Sleeping accommodations for researchers increase the likelihood of biodiversity inventories in protected areas

Biodiversity assessments are important for successful conservation initiatives. However, many protected areas (PAs) still have no biodiversity inventories of important species‐rich taxa, such as invertebrates, that deliver important ecosystem services (e.g., pollination, nutrient cycling) or are biological indicators. Here, we investigated if the likelihood of having arthropod inventories in PAs (state parks) was influenced by PA size, date of PA creation, distance to the nearest university, main vegetation type (forest/savanna), and availability of accommodations for researchers by inspecting management plans from 61 PAs in southeastern Brazil. Only 13 PAs (22%) had arthropod inventories considered in park management plans. The availability of accommodations for researchers was the only variable influencing the likelihood of a PA to have arthropod inventories. A modest investment (around US$35,000 in Brazil) is required to make accommodations available for researchers in a PA and may positively impact information acquisition that is key to planning and protecting biodiversity. Biodiversity assessments are needed to better understand insect declines worldwide. Arthropod inventories are more likely if accommodations are available in Protected Areas. Providing accommodations for researchers may increase the likelihood of biodiversity assessments. Successful conservation initiatives usually require previous information available owing to basic biological data acquisition, such as those obtained by biodiversity inventories. However, many areas of the world are still undersampled for many taxa, including Protected Areas (PAs). We tested the influence of several variables (distance from the closest University and city, PA size, main vegetation type, date of PA creation, and availability of accommodations) in the likelihood of arthropod inventories in 61 PAs from southeastern Brazil. Only the availability of accommodations affected positively the chance of a PA to have an inventory of arthropods. Our model suggests that providing simple accommodations for researchers may increase the chances of biodiversity assessments. Funds to make accommodations available may come from taxes, donations, and support from private companies affected by arthropod‐delivered services/disservices. If costs to build and maintain accommodations are out of reach, options such as trailer/motorhome rentals may be considered. Since arthropods can be used as proxy indicators of habitat qual