Butterfly community structure and landscape composition in agricultural landscapes of the central United States

Meehan, Timothy D.; Glassberg, Jeffrey; Gratton, Claudio

doi:10.1007/s10841-012-9523-y

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Many studies have recorded higher diversity of butterflies in agroecosystems, e.g. in USA (Meehan et al 2012), Vietnam (Lien & Yuan 2003), Costa Rica (HornerDevine et al 2003) and Japan (Kitahara 2004;Kitahara et al 2008). Butterfly community is significantly affected by habitat loss and modification, and anthropogenic disturbances (Perfecto et al 2003;Bobo et al 2006;Posa & Sodhi 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<b>Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India</b>

et al. 2018

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Understanding wild biodiversity of agroecosystems and other human dominated landscapes are crucial for the management and conservation of biological resources. Here, we studied the diversity, abundance, similarity and functionality of butterflies in different human modified ecosystems in southern Sikkim, the Eastern Himalaya. The study was conducted from January 2015 to May 2015 by covering three habitat types namely, farm-based agroforestry, large cardamom-based agroforestry and adjacent natural forest ecosystem. We followed point count method along the transect to collect data on butterflies in the study area. A total of 911 individual butterflies representing six families and 44 species were recorded during the present study in southern Sikkim. Species richness and abundances of butterflies were significantly different among the systems. While diversity and abundance were higher in forest patches, each system harbored unique species assemblages with low similarity between habitats. The information on larval host plants were available for 41 butterfly species which depended on 128 plant species belonging to 27 families. The butterfly community was dominated by oligophagous II (19 species) followed by polyphagous (11 species), monophagous (8 species) and oligophagous I (3 species). Similarly, generalist feeders had higher species and abundance compared to specialist feeders. Specialist species were confined to forest habitat, whereas generalist species were mostly restricted to cultivated systems. The findings of the study highlighted the need for conservation of traditionally managed agroecosystems in order to conserve butterflies and other associated biodiversity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<b>Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India</b>

et al. 2018

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“…Kitahara and Fujii 1994;Dennis and Hardy 2001;Di Mauro et al 2007;Meehan et al 2013;Restrepo and Halffter 2013) and butterfly abundance (Blair and Launer 1997). The number of specialist species is reported to decline from the more semi-natural areas outside urban areas to city centres (Kitahara and Fujii 1994;Clark et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundances and movement of the Scarce Copper butterfly (Lycaena virgaureae) on future building sites at a settlement fringe in southern Sweden

Haaland

2014

J Insect Conserv

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The Scarce Copper (Lycaena virgaureae) is a species that has suffered serious decline in several European countries. In Scandinavia it is still comparatively abundant, but with ongoing losses of flower-rich grasslands near forests further decline is expected. A mark-releaserecapture study was carried out in July 2013 at 14 sites on the outskirts of a village located near Malmö, Sweden. The study area comprised in total an 11.4 ha network of abandoned agricultural sites, road verges and forest edges. A private garden was also included. Butterflies were marked individually and the capture position was recorded by GPS. Sex, behaviour and flower visits were also recorded. During the study 852 butterflies were marked and 170 of these were recaptured at least once (recapture rate 20 %), resulting in 1,078 captures (including multiple recaptures). Movement between patches accounted for 41 % of all recaptures and mean distance between recaptures was 112 ± 146 m (n = 226). The number of captures was strongly positively correlated with patch size (q = 0.95, p \ 0.05), while the emigrant and immigrant fractions were significantly negatively correlated with patch size. Overall, the Scarce Copper was surprisingly abundant in the area, but planned construction of residential areas will result in the loss of most habitat patches.

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“…Although count results are relatively informal, they have been cross-validated to other data sources (e.g., Swengel 1995;Walton and Brower 1996;Vandenbosch 2007). As a result, count results can be scientifically useful for a variety of biogeographical topics (e.g., Koenig 2006;Ries and Mullen 2008;Meehan et al 2013).…”

Section: Th Of July Butterfly Countsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies have documented greater declines for localized butterflies in smaller and more isolated habitat patches, with benefit from nearer, larger, and/or more connected habitat patches (e.g., Swengel and Swengel 1999;CD Thomas et al 2002;Hanski and Pöyry 2007;Severns 2008c). Analyses of midwestern 4JCs show that increasing amounts of natural and semi-natural habitat greatly enhance the butterfly faunas, especially of rare species, relative to urbanized and intensively farmed areas (Meehan et al 2013).…”

Section: Expected Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grass-skipper (Hesperiinae) trends in midwestern USA grasslands during 1988–2013

Swengel¹,

Swengel²

2015

J Insect Conserv

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We surveyed butterflies in prairies, pine-oak barrens, and degraded grasslands during 1988-2013 in southern Wisconsin, USA. In prairie preserves (primarily managed with frequent fire), both specialist and non-specialist ''grassland'' grass-skippers declined strongly. Specialists inhabiting the native herbaceous flora of pine-oak barrens that had little management but relatively consistent vegetation over time had large fluctuations but more stable trends. Grassland grass-skippers showed similar more stable trends in barrens and degraded fields with relatively consistent vegetation over time. Significant population trends did not relate clearly to how southerly the species' ranges are. Specialist and grassland grass-skipper persistence after prairie preservation correlated negatively with both number of years since preservation and prairie patch size. We also analyzed grass-skipper abundance during 1977-2012 in midwestern 4th of July Butterfly Counts, an annual volunteer butterfly census. Specialists declined significantly but grassland as well as forest and wetland grass-skippers averaged a non-trend. We hypothesize that the reasons why fire management is adverse are because of direct mortality and also the thick tall grass regrowth, which may be unsuitable for larvae to use. It appears urgent to identify and implement management strategies in prairie preserves that consistently maintain grassland vegetation as required by grass-skippers in ways the grass-skippers themselves tolerate.

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Butterfly community structure and landscape composition in agricultural landscapes of the central United States

Cited by 21 publications

References 44 publications

<b>Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India</b>

<b>Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India</b>

Abundances and movement of the Scarce Copper butterfly (Lycaena virgaureae) on future building sites at a settlement fringe in southern Sweden

Grass-skipper (Hesperiinae) trends in midwestern USA grasslands during 1988–2013

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