ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF DETRITIVOROUS INSECTS: IMPACTS AND CHALLENGES IN CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS

Abstract

Detritivorous insects are an important part of the ecosystem. They aid in the decomposition of organic matter, the recycling of nutrients, and the sustainability of soil fertility. These insects are beetles, termites, springtails, cockroaches, and dipteran larvae, which decompose plant and animal litter into smaller particles, promoting microbial degradation and the nutrient mineralization process. Detritivores also enhance soil aeration and soil water retention through their feeding and burrowing behaviors. Besides that, they have a significant role in detritus-related food webs by transporting energy from dead organic matter to higher trophic levels, including birds, amphibians, reptiles, and predatory arthropods. Nevertheless, the current climate change is a major threat to the existence of detritivore communities and the ecological process. Elevated temperature, changes in precipitation, drought, can influence their metabolic rate, feeding habits, survival, and distribution. These environmental shifts can interfere with the decomposition processes, change the nutrient cycling, and affect the soil health and trophic interactions. Shifts in species distributions and phenology due to climate could also cause a lack of fit between detritivore activity and organic substrate availability and could have a negative impact on ecosystem performance. Although detritivorous insects are ecologically important, they are still under-researched, with much of the research conducted in limited regions and methodological limitations, in addition to problems with predictive ecological modeling. The future research ought to be directed into the areas of long-term ecological monitoring, better taxonomic identification using a molecular tool, and the development of integrative models that would consider various environmental stressors.