marianna p

Abstract Urbanization constitutes a major threat to biodiversity. Understanding its effects on insect communities is relevant because they are key elements of trophic interactions, and indicators and targets of conservation. Herein, we investigated the influence of meteorological and habitat factors on the soil entomofauna in three areas with distinct levels of urbanization at the Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, Brazil.

1. Introduction Insects are among the most predominant invasive species in the animal kingdom (Liebhold et al., 2016). Once established in non-native habitats, populations can become difficult to contain and/or manage, leading to economic, ecological, and human-health impacts (Bradshaw et al., 2016; Liebhold et al., 2016; McLaughlin and Dearden, 2019). Thus, as the first step to preventing large-scale economic and environmental damage, it is crucial to understand the factors affecting invasions.