Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Occurrence pattern of Pararge aegeria (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) with respect to local habitat suitability, climate and landscape structure

  • Research article
  • Published:
Landscape Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Distribution patterns of wild species are affected by environmental variables, such as climate, anthropogenic land use or habitat quality, which act simultaneously at different scales. To examine the relative importance of particular factors and scales on population response we investigated the speckled wood butterfly Pararge aegeria (L.) as a model organism occupying semi-natural habitats. Its distribution was recorded in 23 study sites (5×5 km) over a 2 year study period. The sites were located in agricultural landscapes within seven Temperate European countries. Environmental predictors were mapped at a local and a regional scale. Logistic regression models were then developed to represent humid (beneficial) and dry (adverse) weather conditions during larval development. The humid year model predicted that P. aegeria is equally but generally not very dependent on local and regional factors, resulting in generally high occurrence probabilities. In contrast, the dry year model predicted severe restrictions of P. aegeria to both high quality patches and landscapes with beneficial structural and climatic preconditions. As both models resulted in entirely different predictions, our study showed that the sensitivity of P. aegeria to local and landscape features might change, and that factors of less importance could easily become limiting factors. The results stress that high quality landscape is important at both the local and regional scale even for species that are considered relatively robust. They also sound a note of caution when predictions about population response for management purposes are based on just a single or a few year(s) of observation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • M. Baguette G. Mennechez S. Petit N. Schtickzelle (2003) ArticleTitleEffect of habitat fragmentation on dispersal in the butterfly Proclossiana eunomia Comptes Rendus Biologies 326 200–209 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S1631-0691(03)00058-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • N.E. Breslow D.G. Clayton (1993) ArticleTitleApproximate inference in generalized linear mixed models J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 88 9–25 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2290687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Brunzel (2002) ArticleTitleExperimental density-related emigration in the cranberry fritillary Boloria aquilonaris J. Insect Behav. 15 739–750 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1021167205560

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.J.F Bugter F. Burel M. Cerny P.J. Edwards F. Herzog J.P. Maelfait S. Klotz P. Simova R. Smulders M. Zobel (2001) Vulnerability of biodiversity in the agro-ecosystems as influenced by green veining and land-use intensity: the EU project GREENVEINS U. Mander A. Printsmann H. Palang (Eds) Development of European landscapes. Proceedings of the International Association for Landscape Ecology Publicationes Instituti Geographici Universitatis Tartuensis 92 Tartu 632–637

    Google Scholar 

  • J.P. Chardon F. Adriaensen E. Matthysen (2003) ArticleTitleIncorporating landscape elements into a connectivity measure: a case study for the Speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria L.) Landscape Ecol. 18 561–573 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1026062530600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.J.R. Cowley C.D. Thomas J.A. Thomas M.S. Warren (1999) ArticleTitleFlight areas of British butterflies: assessing species status and decline Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. Ser. B – Biol. Sci. 266 1587–1592 Occurrence Handle10.1098/rspb.1999.0819

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.J.R. Cowley R.J. Wilson J.L. Leon-Cortes D. Gutierrez C.R. Bulman C.D. Thomas (2000) ArticleTitleHabitat-based statistical models for predicting the spatial distribution of butterflies and day-flying moths in a fragmented landscape J. Appl. Ecol. 37 60–72 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2664.2000.00526.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.J. Crawley (2002) Statistical Computing: An Introduction to Data Analysis using S-Plus John Wiley & Sons Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • G.S. Cumming (2000) ArticleTitleUsing between-model comparisons to fine-tune linear models of species ranges J. Biogeogr. 27 441–455 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00408.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.A. Cushman K. McGarigal (2002) ArticleTitleHierarchical, multi-scale decomposition of species-environment relationships Landscape Ecol. 17 637–646 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1021571603605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • N.B. Davies (1978) ArticleTitleTerritorial defence in the speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria): The resident always wins Anim. Behav. 26 138–147 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0003-3472(78)90013-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. Duelli (1997) ArticleTitleBiodiversity evaluation in agricultural landscapes: an approach at two different scales Agri. Ecosyst. Environ. 62 81–91 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0167-8809(96)01143-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G. Ebert E. Rennwald (1991) Die Schmetterlinge Baden-Württembergs: Tagfalter II Ulmer Stuttgart (Hohenheim)

    Google Scholar 

  • ESRI ArcGIS. [8.x] 2003. Redlands. Environmental Systems Research InstituteCalifornia.

