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Demography of the Heike firefly Luciola lateralis (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), a representative species of Japan’s traditional agricultural landscape

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Abstract

Populations of the Heike firefly, Luciola lateralis, a representative species of Japan’s traditional agricultural landscape (known as satoyama), have recently experienced rapid declines in many areas of Japan. Owing to the popularity of this firefly, many local communities have increased conservation efforts through the restoration of aquatic habitat complexes in satoyama. To provide fundamental parameters to predict population dynamics of the firefly, we conducted a mark–recapture study in restored paddy fields, and we estimated adult population parameters such as population size, survival, recruitment, sex ratio, and body size. We found that capture probability generally decreased as the season advanced, probably because of seasonal changes in detectability and/or firefly behavior. The daily survival rate of adults decreased over the season and may be related to a seasonal decline in adult body size. Adult population exhibited a highly male-biased sex ratio. Firefly abundance in the restored paddy fields doubled during the 4-year study period. Our analysis showed that adult detectability, recruitment, and survival rate are seasonally variable and could affect population size estimates obtained by a simple flash census. The mark–recapture technique can provide precise estimates of adult L. lateralis population characteristics and, thus, is a valuable method for predicting firefly populations and assessing the success of the restoration program.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Kunihiro Aoki, Shuichi Kameda, Teruyuki Kameda, and members of the Kakuma Nature School of Kanazawa University for their field assistance. We also thank Koji Itoh, Masahide Yuma, and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (no. 18580328) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and by the 21st Century COE Program (E07) and the Special Research Fund from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Regional Collaboration, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Shinsaku Koji & Akinori Nakamura

  2. Division of Biodiversity, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Koji Nakamura

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  1. Shinsaku Koji
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  2. Akinori Nakamura
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  3. Koji Nakamura
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Correspondence to Shinsaku Koji.

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Koji, S., Nakamura, A. & Nakamura, K. Demography of the Heike firefly Luciola lateralis (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), a representative species of Japan’s traditional agricultural landscape. J Insect Conserv 16, 819–827 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-012-9468-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-012-9468-1

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