Population demography of alpine butterflies: Boloria pales and Boloria napaea (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and their specific adaptations to high mountain environments

Ehl, Stefan; Ebertshäuser, Marlene; Gros, Patrick; Schmitt, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2017.09.009

Cited by 7 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…In our study, protandry was observed in the surveyed Southern Carpathians B. pales population, but only a comparably small number of males emerged prior to the females (Fig. 1a), as also observed in the High Tauern National Park in the eastern Alps [39]. Nevertheless, a sufficient number of males was present at the beginning of the females’ emergence so that both sexes can benefit from the known advantages of protandry [28–30].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…This “soft” protandry in the Bucegi B. pales population was combined with a month-long phase of mostly constant age structure (Fig. 2), a phenomenon also observed in an eastern Alpine population of the species [39]. This phase of constant age structure was due to an extended emergence period (reflected in the Net Birth rates and the rate of proportional recruitment) resulting in a relatively low average wing damage over time if compared to other butterfly species with mostly simultaneous emergence and hence continuously ageing population structures over the entire observed flight period [34, 37, 54, 86–88].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…5a and b) of B. pales are fully in line with comparable observations made on other mountain butterfly species. Especially the males on the grazed sector showed long movements and consequently a high potential for long-distance dispersal (Table 5) if compared to males of other alpine butterfly species [39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We further analyse whether emergence is restricted to a short time window as in many univoltine lowland butterfly species [33–38], or is extended over a longer period to spread the risk of encountering highly unfavourable conditions caused by the unpredictable weather in high mountain ecosystems. The latter response is known for populations of this [39] and other species [40] assayed in the Alps.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…We selected one of the largest metapopulations known in Romania, in the Bucegi Mountains, a plateau-like region traditionally used as high-altitude sheep pasture, where grazing pressure has strongly increased during the past few decades. These data in combination with results obtained from the eastern Alps [39] allow the analysis of the adaptation of this species to high mountain conditions, the assessment of the different behavioural traits of both sexes and a better understanding of their needs, as well as deepening our understanding of the consequences of the increasing human impact in some parts of the European high mountain regions. We conclude with some general conclusions for nature conservation in high mountain ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dispersal and adaptation strategies of the high mountain butterfly Boloria pales in the Romanian Carpathians

et al. 2019

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BackgroundHabitat quality is one main trigger for the persistence of butterflies. The effects of the influencing biotic and abiotic factors may be enhanced by the challenging conditions in high-alpine environments. To better our knowledge in this field, we performed a mark-release-recapture study with Boloria pales in the Southern Carpathians.MethodsWe analysed population structure, movement and foraging behaviour to investigate special adaptations to the alpine environment and to reveal differences between sexes. We compared these aspects in one sector with and one sector without grazing to address the effects of grazing intensity on habitat quality.ResultsWe observed “soft” protandry, in which only a small number of males appeared before females, and an extended emergence of individuals over the observed flight period, dividing the population’s age structure into three phases; both observations are considered adaptations to high mountain environments. Although both sexes were mostly sedentary, movement differences between them were obvious. Males flew larger distances than females and were more flight-active. This might explain the dimorphism in foraging behaviour: males preferred nectar sources of Asteraceae, females Caprifoliaceae. Transition from the grazed to the ungrazed sector was only observed for males and not for females, but the population density was higher and the flight distances of the individuals were significantly longer on the grazed sector compared with the ungrazed one.ConclusionSoft protandry, an extended emergence of the individuals and an adapted behavioural dimorphism between sexes render to represent a good adaptation of B. pales to the harsh environmental conditions of high mountain ecosystems. However, land-use intensity apparently has severe influence on population densities and movement behaviour. To protect B. pales and other high-alpine species from the negative consequences of overgrazing, areas without or just light grazing are needed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12983-018-0298-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dispersal and adaptation strategies of the high mountain butterfly Boloria pales in the Romanian Carpathians

et al. 2019

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Species community structures of Afrotropical butterflies differ depending on the monitoring method

et al. 2022

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Population ecology and behaviour of two Afrotropical forest butterflies

et al. 2023

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Over the last decades, numerous natural habitats have been converted into settlement areas, agricultural land, and tree plantations on a large spatial scale. As a result, natural ecosystems have been destroyed. In consequence, many ecosystems exist today as small and geographically isolated remnants. To what extent the original species diversity can persist in such small habitat patches is questionable and strongly depends on the ecology of the species. A prominent example of severe habitat destruction are the species-rich tropical cloud forests of Taita Hills in southern Kenya, which have been deforested almost completely during past decades. However, there still exist typical forest species in the few remaining forest fragments. In this study, we investigate the population ecology and behaviour of two butterfly species present in the cloud forest remnants of Taita Hills, Protogoniomorpha parhassus and Precis tugela. Over a period of one month, we conducted Mark-Release-Recapture to study population sizes and demographic structures, lifespan, dispersal, and behaviour. We found that both species exhibited medium population sizes and are sedentary. However, some individuals performed dispersal throughout the forest. The behaviour of the two species differs: While P. tugela was mostly observed basking with open wings, P. parhassus was mostly sitting under leaves with closed wings. The life span was rather long for butterflies. Implications for insect conservation This study documents the population ecology and behaviour of these two Afrotropical butterflies and underlines the relevance of the conservation of cloud forest remnants to preserve species, which mainly depends on these habitat remnants.

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Population demography of alpine butterflies: Boloria pales and Boloria napaea (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and their specific adaptations to high mountain environments

Cited by 7 publications

References 69 publications

Dispersal and adaptation strategies of the high mountain butterfly Boloria pales in the Romanian Carpathians

Dispersal and adaptation strategies of the high mountain butterfly Boloria pales in the Romanian Carpathians

Species community structures of Afrotropical butterflies differ depending on the monitoring method

Population ecology and behaviour of two Afrotropical forest butterflies

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