Higher mobility of butterflies than moths connected to habitat suitability and body size in a release experiment

Abstract

Mobility is a key factor determining lepidopteran species responses to environmental change. However, direct multispecies comparisons of mobility are rare and empirical comparisons between butterflies and moths have not been previously conducted. Here, we compared mobility between butterflies and diurnal moths and studied species traits affecting butterfly mobility. We experimentally marked and released 2011 butterfly and 2367 moth individuals belonging to 32 and 28 species, respectively, in a 25 m × 25 m release area within an 11-ha, 8-year-old set-aside field. Distance moved and emigration rate from the release habitat were recorded by species. The release experiment produced directly comparable mobility data in 18 butterfly and 9 moth species with almost 500 individuals recaptured. Butterflies were found more mobile than geometroid moths in terms of both distance moved (mean 315 m vs. 63 m, respectively) and emigration rate (mean 54% vs. 17%, respectively). Release habitat suitability had a strong effect on emigration rate and distance moved, because butterflies tended to leave the set-aside, if it was not suitable for breeding. In addition, emigration rate and distance moved increased significantly with increasing body size. When phylogenetic relatedness among species was included in the analyses, the significant effect of body size disappeared, but habitat suitability remained significant for distance moved. The higher mobility of butterflies than geometroid moths can largely be explained by morphological differences, as butterflies are more robust fliers. The important role of release habitat suitability in butterfly mobility was expected, but seems not to have been empirically documented before. The observed positive correlation between butterfly size and mobility is in agreement with our previous findings on butterfly colonization speed in a long-term set-aside experiment and recent meta-analyses on butterfly mobility.

Barriers to dispersal of rain forest butterflies in tropical agricultural landscapes

“…, Kuussaari et al . ), but this relationship was not evident in our study, because boundary crossing was dominated by small Satyrinae species. While we included subfamily as a random factor in our models to control for phylogeny, it is likely that phylogenetic relatedness among species within the genus Mycalesis was an important determinant of edge crossing, and edge‐crossing ability may also have been influenced by common traits within this group that we did not consider ( e.g., thermal tolerances, visual abilities suited to high light environments, and ability to feed upon a diverse range of adult food sources).…”

Does movement behaviour predict population densities? A test with 25 butterfly species

“…Our data support the prediction that larger animals should move further distances. This relationship has also been found in other Lepidopteran species (Kuussaari et al 2014), although not consistently across all taxa (Teitelbaum et al 2015). We did not, however, find support for a negative relationship between body size and density.…”

“…This relationship has also been found in other Lepidopteran species (Kuussaari et al . ), although not consistently across all taxa (Teitelbaum et al . ).…”

Differential short-term response of functional groups to a change in forest management in a temperate forest

“…Fungi and plants are less mobile and therefore dependent on the availability of spores and seeds in the soil seed bank or on propagule dispersal (Fenner, 2000;Carlile et al, 2001). Animals, on the other hand, are more mobile and can easily colonize newly developed habitats (Kuussaari et al, 2014), but the success of the colonization might be dependent on the occurrence and/or abundance of other trophic levels (e.g. plants).…”