Editing Damselfly (section)

==Conservation==
Conservation of Odonata has usually concentrated on the more iconic suborder Anisoptera, the dragonflies. However, the two suborders largely have the same needs, and what is good for dragonflies is also good for damselflies. The main threats experienced by odonates are the clearance of forests, the pollution of waterways, the lowering of groundwater levels, the damming of rivers for [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric schemes]] and the general degradation of wetlands and marshes.<ref name=Moore>{{cite web |url=https://testportals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/1997-042.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412200713/https://testportals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/1997-042.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 April 2016 |title=Dragonflies: status survey and conservation action plan |author=Moore, N.W. |year=1997 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature |access-date=17 March 2015 }}</ref> The clearance of tropical rainforests is of importance because the rate of erosion increases, streams and pools dry up and waterways become clogged with silt. The presence of alien species can also have [[unintended consequences]].<ref name=Moore/> In Hawaii, the introduction of the [[mosquitofish]] (''Gambusia affinis'') was effective in controlling mosquitoes but nearly exterminated the island's endemic damselflies.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Gagné, W.C. |year=1981 |title=Status of Hawaii endangered species: insects and land snails |journal=ʻElepaio  |volume=42 |pages=31–36 }}</ref> The ancient greenling ''[[Hemiphlebia mirabilis]]'' has been an important flagship species for conservation action in preserving its habitat in Australia.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Victorian Naturalist|volume=124|issue=4|pages= 269–272 |url=http://arrow.latrobe.edu.au:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/latrobe:24665|title=The Hemiphlebia damselfly Hemiphlebia mirabilis Selys (Odonata, Zygoptera) as a flagship species for aquatic insect conservation in south-eastern Australia|author= New, Timothy Richard}}</ref>