  • A.H. Fielding J.F. Bell (1997) ArticleTitleA review of methods for the assessment of prediction errors in conservation presence/absence models Environ. Conserv. 24 38–49 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S0376892997000088

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K.J. Gaston T.M. Blackburn (1999) ArticleTitleA critique for macroecology Oikos 84 353–368

    Google Scholar 

  • L.A. Gibson B.A. Wilson D.M. Cahill J. Hill (2004) ArticleTitleSpatial prediction of rufous bristlebird habitat in a costal heathland: a GIS-based approach J. Appl. Ecol. 41 213–223 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00896.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • I. Hanski (1999) ArticleTitleHabitat connectivity, habitat continuity, and metapopulations in dynamic landscapes Oikos 87 209–219

    Google Scholar 

  • I. Hanski E.M. Gilpin (1997) Metapopulation Biology: Ecology, Genetics, and Evolution Academic Press London

    Google Scholar 

  • I. Hanski O. Ovaskainen (2000) ArticleTitleThe metapopulation capacity of a fragmented landscape Nature 404 755–758 Occurrence Handle10783887 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXjtVWntbg%3D Occurrence Handle10.1038/35008063

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Herzog F., Steiner B., Bailey D., Baudry J., Billeter R., Bukáèek R., de Blust G., de Cook R., Dirksen J., Dormann C.F., de Filippi R., Frossard E., Liira J., Schmidt T., Stöckli R., Thenal C., van Wingerden W. and Bugter R. 2006. Assessing the intensity of temperate European agriculture at the landscape scale. Eur. J. Agron. 24: 165–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Hesselbarth H. Oorschot ParticleVan S. Wagener (1995) Die Tagfalter der Türkei Selbstverlag Sigbert Wagener Bocholt

    Google Scholar 

  • J.K. Hill Y.C. Collingham C.D. Thomas D.S. Blakeley R. Fox D. Moss B. Huntley (2001) ArticleTitleImpacts of landscape structure on butterfly range expansion Ecol. Lett. 4 313–321 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1461-0248.2001.00222.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.K. Hill C.D. Thomas B. Huntley (1999) ArticleTitleClimate and habitat availability determine 20th century changes in a butterfly's range margin Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. Ser. B – Biol. Sci. 266 1197–1206 Occurrence Handle10.1098/rspb.1999.0763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Hirzel A. Guisan (2002) ArticleTitleWhich is the optimal sampling strategy for habitat suitability modelling Ecol. Model. 157 331–341 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-3800(02)00203-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameIPCC (1998) The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability Cambridge University Press Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Jeanneret B. Schupbach H. Luka (2003) ArticleTitleQuantifying the impact of landscape and habitat features on biodiversity in cultivated landscapes Agri. Ecosyst. Environ. 98 311–320 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0167-8809(03)00091-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Kuussaari M. Nieminen I. Hanski (1996) ArticleTitleAn experimental study of migration in the Glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia J. Anim. Ecol. 65 791–801 Occurrence Handle10.2307/5677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.H. Lawton (1996) ArticleTitlePatterns in ecology Oikos 75 145–147

    Google Scholar 

  • D.R. Legates C.J. Willmott (1990a) ArticleTitleMean seasonal and spatial variability global surface air temperature Theor. Appl. Climatol. 41 11–21 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00866198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.R. Legates C.J. Willmott (1990b) ArticleTitleMean seasonal and spatial variability in gauge-correctedglobal precipitation Int. J. Climatol. 10 111–127

