Miller, Jeffrey C. 1993. Insect natural history, multi-species interactions and biodiversity in ecosystems. Biodiversity and Conservation. 2: 233-241.
The composition and dynamics of ecosystems are influenced by insects serving as providers,eliminators and facilitators across multiple trophic levels. The role of insects in ecosystems may bedocumented by manipulative field studies involving exclusion techniques applied to species that aredecomposers, herbivores or predators. The presence or absence of insects is important to thedistribution, abundance and diversity of plants and vertebrates, which typically are the premierspecies in conservation efforts. Thus, policy-making in environmental management programmesshould consider the role of insects in ecosystems when establishing objectives and procedures forspecies conservation and biodiversity.
Keywords: insects; ecosystem; exclusion; environmental management