In 2025, a research project is being conducted to investigate the occurrence of so-called ecological traps in post-industrial landscapes of two major coal mining regions in the Czech Republic – Sokolov and Karviná regions. The model organisms are dragonflies of the genus Sympetrum, common but ecologically sensitive insects associated with standing water bodies. As part of a manipulative field experiment, we focus on two key questions:
1. Do adults prefer water bodies created through reclamation as breeding sites, or do they rather select natural habitats?
2. Does habitat type affect larval survival and physiological condition?
The aim is to determine whether some reclaimed water bodies may function as ecological traps – habitats that are attractive to adults but unsuitable for successful offspring development.
Supported by the project: Maladaptive behavior and species turnover as a key to understanding the vulnerability of freshwater communities to rapid environmental changes.
