equator to 68% at 60° latitude.

Conclusions:

  • Latitudinal gradients significantly shape the partitioning of diel activity time in insect communities.
  • Observed trends in insect diel activity broadly mirror patterns in vertebrate species occupying different temporal niches.
  • Understanding the mechanisms behind these patterns is crucial for addressing insect declines.