A highly endangered species on the edge: distribution, habitat use and outlook for Colias myrmidone in newly established Natura 2000 areas in Romania

Loos, Jacqueline; Vizauer, Tibor-Csaba; Kastal, Agnes; Davies, Martin; Hedrich, Hans J.; Dolek, Matthias

doi:10.1007/s10668-018-0297-6

Cited by 7 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…C. myrmidone lives in calcareous grasslands, but prefers the vicinity to woodlands (Settele et al 2009a, b). Besides natural grasslands, pastures and non-irrigated arable land, the butterfly also occurs in transitional woodland scrub (Loos et al 2020). The species lives in traditionally managed cultural landscapes that contain a mosaic of meadows, pastures, orchards, open forests and woodland margins (Marhoul and Dolek 2012).…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The species lives in traditionally managed cultural landscapes that contain a mosaic of meadows, pastures, orchards, open forests and woodland margins (Marhoul and Dolek 2012). It can cope with early successional stages, but further succession makes its habitats unsuitable (Loos et al 2020). It is expected to have a low adaptive capacity, especially in terms of climate change (Sajwaj et al 2011).…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The site belongs to Cluj county and is located near the village Agârbiciu (ROSCI0274 Agârbiciu N 46°45′36.91″; E23°16′25.22″) and covers a total area of 2.40 km 2 (Loos et al 2020). Loos et al (2020) analysed three newly established Natura 2000 sites designated for C. myrmidone in 2016 in Romania, including this study site. They found that the majority of parcels within these areas were used for grazing, and for haymaking.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Romania is one of the last strongholds of C. myrmidone (Loos et al 2020). The species was probably widespread in large parts of the country but even there populations are decreasing dramatically (Marhoul andDolek 2012, Iorgu et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Romania, an increasingly high grazing pressure is supposed to be the most important driver for the decline of C. myrmidone (Sielezniew et al 2019). To ensure the survival of C. myrmidone and because of its obligations as a member state of the EU, Romania designated several Natura 2000 sites for the conservation of C. myrmidone (Loos et al 2020). Knowledge on population ecology and habitat use of C. myrmidone, however, is still very limited (Szentirmai et al 2014;Marhoul and Dolek 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preserving Colias myrmidone in European cultural landscapes: requirements for the successful development from egg to higher larval stages at a Natura 2000 site in Romania

Nippen

Dolek²,

Loos

2021

J Insect Conserv

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The endangered and declining butterfly species Colias myrmidone is sensitive to land-use changes and vulnerable in its immature stages. The requirements for its larval habitats are still largely unknown, which hinders appropriate management in protected areas. We examined the relation between the larval development of C. myrmidone and environmental variables at a Natura 2000 site in Romania. Individuals that reached higher larval stages had a higher cover of litter as well as a lower cover of forbs around their host plants than individuals that died in early larval stages or as eggs. Surviving individuals had less other host plants in their surrounding and were found on larger host plants. Surviving individuals were found further away from the tip of their hosts than individuals that were lost due to grazing. The grazing regime is of particular importance to ensure the successful development of C. myrmidone from egg to higher larval stages. There seems to be a trade-off between positions at the tip of the shoot with palatable leaves and positions further down that protect against grazing. Especially sheep grazing may cause high direct mortality. The higher amount of litter around surviving larvae indicates a better survival when the grazing pressure is very low, but still present to keep the habitat open. However, occasional heavy grazing events may reduce the cover of forbs. Implications for insect conservation The designation of the investigated Natura 2000 site offers a great opportunity to implement the insights on larval development of C. myrmidone into a management plan, which can support low-intensity grazing regimes preferably with cattle.

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Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%