Effect of cultivating croplands and grazing in arid grassland habitats on the conservation of melitaeine butterflies in a mountainous area in Northern China |
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Authors: | Wang YiFei Chen JieJun Liu WenHua Xu RuMei |
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Institution: | 1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;Forestry Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100091, China 2. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;China National Center for Biotechnology Development, Ministry of Science and Technology, Beijing 100081, China 3. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510300, China 4. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China |
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Abstract: | In the study area (Yanjiaping Village, Hebei Province, China), grazing extensity varies at different locations, small and
discontinuous croplands are imbedded in some arid grassland, which are habitats for the melitaeine butterflies, Euphydryas aurinia and Melitaea phoebe. These two species of butterfilies coexist in this area, in which grazing and cultivation are the main disturbances. Grazing
and cultivation have a reciprocal effect on E. aurinia, rather than M. phoebe. We observed that E. aurinia preferred to occupy patches with moderate grazing and imbedded with small and discontinuous croplands, where E. aurinia also has high population density. The percentage of E. aurinia larval groups in the ribbings was significantly higher than that of M. phoebe, whereas larvae of both species tended to increase in recent years. Our data also showed that the population density and
the patch occupancy rate of both E. aurinia and M. phoebe were the highest under moderate grazing. It indicates that cultivation of small and discontinuous croplands within the patch
has a significant effect on the population density of both species of melitaeine butterflies. Thus, to artificially create
or maintain semi-natural habitats, complemented by moderate grazing, might be an ecological strategy to conserve melitaeine
butterflies effectively. Considering the distinct impacts of cultivation and grazing on the population distribution and dynamics
of the two different species, human disturbance in the mountainous area might be strategically involved in proposing conservation
plans for the target species in the future. |
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Keywords: | grazing croplands metapopulation conservation Euphydryas aurinia Melitaea phoebe |
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