Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Despite comprising the bulk of terrestrial biodiversity, we know surprisingly little about insect faunas, particularly in the tropics. Here, we characterize the insect fauna of Madagascar, a global biodiversity hotspot, based on extensive DNA metabarcoding of Malaise trap and leaf litter samples. We estimate that the fauna comprises at least 250,000 species, only 5% of which are currently recorded. The ecological and taxonomic composition is surprisingly similar to that of temperate forests. We show that this is likely caused by global homeostatic forces shaping net diversification rates after colonization of Madagascar rather than by the composition of colonizing lineages. Features differing from temperate forests include the dearth of parasitoids and richness of beetles. Understanding the forces shaping these patterns is key in sustainable management of tropical insect faunas.
Authors: Fredrik Ronquist, Elzbieta Iwaszkiewicz-Eggebrecht, Laura Jacoba Adriana van Dijk, Robert Goodsell, Bruno C Bellini, Gavin Broad, Nerivania N Godeiro, Emma Granqvist, Tilia Haeggstroem, John Heraty, Seraina Klopfstein, Greg P A Lamarre, Fabian A Lundell, John Sundh, Claudia C Weber, Dimby Raharinjanahary, Eric T Rajoelison, Johannes Bergsten, Brian L Fisher, Anders Anders Andersson, Piotr Lukasik, Andreia Miraldo, Tomas Roslin, Ayco J. M. Tack
Institutions: Swedish Museum of Natural History, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natural History Museum, University of California, Riverside, Natural History Museum of Basel, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Science for Life Laboratory, California Academy of Sciences, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Jagiellonian University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Stockholm University
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225406977