Iowa's Odonata: Declining and/or Changing?

Authors

Robert W. Cruden, University of IowaFollow
O. J. Gode Jr., University of Iowa

Document Type

Research

Keywords

Odonata, dragonflies, damselflies

Abstract

We undertook a comprehensive survey of the Order Odonata in Iowa. Because the credibility of our conclusions derives from our collecting strategy and effort, we discuss our strategy in depth. We collected throughout the state (more than 500 sites in 94 counties), throughout the flight season (late May-early October), and tried to visit several habitats in each county. Our 7900+ observations made between 1993 and 1996 include approximately 2300 county records, 93 of the 110 species reported for the state, and eight species previously unknown from the state. At least 30 species are secure and occur across the state. Other species are secure within their distributional ranges. A disproportionate number of species (26/41) that reach the edge of their distributional range in Iowa are imperiled. Other factors, e.g., habitat loss, contribute to being imperiled. The 15 species reported for the state that we did not collect must either be extremely rare, extirpated, or never occurred in the state.

Publication Date

June 1998

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

105

Issue

2

First Page

67

Last Page

81

Copyright

© Copyright 1998 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Cruden, Robert W. and Gode, O. J. Jr. (1998) "Iowa's Odonata: Declining and/or Changing?," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS, 105(2), 67-81.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol105/iss2/8