The Role of Disturbance in Habitat Restoration and Management for the Eastern Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia idalia) at a Military Installation in Pennsylvania

Latham, Roger Earl; Zercher, Deanna S.; McElhenny, Patrick; Mooreside, Peter D.; Ferster, Betty

doi:10.3368/er.25.2.103

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This has been previously established in western S. diana populations [17][18][19] and is supported by our survey results from the Southern Appalachian Mountains. While our study is purely observational, our results suggest that S. diana feeds preferentially on high-quality nectar plants in its eastern distribution, especially milkweed Asclepias spp.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Observations of Resource Use by the Threatened Diana Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria diana) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Wells

Smith

2013

Journal of Insects

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We present four summers (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009) of field observations of the Diana fritillary, Speyeria diana (Cramer, 1777), throughout the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA, in the eastern portion of its distribution. We describe our observations of resource use by S. diana in sites located in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Butterflies imbibed nectar from five genera (>11 species) of flowering plants and also imbibed liquid from dirt roads and horse manure. The majority of butterflies (57%) were observed feeding on milkweed, Asclepias spp., a high-quality nectar-producing plant which is known to be an important resource for many Lepidoptera. We documented 14 species of Viola spp., the larval host plant used by Speyeria, in our survey sites. All butterflies were marked to observe their movement. Recapture rates ranged from 17% to 56%, suggesting that dispersal of S. diana out of suitable habitat was somewhat limited.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Observations of Resource Use by the Threatened Diana Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria diana) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Wells

Smith

2013

Journal of Insects

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“…For instance, one study found that contiguous size of grassland accounted for 60% of the variation in regal abundance (Mason 2001). Similar hypotheses have been proposed for regals regarding differences among findings of the effects of prescribed fire (Latham et al 2007, Moranz et al 2014, Henderson et al 2018. Similar hypotheses have been proposed for regals regarding differences among findings of the effects of prescribed fire (Latham et al 2007, Moranz et al 2014, Henderson et al 2018.…”

Section: Fire-return Intervalmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…First is the scale of the observation, and second is the timing of the observation (Latham et al 2007, Moranz et al 2014. Issues with interpretation of fire effects appear to arise when small, relatively isolated prairie remnants are burned in their entirety and regal abundance declines or the species disappears from such sites entirely (Swengel 1996, Powell et al 2007, Swengel et al 2011).…”

Section: Fire-return Intervalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management regime and habitat response influence abundance of regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) in tallgrass prairie

et al. 2019

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The >2,570,000-ha Flint Hills ecoregion of Kansas, USA, harbors the largest remaining contiguous tract of tallgrass prairie in North America, a unique system, as the remainder of North America's tallgrass prairie has succumbed to development and conversion. Consequently, the loss and degradation of tallgrass prairie has reduced populations of many North American prairie-obligate species including the regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) butterfly. Population abundance and occupied range of regal fritillary have declined >99%, restricting many populations to isolated, remnant patches of tallgrass prairie. Such extensive decline has resulted in consideration of the regal fritillary for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Although it is widely accepted that management practices such as fire, grazing, and haying are necessary to maintain prairie ecosystems, reported responses by regal fritillary to these management regimes have been ambiguous. We tested effects of prescribed fire across short, moderate, and long fire-return intervals as well as grazing and haying management treatments on regal fritillary density. We also tested the relative influence of habitat characteristics created by these management regimes by measuring density of an obligate host plant (Viola spp.) and canopy cover of woody vegetation, grasses, forbs/ferns, bare ground, and litter. We found density was at least 1.6 times greater in sites burned with a moderate fire-return interval vs. sites burned with short and long fire-return intervals. Overall management regardless of fire-return interval did not have an effect on density. Percent cover of grass had the strongest positive association, while percent cover of woody vegetation had the greatest negative effect on density. Our results indicate that patch-burning is a viable and perhaps even ideal management strategy for regal fritillary in tallgrass prairie landscapes. Additionally, these results elucidate the importance of fire, particularly when applied at moderate-return intervals to regal fritillary, and corroborate a growing suite of studies that suggest fire is perhaps not as detrimental to populations of regal fritillary as previously believed.

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“…The calamine site is located on Blue Mountain, near the town of Palmerton in Carbon County, PA (PAL, 40°47′9.60″N 75°37′8.40″W) The non-metalliferous site is located at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, PA (FIG, 40°26′24.2″N 76°34′53.15″W). It is a military training area managed by the Pennsylvania National Guard (Latham et al 2007b; Ferster et al 2008). Grassland vegetation is maintained by removing woody vegetation mechanically or by fire.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential elemental uptake in three pseudo-metallophyte C4 grasses in situ in the eastern USA

et al. 2017

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Background and aims Elemental uptake in serpentine floras in eastern North America is largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine major and trace element concentrations in soil and leaves of three native pseudo-metallophyte C4 grasses in situ at five sites with three very different soil types, including three serpentine sites, in eastern USA. Methods Pseudo-total and extractible concentrations of 15 elements were measured and correlated from the soils and leaves of three species at the five sites. Results Element concentrations in soils of pseudo-metallophytes varied up to five orders of magnitude. Soils from metalliferous sites exhibited higher concentrations of their characteristic elements than non-metalliferous. In metallicolous populations, elemental concentrations depended on the element. Concentrations of major elements (Ca, Mg, K) in leaves were lower than typical toxicity thresholds, whereas concentrations of Zn were higher. Conclusions In grasses, species can maintain relatively low metal concentrations in their leaves even when soil concentrations are richer. However, in highly Zn-contaminated soil, we found evidence of a threshold concentration above which Zn uptake increases drastically. Finally, absence of main characteristics of serpentine soil at one site indicated the importance of soil survey and restoration to maintain serpentinophytes communities and avoid soil encroachment.

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The Role of Disturbance in Habitat Restoration and Management for the Eastern Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia idalia) at a Military Installation in Pennsylvania

Cited by 13 publications

References 7 publications

Observations of Resource Use by the Threatened Diana Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria diana) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Observations of Resource Use by the Threatened Diana Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria diana) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Management regime and habitat response influence abundance of regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) in tallgrass prairie

Differential elemental uptake in three pseudo-metallophyte C4 grasses in situ in the eastern USA

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