Nymphalid butterfly dispersal among forest fragments at Serra da Canastra National Park,Brazil |
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Authors: | Onildo J Marini-Filho Rogério P Martins |
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Institution: | 1.Laboratório de Ecologia e Comportamento de Insetos, Depto. Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas,Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais,Belo Horizonte,Brazil;2.Cerrado and Caatinga Biodiversity Research and Conservation Centre, CECAT,Instituto Chico Mendes de Conserva??o da Biodiversidade,Brasília,Brazil |
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Abstract: | Organisms must possess good dispersal ability to persist in fragmented landscapes, as extinction in habitat patches is frequent
and patches must be re-colonised to keep viable metapopulations. Thus, metapopulation maintenance is dependent on patch size
and distance, although these affect species differently. In order to evaluate the ability of Nymphalid butterfly species to
live in naturally fragmented small forest fragments we marked and released 3,415 butterflies in 16 of these areas separated
in two networks at the Serra da Canastra National Park (PNSC), south-eastern Brazil. Subsequent recaptures in different forest
fragments enabled us to assess the dispersal rates and distances for several Nymphalid species. Seventeen butterflies from
11 out of the 50 species captured were directly observed to disperse from 500 m to 870 m. Dispersal rates varied between 1
and 7% of the marked individuals and were directly correlated to the mean forewing length of each butterfly species population.
The connectivity of the forest fragments through creeks appear to facilitate butterfly dispersal among fragments within micro-basins,
as only one out of 50 dispersing individuals was observed to fly from one micro-basin to the other. Several species had viable
populations in the small-fragment network. The distance between fragments is crucial as the coarser fragment network was unlikely
to sustain viable populations of most of the species. The protection of large forest fragments located outside of the PNSC
may be necessary to promote colonization of the smaller forest fragments inside the Park. |
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