Urban Aquatic Insects

The increasing growth of urban areas on natural ecosystems has seriously affected wetlands. Aquatic insects, as key components of urban wetlands, are critically impacted by human environmental changes and practices. The main threats are those derived from the lost, replacement, or fragmentation of natural habitats, ecosystem homogenization, and modification of hydrological, sedimentological, and thermal wetlandcharacteristics due to the surrounding urban matrix. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms by which urbanization processes affect biodiversity, and in particular how the biota responds to alteration of their habitats, is crucial for integrating the environment in proper urban planning. In this chapter we analyze the relationships between aquatic insectsand environmental factors, including human influences and threats in urban wetlands. For this purpose, we compiled studies from around the world, especially from the neotropical region, addressing biological patterns and associated environmental processes in urban areas and endeavors. We discerned the main environmental threats and clues for the maintenance of the increase of the insect biodiversity, including the creation of new, man-made, wetlands. In addition, we focus on the importance of insect knowledge as indicators of environmental healthin urban wetlandsand the promotion of the citizen scienceto improve their conservation.