Specialized or opportunistic—how does the high mountain endemic butterfly <i>Erebia nivalis</i> survive in its extreme habitats?

Ehl, Stefan; Dalstein, Vivian; Tull, Fabienne; Gros, Patrick; Schmitt, Thomas

doi:10.1111/1744-7917.12400

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Consequently, the size of the study areas (5.7 vs. 29.4 ha) seemed not to affect these distances. In comparison with other alpine butterfly species, B. napaea showed a lower mobility within its habitat than B. pales 18 , but was similarly mobile as E. nivalis 32 . Nevertheless, individuals of the Alpine subspecies Euphydryas aurinia glaciegenita even exhibited a considerably more sedentary behaviour 26 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…However, some typical high mountain species are showing only partial protandry, e.g. the high mountain specialist Erebia nivalis , an Alpine endemic 32 . As this species is one of the butterflies adapted to the highest elevations 33 , one might argue that the harsh conditions in these areas are not compatible with the establishment of full protandry, which is highly favourable under lowland conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phenology, mobility and behaviour of the arcto-alpine species Boloria napaea in its arctic habitat

Ehl

Holzhauer

Ryrholm

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Arctic and alpine environments present extreme, but different, challenges to survival. We therefore studied the ecological adaptation of the arctic-alpine fritillary Boloria napaea in northern Sweden and compared these results with the eastern Alps. Using mark-release-recapture, we analysed phenology, mobility, activity patterns, change in wing condition and nectar sources. The phenology showed no protandry, but a longer flight period of the females. Wing conditions revealed a linear decay being quicker in males than females. The mean flight distances were higher for males than females (143 vs 92 m). In general, males were more flight active, while females invested more time in feeding and resting. The shortness of the flight period in the Arctic is apparently a particular adaptation to these harsh conditions, not even allowing protandry, and constraining all individuals to hatch during a short period. These conditions also forced the individuals to concentrate on flight and alimentation. In general, Arctic and Alpine populations of B. napaea show few differences, but the species seems to be even better adapted to the northern environments. Thus, the short temporal separation of these populations seems not to have been sufficient for a divergent adaptation in the southern mountains.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenology, mobility and behaviour of the arcto-alpine species Boloria napaea in its arctic habitat

Ehl

Holzhauer

Ryrholm

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…As ectotherms, insects undergo seasonal shifts in phenology because larval development and timing of adult emergence depend on temperature (Forrest, ; Chuine & Régnière, ). Protogyny (early emergence of females relative to males) is rare in insects relative to protandry (Morbey & Ydenberg, ), thus climate‐induced protogyny is often presumed to increase FMF (Uyi et al., ; Bonal et al., ; McCauley et al., ; Ehl et al., ). However, protogyny is correlated with extended longevity of females (which counterbalances the risk of FMF; Degen et al., , ) and may in fact enhance mating success of early emergent females by reducing late‐season signal competition among conspecifics (Rhainds, ).…”

Section: Effects Of Emergence Time On Mating Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Synchronized emergence of males and females may limit reproductive asynchrony and reduce FMF (Junker et al, 2010;Osv ath-Ferencz et al, 2017;Ehl et al, 2018). In contrast, short diel periodicity of mating activities and lack of congruence in emergence of males and females may lead to strong day-to-day variation in FMF (Wing, 1991;da Silva et al, 2009;Hrabar et al, 2014;Kathirithamby et al, 2015).…”

Section: Effects Of Emergence Time On Mating Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Rhainds

2019

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Sexual reproduction implies binary outcomes of competitive interactions for access to male gametes: lifelong virgin females with null fitness vs. mated females with variable (generally nonzero) fitness. Female mating failure has long remained a dormant concept in sexual selection theory in part because it is acutely maladaptive (lifelong virgins that do not reproduce are strongly selected against) and also due to widespread acceptance of the Bateman–Trivers paradigm (anisogamy and correlated sex roles). Based on recent scientific output on lifelong virginity across multiple taxonomic groups in insects (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Strepsiptera), female mating failure has become a mainstay of sexual selection over the last decade. Lifelong virginity and senescence (death) are intertwined processes; old virgin females compensate for increased risk of lifelong virginity by becoming less choosy and increasing investment in mating‐related activities. Low rates of female lifelong virginity (<5%) in most natural populations of insects indicate that sex generally ‘works’ due to selective pressures acting on both males and females to enhance lifetime fitness. Mating failures are most common in insects with female flightlessness; these pressures may lead in evolutionary time to transitionary pathways from sexual reproduction to parthenogenesis. Female mating probability is affected by nonlinear density‐dependent processes dependent upon the scale of observation (mate‐encounter Allee effect at large spatial scales, mating interferences between females at small scales). Mate choice and sex role reversal (females being the active sexual partner) are ubiquitous in insects and arachnids with significant paternal investment, but consequences in terms of female lifelong virginity remain unknown. Logistically, conceptual development of female mating failure in insects is most limited by the lack of broadly applicable methods to assess rates of lifetime virginity among flighted females.

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“…Another key result from our study was that the likelihood of crossing habitat boundaries differed between species within the genus Erebia: E. euryale and E. nivalis were clearly more likely to leave a habitat patch than the other species. Erebia nivalis has been suggested to be a relatively good disperser in a mark-release-recapture study performed in the same year and in the same area as our study (Ehl et al 2016), with a potential dispersal distance calculated to be up to five kilometres. Most individuals, however, are reported to be rather sedentary, similar to our findings.…”

Section: Road and Species Effectsmentioning

confidence: 52%

Permeability of habitat edges for Ringlet butterflies (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Erebia Dalman 1816) in an alpine landscape

Grill¹,

Polic²,

Guariento³

et al. 2020

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We tracked the movements of adult Ringlet butterflies (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Erebia Dalman, 1816) in high-elevation (> 1800 meters a.s.l.) grasslands in the Austrian Alps in order to test if an anthropogenic boundary (= an asphalt road) had a stronger effect on butterfly movement than natural habitat boundaries (trees, scree, or dwarf shrubs surrounding grassland sites). 373 individuals (136 females, 237 males) belonging to 11 Erebia species were observed in one flight season (July–August 2013) while approaching or crossing habitat edges. Erebia pandrose (Borkhausen, 1788) was the most abundant species with 239 observations. All species studied were reluctant to cross habitat boundaries, but permeability was further strongly affected by the border type. Additional variables influencing movement probability were species identity and the time of the day. In E. pandrose, for which we had sufficient observations to analyse this, individuals were more likely to cross a boundary in the morning and in the late afternoon than at midday. Erebia euryale (Esper, 1805) and E. nivalis Lorković & de Lesse, 1954 were more likely to leave a habitat patch than their studied congeners. The key result of our study is that the paved road had the lowest permeability among all edge types (0.1 likelihood of crossing when approaching the edge). A road cutting across a conservation area (viz. a national park) thus hinders inter-patch exchange among Ringlet butterflies in the alpine zone, even though theoretically they ought to be able to fly across.

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Specialized or opportunistic—how does the high mountain endemic butterfly Erebia nivalis survive in its extreme habitats?

Cited by 14 publications

References 84 publications

Phenology, mobility and behaviour of the arcto-alpine species Boloria napaea in its arctic habitat

Phenology, mobility and behaviour of the arcto-alpine species Boloria napaea in its arctic habitat

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Permeability of habitat edges for Ringlet butterflies (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Erebia Dalman 1816) in an alpine landscape

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