Search

Aim: The relative importance of traits and phylogeny to predict species extinction risk is unclear and it depends on which traits are measured and their phylogenetic conservatism. Here, we evaluate the power of functional traits, ecological characteristics, such as range size and specialization, and phylogeny to predict climatic risks in European butterflies. Location: Europe. Time Period: Distribution data from 1981 to 2002 was used to project range shifts up to 2080. Major Taxa Studied: In total, 268 European butterfly species (Rhopalocera). Methods: We extracted information on climatic risk for each species from the literature. Two hypothetical conditions were assumed: full climate tracking and no climate tracking. We used variation partitioning to quantify and disentangle the effects of phylogeny, four traits (wingspan, voltinism, overwintering and egg volume) and two ecological characteristics (range size and specialization) on climatic risk. We used Random Forest as an imputation method to predict climatic risk values for additional European butterfly species that have not been previously modelled. Results: Range size and degree of specialization strongly predicted climatic risk of European butterflies, but only for no climate tracking scenarios. Overall, more generalist species have larger ranges and are less vulnerable to climate change. Furthermore, we found that phylogenetic information adds strong power to explain climatic risk, especially, but not exclusively for scenarios that assume full climate tracking. Main Conclusions: Considering current scenarios of habitat fragmentation in Europe, it is likely that species with smaller ranges and high degree of specialization will be unable to track their climates and thus be more at risk. However, our results imply that assisting dispersal and colonization might allow small ranged species to cope with climate change. Our analysis also indicate that phylogeny can be used as a proxy of unmeasured traits to predict climatic risk under certain circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Anthropogenic‐driven biodiversity loss can impact ecosystem stability. However, most studies have only evaluated the diversity–stability relationship at the local scale and we do not fully understand which factors stabilize animal populations and communities across scales. Here, we investigate the role of species dispersal ability, climate, spatial distance and different facets of biodiversity on the stability of butterfly populations and communities across multiple spatial scales. Location: Primarily Western Europe. Time Period: 2005–2016. Major Taxa Studied: Butterflies (Rhopalocera) of Europe. Methods: We assembled a continent‐wide database of European butterflies' abundance and used Structural Equation Modelling to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of multiple stabilizing mechanisms. In parallel, we tested the effect of dispersal ability on the stability at multiple spatial scales, using a butterfly mobility index as an indicator of dispersal capacity. Results: Regional stability strongly reflected local stability, which in turn was driven by both taxonomic and functional α‐diversity. Spatial asynchrony was also important for regional stability and it was driven by both functional β‐diversity and metapopulation asynchrony, which in turn increased with spatial distance among communities. We observed a positive effect of temperature on functional α‐diversity and on local stability, whereas precipitation negatively influenced local diversity. Finally, spatial asynchrony contributed more to the regional stability of less mobile species compared to highly mobile ones, indicating that both extrinsic and intrinsic determinants of connectivity impact regional stability indirectly. Main Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the importance of local and regional processes for regional stability. However, the relative contribution of spatial asynchrony and metapopulation asynchrony increases with connectivity loss, especially for less mobile species, indicating that landscape management should be tailored depending on the dispersal capacity of organisms. Both local biodiversity loss and regional biotic homogenization destabilize metacommunities, with potential implications for the reliable provision of ecosystem functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population structure and behaviour of univoltine butterfly species have been studied intensively. However, much less is known about bivoltine species. In particular, in-depth studies of the differences in population structure, behaviour, and ecology between these two generations are largely lacking. Therefore, we here present a mark-release-recapture study of two successive generations of the fritillary butterfly Boloria selene performed in eastern Brandenburg (Germany). We revealed intersexual and intergenerational differences regarding behaviour, dispersal, population characteristics, and protandry. The observed population densities were higher in the second generation. The flight activity of females decreased in the second generation, but remained unchanged in males. This was further supported by the rate of wing decay. The first generation displayed a linear correlation between wing decay and passed time in both sexes, whereas the linear correlation was lost in second-generation females. The proportion of resting individuals in both sexes increased in the second generation, as well as the number of nectaring females. The choice of plant genera used for nectaring seems to be more specialised in the first and more opportunistic in the second generation. The average flight distances were generally higher for females than for males and overall higher in the first generation. Predictions of long-distance movements based on the inverse power function were also generally higher in females than in males but lower in the first generation. Additionally, we found protandry only in the first but not in the second generation, which might correlate with the different developmental pathways of the two generations. These remarkable differences between both generations might reflect an adaptation to the different ecological demands during the flight season and the different tasks they have, i.e., growth in the spring season; dispersal and colonisation of new habitats during the summer season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biology and distribution patterns of the Sahelian mantid species Nilomantis floweri are still insufficiently known. For the first time, records are confirmed of this species from Iran and the distribution map of its native range is updated. Records are compiled from the Sahel zone of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Iran. Detailed information on its biology, oothecal characteristics, male genitalia variation, and intraspecific molecular diversity in the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase are provided, and ecological niche modelling was used to gain insight into the overall species distribution and understand its climatic niche limits. Genetic analysis revealed only one haplotype shared between Iran and Oman. The Iranian populations likely represent two distinct clusters, both more related to the diverse Oman haplotypes than to each other. Based on new data, N. floweri appears to be mostly associated with coastal areas in southwestern Asia, with the vast majority of records found along the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Oman Gulf coasts. This distribution contrasts markedly with N. floweri records in the Sahel, where most collections have been reported in the transitional zone between the southern Sahara and arid thorn savannah, far off the coast. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of this still enigmatic mantid species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]