Biology and conservation of Zerynthia cassandra (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) in semi-natural environments and agricultural landscapes

Ghesini, Silvia; Magagnoli, Serena; Marini, Mario

doi:10.1007/s10841-018-0049-9

Cited by 8 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…As found in previous studies, plants in half and full sun (irradiation 3 and 4) are preferred for oviposition (Vovlas et al 2014;Camerini et al 2018;Ghesini et al 2018), as well as plants in patches close to other patches and plants with more flowers (Ghesini et al 2018).…”

Section: Implication For Conservation In Situsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…This area is part the south facing slope of Mount Capanne (1019 m) and ranges in altitude between 250 and 450 metres a.s.l. As done in previous studies (Ghesini et al 2018), the exact location is not provided to protect the population from collectors, but it can be provided upon request. The vegetation is composed of a mosaic of abandoned pastures, Mediterranean shrubs and pine plantations.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whenever a patch of plant shoots was found, we measured, according to previous studies (Vovlas et al 2014;Ghesini et al 2018), the following parameters of the area of 1 m radius around the plants: i) number of host plants in the patch; ii) percentage of coverage of iia) herbaceous, iib) shrubby and iic) arboreal plants; iii) a variable describing irradiation (from completely shady (1) to fully irradiated (4)); iv) occurrence of other patches in the area of 10 m radius. Moreover, the following parameters of single host plants have been measured on an average of ten randomly chosen plants per patch representative of the size variation: i) number of Z. cassandra eggs laid on the plant; ii) plant height; iii) number of leaves; iv) number of blooming flowers.…”

Section: Field Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The proximity of nearby patches is another pivotal factor determining the preference of oviposition, in fact, due to its sedentary behaviour and the strong dependence on the hostplant (Vovlas et al 2014;Curtis et al 2015;Camerini et al 2018;Ghesini et al 2018), Z.…”

Section: Implication For Conservation In Situmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ghesini et al 2018) the Elba population showed a significant host plant selection for egg-laying. The features of individual plants (number of flowers) and of their microenvironmental conditions (irradiation) together with the quantity of host plant resources in the surroundings (presence of other patches) largely explained the quantity of eggs occurring on individual plants.…”

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confidence: 96%

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Host plant selection and differential survival on two Aristolochia L. species in an insular population of Zerynthia cassandra

et al. 2018

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Understanding host plant preference and the relative quality of resource provided by cooccurring host plants is a key step to predict butterfly species abundance and responses to environmental changes, and, consequently, to plan management measures. Zerynthia cassandra is an Italian endemic species strongly dependent on the availability of its host plants, Aristolochia rotunda and A. lutea. The insular population occurring on Elba island (Tuscan Archipelago) is highly threatened, because of limited host plant distribution, small population size and apparent lack of gene flow with the mainland. In 2017, we carried out field surveys and rearing experiments to i) identify the characteristics of the host plants (vegetative status) and the site characteristics (aspect, irradiation, distance from other patches) correlated with the number of eggs occurring on individual plants, ii) compare larval growth, food-conversions rate and larval and adult survivorship on the two host plants species. Egg occurrence depends on patch irradiation, the number of leaves and flowers occurring on individual plants and the occurrence of nearby patches. These findings allowed to identify the optimal Aristolochia patch features for egg laying and development.Laboratory rearing success was higher than 50% and although plant species did not show a significant effect on oviposition, we found that larval and adult survival was higher on A. rotunda. Our results suggest habitat management aimed at increasing resource availability for Z. cassandra and possible ex-situ conservation actions aimed at recovering the population in case of potential catastrophic events.

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Section: Implication For Conservation In Situsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Field Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implication For Conservation In Situmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 96%

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Host plant selection and differential survival on two Aristolochia L. species in an insular population of Zerynthia cassandra

et al. 2018

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Beauty and the beast: multiple effects of wild boar rooting on butterfly microhabitat

Labadessa

Ancillotto

2023

Biodivers Conserv

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Wild boar is among the most abundant ungulates in Europe and its spread is locally creating concerns as a major threat to biodiversity. However, through their rooting activity, wild boars could play an effective role in the creation of specific microhabitat resources for plants and animals. Here, we tested the hypothesis that wild boar affects the habitat suitability to threatened butterflies, by evaluating the influence of rooting on multiple key aspects of the biology and ecology of the Mediterranean endemic Zerynthia cassandra. Namely, we used Z. cassandra as a model to test the effects of wild boar rooting on adult foraging opportunities, host plant occurrence, and oviposition site selection. We found that herbaceous communities disturbed by wild boar rooting have a higher proportion of plants representing nectar resources for early-flying butterflies. We also discovered that wild boar rooting positively influences the occurrence and abundance of the larval host plant of Z. cassandra, as well as the butterfly site selection for egg-laying. Our results indicate that wild boars may locally prove beneficial to endangered butterflies by favoring habitat quality and availability, and their role as ecosystem engineers should thus be further investigated to improve species and habitat management and conservation actions.

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A matter of connection: the importance of habitat networks for endangered butterflies in anthropogenic landscapes

Ancillotto,

Mosconi,

Labadessa

2024

Urban Ecosyst

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Cities are expanding at fast rates across the world, representing one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss due to habitat replacement. Nonetheless, urban and peri-urban areas often feature green spaces that may offer opportunities to wildlife and even represent safe havens for endangered species. Nonetheless, the key drivers that shape wildlife responses to urban landscapes, and in turn their ability to persist within cities, are far from being fully understood. Here we focus on an ecologically specialized butterfly, the endemic Italian festoon Zerynthia cassandra, as a model to assess how endangered species may survive in highly modified urban landscapes. The relatively low mobility and high host plant specialization make Z. cassandra an excellent target for studies in urban ecology, as they make the species able to exploit small suitable patches while at the same time potentially sensitive to habitat fragmentation and loss due to urbanization and land reclamation. We thus first document the relatively widespread occurrence of potentially suitable sites within two highly modified landscapes of central and southern Italy, with 25 and 35% of sites actually occupied by Z. cassandra. By modeling the probability of butterfly occurrence as a function of environmental characteristics, we found that Z. cassandra is strongly influenced by functional connectivity among suitable sites in urban landscapes, as well as by the abundance of Aristolochia host plants, and by the availability of profitable land cover classes in the immediate surroundings of potential oviposition sites. Our results indicate not only that networks of urban and peri-urban green spaces may host populations of protected and endangered species, but that management should also focus on the urban matrix in order to provide connecting corridors, as key assets to guarantee species persistence in cities.

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Biology and conservation of Zerynthia cassandra (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) in semi-natural environments and agricultural landscapes

Cited by 8 publications

References 20 publications

Host plant selection and differential survival on two Aristolochia L. species in an insular population of Zerynthia cassandra

Host plant selection and differential survival on two Aristolochia L. species in an insular population of Zerynthia cassandra

Beauty and the beast: multiple effects of wild boar rooting on butterfly microhabitat

A matter of connection: the importance of habitat networks for endangered butterflies in anthropogenic landscapes

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