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19-12-2024

Dragonflies, an indicator of climate change in National Parks: the LibelulAdapt project explores their adaptability

The project focuses on finding the functional characteristics that make a dragonfly species "favored" or "harmed" by climate change with the aim of anticipating its responses and being able to improve the management and conservation of diversity. 

The network of National Parks offers a natural laboratory to study the adaptation of species to global change. 

Human impact is causing accelerated changes in our environment, from water use to habitat loss and climate change. In this way, it is urgent to understand the capacity of organisms to adapt to new environmental conditions. With this mission, the LibelulAdapt project was born, led by Dr. Cesc Múrria of the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio-UB), with the participation of researchers from various Spanish universities and institutions. 

What is LibelulAdapt? 

LibelulAdapt is a research project that uses dragonflies to study the effects of climate change. Dragonflies are known for their high mobility and thermal sensitivity, which makes them excellent sentinels of environmental change. Recently, due to global warming, a rapid movement of dragonfly species from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula, and species from the peninsula to central and northern Europe, has been observed. But while some species are moving to new regions, others are at risk of extinction due to habitat degradation. For this reason, dragonflies are considered a "barometer" of climate change. 

The project has four main objectives: 

 1) Collect historical data, carry out a current inventory and analyse the distribution of dragonflies in eight parks of the National Parks network to detect temporal changes. 

2) Massively sequence the genetic barcode (DNAbarcode) to determine the dispersion and connectivity of species within and between National Parks, and to be able to classify them between "favored" or "disfavored" by climate change. 

3) Evaluate the adaptability and phenotypic plasticity of "favored" or "disfavored" species using genomic and transcriptomic tools to anticipate responses to future environmental changes.  

4) Apply the results to conservation planning, helping decision-making on the management of national parks in the face of climate change. 

A unique experimental design 


The Iberian National Parks network is the ideal place to carry out this research, thanks to the low pressure of human activities such as pollution or habitat loss, and its extensive ecosystem variability. This environment provides a "natural laboratory" to understand how and why species adapt to environmental changes. 

The LibelulAdapt methodology is innovative and easily applicable to other groups of species such as vertebrates or other insects. Its applicability will allow the incorporation of new management tools in the network of National Parks, increasing the possibilities of biodiversity conservation, especially for endangered species. 

In addition, the project includes the training of park rangers to monitor vulnerable habitats and the creation of educational material to raise public awareness about the vulnerability of dragonflies to global change. 

Scientific participation and collaboration 

The LibelulAdapt project has the collaboration of a diverse team of researchers from different institutions, including Luis Fernando Sánchez Sastre (University of Valladolid), Carmen Díaz Paniagua (Doñana Biological Station - CSIC), Adolfo Cordero Rivera (University of Vigo) and Antonio Torralba Burrial (University of Oviedo). The team is also made up of Cinta Pegueroles (IRBio UB), Xavier Maynou (IRBio UB) and naturalists such as Cecília Díaz and Matías Brotóns from Castilla La Mancha. This multidisciplinary collaboration will provide a comprehensive view of the dragonflies' ability to adapt to new environmental challenges. 

With this project, the researchers hope to provide essential information to understand the responses of species to climate change and help define biodiversity conservation strategies in National Parks.