Popović Miloš, Nowicki Piotr
Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia.
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.
Biology (Basel). 2023 Feb 21;12(3):344. doi: 10.3390/biology12030344.
Over the centuries, mowing and grazing have been crucial for sustaining populations of grassland insects and their overall diversity in Europe. While long-term positive effects of mowing have been studied in more detail, little is known about the direct impacts of mowing on adult butterflies. Here, we explore how different habitat management (mown, recovered after mowing and unmown) affects movements and population estimates of the endangered specialist butterfly . The results showed higher dispersal probability from mown (22%) and recovered meadows (16%) than from the unmown ones (9%). However, mowing shortened the average dispersal distances (mown = 102 m, recovered = 198 m, unmown = 246 m) and reduced butterfly population size. In contrast, a larger area of the habitat patches promoted long-distance dispersal and sustained larger populations. We hypothesise that mowing caused depletion of resources and triggered dispersal of poorly adapted individuals. This behaviour is maladaptive and could lead to higher dispersal-related mortality; thus, mowing should be avoided before and during the butterfly flight period. This study suggests that the species' persistence in a fragmented landscape depends on large, unmown and interconnected habitats that support more viable populations, promote long-distance dispersal, and enable (re)colonisation of vacant patches.
几个世纪以来，割草和放牧对于维持欧洲草原昆虫种群及其整体多样性至关重要。虽然人们对割草的长期积极影响进行了更详细的研究，但对于割草对成年蝴蝶的直接影响却知之甚少。在这里，我们探讨了不同的栖息地管理方式（割草、割草后恢复和未割草）如何影响濒危的特化蝴蝶的移动和种群估计。结果表明，与未割草的草地（9%）相比，从割草的草地（22%）和割草后恢复的草地（16%）扩散的概率更高。然而，割草缩短了平均扩散距离（割草的草地 = 102米，割草后恢复的草地 = 198米，未割草的草地 = 246米）并减少了蝴蝶种群数量。相比之下，更大面积的栖息地斑块促进了长距离扩散并维持了更大的种群。我们推测，割草导致资源枯竭，并引发适应性较差个体的扩散。这种行为是适应不良的，可能导致与扩散相关的更高死亡率；因此，在蝴蝶飞行期之前和期间应避免割草。这项研究表明，该物种在破碎景观中的存续取决于大面积、未割草且相互连接的栖息地，这些栖息地能够支持更具生存能力的种群，促进长距离扩散，并使空置斑块得以（重新）定殖。
