Lepidoptera Papilionoidea communities as a sentinel of biodiversity threat: the case of wild boar rooting in a Mediterranean habitat

Scandurra, Anna; Magliozzi, Laura; Fulgione, Domenico; Aria, Massimo; D’Aniello, Biagio

doi:10.1007/s10841-016-9863-0

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…We conclude that monophagous and endangered butter y species are more sensitive to cattle grazing than the oligophagous and polyphagous species are (Tables 4, 7). Similar ndings have been reported from Morocco (Thomas and Mallorie 1985), Greece (Grill and Cleary 2003), and Italy (Scandurra et al 2016). This may be the result of big mammals' in uence on the vegetation, which increases evenness (less available ecological niches) and mainly damages the more specialist and sensitive butter y species.…”

Section: Abundance Of the Batha-a Liated Speciessupporting

confidence: 83%

Grazing Effects on Day Butterflies in a Mediterranean Woodland Ecosystem in Northern Israel

Ish¹,

Oron²

2020

Preprint

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The effects of cattle grazing on biodiversity in Mediterranean woodlands are yet unknown. To assess these effects on diurnal butterflies, we conducted daytime surveys in the Mt. Meron nature reserve (northern Israel) in two habitats over two different years. In each habitat we chose one site that was grazed by cattle and, as a control, a similar but ungrazed site. Belt transects (5m wide), divided for 100m replications, were surveyed five times on ridges in 2015 (11 replications, 538 butterflies, 25 species), and nine times in valleys in 2016 (12 replications, 3,944 butterflies, 38 species). In both habitats, species similarity index between sites was high. Richness was higher in the ridge control and evenness was higher in the valley grazed site. In both habitats total abundance was ca. twofold higher in the control, and the abundance of woody affiliated butterflies was threefold higher in the control, probably due to overgrazing, which affects butterflies’ breeding niches. For batha polyphagous and oligophagous butterfly species, abundance was similar between the sites, and for a few of those, associated with increaser plants, it was even higher in the grazed sites. However, the batha monophagous species were significantly more abundant in the control. Monophagous and endangered species were found to be more sensitive to cattle grazing. We conclude that the current cattle grazing management in Mt. Meron reserve affects butterfly populations negatively. Therefore, we recommend more regulated grazing and early-season deferment precautions, along with designation of no-grazing areas in reserves.

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Section: Abundance Of the Batha-a Liated Speciessupporting

confidence: 83%

Grazing Effects on Day Butterflies in a Mediterranean Woodland Ecosystem in Northern Israel

Ish¹,

Oron²

2020

Preprint

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“…Sometimes, uncontrolled feral populations can have negative impacts both on indigenous wild and domestic fauna and plants (Abe, 2021; Eldridge et al, 2020; Mihailou & Massaro, 2021; Scandurra et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population genomic, olfactory, dietary, and gut microbiota analyses demonstrate the unique evolutionary trajectory of feral pigs

et al. 2021

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Domestication is an intriguing evolutionary process. Many domestic populations are subjected to strong human‐mediated selection, and when some individuals return to the wild, they are again subjected to selective forces associated with new environments. Generally, these feral populations evolve into something different from their wild predecessors and their members typically possess a combination of both wild and human selected traits. Feralisation can manifest in different forms on a spectrum from a wild to a domestic phenotype. This depends on how the rewilded domesticated populations can readapt to natural environments based on how much potential and flexibility the ancestral genome retains after its domestication signature. Whether feralisation leads to the evolution of new traits that do not exist in the wild or to convergence with wild forms, however, remains unclear. To address this question, we performed population genomic, olfactory, dietary, and gut microbiota analyses on different populations of Sus scrofa (wild boar, hybrid, feral and several domestic pig breeds). Porcine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) analysis shows that the feral population represents a cluster distinctly separate from all others. Its members display signatures of past artificial selection, as demonstrated by values of FST in specific regions of the genome and bottleneck signature, such as the number and length of runs of homozygosity. Generalised FST values, reacquired olfactory abilities, diet, and gut microbiota variation show current responses to natural selection. Our results suggest that feral pigs are an independent evolutionary unit which can persist so long as levels of human intervention remain unchanged.

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“…Surveys of Lepidoptera Rhopalocera were conducted in all plots through one transect located in the centroid of each plot, according to methods proposed by Pollard and Yates (1993) and Scandurra et al . (2016). We selected Lepidoptera Rhopalocera because it is a small group of species that is easily recognisable in the field and because the sampling is easy to replicate (Thomas et al ., 2004; Thomas, 2005; Pe'er et al ., 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming system and soil management affect butterfly diversity in sloping olive groves

Sánchez‐Fernández

Vílchez‐Vivanco

Reyes

et al. 2020

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Olive groves on steep slopes with a low yield account for 29.6% of the total olive growing area in Andalusia, Spain. This type of olive grove is at high risk of abandonment. Thus, apart from their productive function, we should also take into consideration the ecosystem services that they provide. The diversity of Lepidoptera Rhopalocera was studied in sloping olive groves under conventional, organic, and abandoned farming systems. Line‐transect methods were used to survey butterflies in different olive grove treatments, which were defined by a combination of farming systems and soil management systems. The greatest diversity of Lepidoptera Rhopalocera was observed in organic and abandoned olive groves with cover crops. Mechanical soil tillage was found to have a negative effect in conventional and organic tillage treatments. From this viewpoint, although abandonment has economic repercussions, it does not lead to a loss of biodiversity. The environmental variables with the greatest influence are landscape complexity and the presence of areas of shrubland. The species Pyronia bathseba appears to be strongly associated with long‐abandoned olive groves. The results of this study confirm that the presence of sloping olive groves with cover crops and long‐abandoned groves set in heterogeneous landscapes and with areas of shrubland nearby, help to explain the distribution of Lepidoptera Rhopalocera communities, as well as fostering their richness and abundance.

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Lepidoptera Papilionoidea communities as a sentinel of biodiversity threat: the case of wild boar rooting in a Mediterranean habitat

Cited by 17 publications

References 80 publications

Grazing Effects on Day Butterflies in a Mediterranean Woodland Ecosystem in Northern Israel

Grazing Effects on Day Butterflies in a Mediterranean Woodland Ecosystem in Northern Israel

Population genomic, olfactory, dietary, and gut microbiota analyses demonstrate the unique evolutionary trajectory of feral pigs

Farming system and soil management affect butterfly diversity in sloping olive groves

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