Local and landscape effects on butterfly density in northern Idaho grasslands and forests |
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Authors: | Amy Pocewicz Penelope Morgan Sanford D Eigenbrode |
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Institution: | (1) The Nature Conservancy, Wyoming Chapter, 258 Main St., Suite 200, Lander, WY 82520, USA;(2) Department of Forest Resources, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1133, USA;(3) Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2339, USA |
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Abstract: | Understanding butterfly response to landscape context can inform conservation management and planning. We tested whether local-scale
resources (host and nectar plants, canopy cover) or landscape context, measured at two scales, better explained the densities
of four butterfly species. The density of Coenonympha tullia, which has host plants strongly associated with grassland habitats, was positively correlated with the amount of grassland
in 0.5- and 1-km radius landscapes and only occurred in forests when they bordered grasslands. For the other species, Celastrina ladon, Cupido amyntula, and Vanessa cardui, local-scale resources better explained butterfly densities, emphasizing the importance of local habitat quality for butterflies.
These three species also used host plants that were distributed more heterogeneously within and among habitat types. Our findings
demonstrate the importance of host plant spatial distributions when determining the scale at which butterfly density relates
to resources, and we recommend that both these distributions and landscape context be evaluated when developing butterfly
monitoring programs, managing for species of concern, or modeling potential habitat. |
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