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Legendre L. Legendre (1998) Numerical Ecology Elsevier Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • J.L. Leon-Cortes M.J.R. Cowley C.D. Thomas (1999) ArticleTitleDetecting decline in a formerly widespread species: how common is the common blue butterfly Polyommatus icarus? Ecography 22 643–650 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.1600-0587.1999.tb00513.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Manel H.C. Williams S.J. Ormerod (2001) ArticleTitleEvaluating presence-absence models in ecology: the need to account for prevalence J. Appl. Ecol. 38 921–931 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2664.2001.00647.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Mac Nally (2000) ArticleTitleRegression and model-building in conservation biology, biogeography and ecology: the distinction between – and reconciliation of – ‘predictive’ and ‘explanatory’ models Biodiv. Conserv. 9 655–671 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1008985925162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Mac Nally (2002) ArticleTitleMultiple regression and inference in ecology and conservation biology: further comments on identifying important predictor variables Biodiv. Conserv. 11 1397–1401 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1016250716679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. McGarigal B.J. Marks (1995) FRAGSTATS: Spatial pattern analysis program for quantifying landscape structure Gen. Tech. Rep PortlandOregon, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Mennechez S. Petit N. Schtickzelle M. Baguette (2004) ArticleTitleModelling mortality and dispersal: consequences of parameter generalisation on metapopulation dynamics Oikos 106 243–252 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.12965.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T. Merckx H. Dyck ParticleVan (2005) ArticleTitleMate location behavior of the butterfly Pararge aegeria in woodland and fragmented landscapes Anim. Behav. 70 411–416 Occurrence Handle10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.12.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T. Merckx H. Van Dyck ParticleVan B. Karlsson O. Leimar (2003) ArticleTitleThe evolution of movements and behavior at boundaries in different landscapes: a common arena experiment with butterflies Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. Ser. B – Biol. Sci. 270 1815–1821 Occurrence Handle10.1098/rspb.2003.2459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P. Opdam J. Verboom R. Pouwels (2003) ArticleTitleLandscape cohesion: an index for the conservation potential of landscapes for biodiversity Landscape Ecol. 18 113–126 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1024429715253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Parmesan N. Ryrholm C. Stefanescu J.K. Hill C.D. Thomas H. Descimon B. Huntley L. Kaila J. Kullberg T. Tammaru W.J. Tennent J.A. Thomas M. Warren (1999) ArticleTitlePoleward shifts in geographical ranges of butterfly species associated with regional warming Nature 399 579–583 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1MXjvFegtr4%3D Occurrence Handle10.1038/21181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • T.C. Peterson R.S. Vose (1997) ArticleTitleAn overview of the global historical climatology network temperature data base Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 78 2837–2849 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<2837:AOOTGH>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Petit A. Moilanen I. Hanski M. Baguette (2001) ArticleTitleMetapopulation dynamics of the bog fritillary butterfly: movements between habitat patches Oikos 92 491–500 Occurrence Handle10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.920310.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. Pollard (1988) ArticleTitleTemperaturerainfall and butterfly numbers J. Appl. Ecol. 25 819–828 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2403748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. Pollard P. Rothery T.J. Yates (1996) ArticleTitleAnnual growth rates in newly established populations of the butterfly Pararge aegeria Ecol. Entomol. 21 365–369 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2311.1996.00003.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G.P. Quinn M.J. Keough (2002) Experimental Design and Data Analyses for Biologists Cambridge University Press Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • InstitutionalAuthorNameR Development Core Team (2004) R: A language and environment for statistical computing R Foundation for Statistical Computing ViennaAustria

    Google Scholar 

  • D.B. Roy P. Rothery D. Moss E. Pollard J.A. Thomas (2001) ArticleTitleButterfly numbers and weather: predicting historical trends in abundance and the future effects of climate change J. Anim. Ecol. 70 201–217 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2656.2001.00480.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.P. Rushton S.J. Ormerod G. Kerby (2004) ArticleTitleNew paradigms for modelling species distributions? J. Appl. Ecol. 41 193–200 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00903.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Y. Sakamoto M. Ishiguro G. Kitagawa (1986) Akaike Information Criterion Statistics D. Reidel Publishing Company Dordrecht/Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • T.G. Shreeve (1984) ArticleTitleHabitat selection, mate location, and microclimatic constrains on the activity of the speckled wood butterfly Pararge aegeria Oikos 42 371–377

    Google Scholar 

  • T.G. Shreeve (1986a) ArticleTitleEgg-laying by the speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria): the role of female behaviorhost plant abundance and temperature Ecol. Entomol. 11 229–236

    Google Scholar 

  • T.G. Shreeve (1986b) ArticleTitleThe effect of weather on the life cycle of the speckled wood butterfly Pararge aegeria Ecol. Entomol. 11 325–332

    Google Scholar 

  • T.G. Shreeve (1992) Monitoring butterfly movements R.L.H. Dennis (Eds) The Ecology of Butterflies in Brittain Oxford Oxford University Press 120–138

