Ashe-Jepson Esme, Anderson Juliet, Hitchcock Gwen E, Wallis Sky, Wingader Keira, Bladon Andrew J, Turner Edgar C
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ UK.
The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, The Manor House, Broad Street, Cambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6DH UK.
J Insect Conserv. 2024;28(5):891-908. doi: 10.1007/s10841-024-00554-7. Epub 2024 Feb 17.
Species often associate with specific habitat characteristics, resulting in patchy distributions, whereby they only occupy a proportion of available habitat. Understanding which characteristics species require is a valuable tool for informing conservation management. We investigated the associations of eleven species of day-flying Lepidoptera larvae and their foodplants with habitat characteristics within calcareous grassland reserves in Bedfordshire, UK, across two scales relevant to land managers and target species: the reserve (cardinal aspect, vegetation type) and foodplant patch scale (foodplant height and density). We investigated whether ecological traits (habitat specialism, as defined at a national-scale, and overwintering life stage) influenced the strength of associations. At the reserve scale, we found variation in associations with habitat characteristics across species, with species that overwinter at non-adult life stages having more restricted associations, indicating that they may be more vulnerable to environmental change. Associations were generally stronger with vegetation type than aspect, which can be manipulated more easily by land managers. Seven species had similar associations with habitat characteristics to their foodplants, implying that management to benefit foodplants will also benefit larvae. However, the remaining four species had different associations to their foodplants, and may require alternative management approaches. At the foodplant patch scale, four species were associated with foodplant characteristics, which could be used to inform effective fine-scale management.
Implications for insect conservation: Diverse habitat associations imply that topographic and vegetation variation are valuable for supporting diverse assemblages of butterflies and their foodplants.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10841-024-00554-7.
物种通常与特定的栖息地特征相关联，导致分布不均，即它们只占据可用栖息地的一部分。了解物种需要哪些特征是为保护管理提供信息的宝贵工具。我们调查了英国贝德福德郡钙质草地保护区内11种日间飞行的鳞翅目幼虫及其食草植物与栖息地特征的关联，涉及与土地管理者和目标物种相关的两个尺度：保护区尺度（主要方位、植被类型）和食草植物斑块尺度（食草植物高度和密度）。我们研究了生态特征（在国家尺度上定义的栖息地专一性和越冬生命阶段）是否会影响关联的强度。在保护区尺度上，我们发现不同物种与栖息地特征的关联存在差异，在非成虫生命阶段越冬的物种关联更为受限，这表明它们可能更容易受到环境变化的影响。与植被类型的关联通常比方位更强，而植被类型更容易被土地管理者操控。7个物种与其食草植物在栖息地特征上有相似的关联，这意味着有利于食草植物的管理也将有利于幼虫。然而，其余4个物种与其食草植物的关联不同，可能需要采取其他管理方法。在食草植物斑块尺度上，4个物种与食草植物特征相关联，这可用于指导有效的精细尺度管理。
对昆虫保护的意义：多样的栖息地关联意味着地形和植被变化对于支持蝴蝶及其食草植物的多样组合很有价值。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s10841-024-00554-7获取的补充材料。
