Faculty of Nature and Technology, Hochschule Bremen - City University of Applied Sciences, Neustadtswall 30, 28199, Bremen, Germany.
Institute of Entomology, Biological Centre CAS, Branisovska 31, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Naturwissenschaften. 2024 Jun 24;111(4):34. doi: 10.1007/s00114-024-01921-9.
With ongoing insect declines, species expanding in distribution and abundance deserve attention, as understanding their success may help design conservation strategies for less successful species. Common causes of these successes include warmer climates, novel resources, and exploiting land use change, including land abandonment. These factors affect the nymphalid butterfly Neptis rivularis, developing on Spiraea spp. shrubs and reaching the north-western limits of its trans-Palearctic distribution in Central Europe. We combined mark-recapture, behaviour analysis, and distribution modelling to study N. rivularis in wetlands of the Třeboňsko Protected Landscape (IUCN category V). The long-living adults (up to 4 weeks) spent a considerable amount of time searching for partners, ovipositing and nectaring at Spiraea shrubs, alternating this with stays in tree crowns, where they located cool shelters, spent nights, and presumably fed on honeydew. They formed high-density populations (310 adults/ha), exploiting high host plant abundance. They adhered to floodplains and to conditions of relatively mild winters. The ongoing Spiraea encroachment of abandoned alluvial grasslands is, thus, a transient situation, ultimately followed by forest encroachment. Rewilding the habitats by introducing native ungulates presents an opportunity to restore the disturbance regime of the sites. The increased resource supply combined with a warming climate has opened up temperate Europe to colonization by N. rivularis.
随着昆虫数量的持续减少，分布和数量不断扩大的物种值得关注，因为了解它们的成功可能有助于为不太成功的物种设计保护策略。这些成功的常见原因包括气候变暖、新资源以及利用土地利用变化，包括土地废弃。这些因素影响了透翅蝶属的 Neptis rivularis，它在绣线菊属灌木上发育，并在中欧达到其跨北极分布的最北极限。我们结合标记-重捕、行为分析和分布模型来研究特罗博诺索保护区（IUCN 类别 V）湿地中的 N. rivularis。寿命长的成虫（长达 4 周）花费大量时间寻找伴侣，在绣线菊灌木上产卵和吸食花蜜，与在树冠中的停留交替进行，在那里它们可以找到凉爽的栖息地，过夜，并且可能以蜜露为食。它们形成了高密度的种群（310 只成虫/公顷），利用了丰富的寄主植物。它们坚持在洪泛区和冬季相对温和的条件下生存。因此，废弃冲积草原上绣线菊的不断侵占只是一种暂时的情况，最终会被森林侵占。通过引入本地有蹄类动物来重新造林，可以为恢复这些地点的干扰机制提供机会。资源供应的增加加上气候变暖，使温带欧洲向 N. rivularis 的殖民化开放。