    Google Scholar 

  • T.G. Shreeve (1995) Butterfly mobility A.S. Pullin (Eds) Ecology and the Conservation of Butterflies Chapman and Hall London 37–45

    Google Scholar 

  • T.G. Shreeve R.L.H. Dennis H. Dyck ParticleVan (2004) ArticleTitleResources, habitats and metapopulations – whither reality? Oikos 106 404–408 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.13516.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Settele (1999) Die Tagfalter Deutschlands Ulmer Stuttgard

    Google Scholar 

  • K.S. Summerville T.O. Crist (2001) ArticleTitleEffects of experimental habitat fragmentation on patch use by butterflies and skippers (Lepidoptera) Ecology 82 1360–1370 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2679995

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C.D. Thomas J.C.G. Abery (1995) ArticleTitleEstimating rates of butterfly decline from distribution maps – the effect of scale Biol. Conserv. 73 59–65 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0006-3207(95)90065-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C.D. Thomas I. Hanski (1997) Butterfly metapopulations I. Hanski M.E. Gilpin (Eds) Metapopulation Biology: Ecology, Genetics, and Evolution Academic Press London 359–386

    Google Scholar 

  • C.D. Thomas W.E. Kunin (1999) ArticleTitleThe spatial structure of populations J. Anim. Ecol. 68 647–657 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2656.1999.00330.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.A. Thomas M.G. Telfer D.B. Roy C.D. Preston J.J.D. Greenwood J. Asher R. Fox R.T. Clarke J.H. Lawton (2004) ArticleTitleComparative losses of British butterflies, birds, and plants and the global extinction crisis Science 303 1879–1881 Occurrence Handle15031508 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2cXitFehurY%3D Occurrence Handle10.1126/science.1095046

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • D. Tilman P. Kareiva (1997) Spatial Ecology Princeton University Press Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • H. Dyck ParticleVan E. Matthysen A.A. Dhondt (1997) ArticleTitleThe effect of wing colour on male behavioural strategies in the speckled wood butterfly Anim. Behav. 53 39–51 Occurrence Handle10.1006/anbe.1996.0276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W.N. Venables B.D. Ripley (2002) Modern Applied Statistics with S. 4th ed Springer New York

    Google Scholar 

  • H.H. Wagner O. Wildi K.C. Ewald (2000) ArticleTitleAdditive partitioning of plant species diversity in an agricultural mosaic landscape Landscape Ecol. 15 219–227 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1008114117913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.S. Warren J.K. Hill J.A. Thomas J. Asher R. Fox B. Huntley D.B. Roy M.G. Telfer S. Jeffcoate P. Harding G. Jeffcoate S.G. Willis J.N. Greatorex-Davies D. Moss C.D. Thomas (2001) ArticleTitleRapid respones of British butterflies to opposing forces of climate and habitat change Nature 414 65–69 Occurrence Handle11689943 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3MXot1ajt7g%3D Occurrence Handle10.1038/35102054

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • W. Wettstein B. Schmid (1999) ArticleTitleConservation of arthropod diversity in montane wetlands: effect of altitudehabitat quality and habitat fragmentation on butterflies and grasshoppers J. Appl. Ecol. 36 363–373 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2664.1999.00404.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Wiklund A. Persson (1983) ArticleTitleFecundity, and the relation of egg weight variation to offspring fitness in the speckled wood butterfly Pararge aegeriaor why don’t butterfly females lay more eggs? Oikos 40 53–63

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Ecology, UFZ – Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, D-06120, Halle, Germany

    Oliver Schweiger & Mark Frenzel

  2. Department of Applied Landscape Ecology, UFZ – Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Permoserstr. 15, D-04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Carsten F. Dormann

  3. FAL Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, Reckenholzstr. 191, Ch-8046, Zürich, Switzerland

    Debra Bailey

Authors
  1. Oliver Schweiger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carsten F. Dormann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Debra Bailey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mark Frenzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oliver Schweiger.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schweiger, O., Dormann, C.F., Bailey, D. et al. Occurrence pattern of Pararge aegeria (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) with respect to local habitat suitability, climate and landscape structure. Landscape Ecol 21, 989–1001 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-005-6057-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-005-6057-7

Key words

Search

Navigation