Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Landscape drivers of butterfly and burnet moth diversity in lowland rural areas

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

Abstract

Context

Butterflies have been continuously declining for several decades in Europe due to many factors, such as farming intensification. Rural landscapes have undergone dramatic changes leading to homogenized landscapes.

Objectives

In this study, we investigated how landscape composition, structure and connectivity impact butterfly communities according to their ecological and biological traits.

Methods

We made use of 5669 Lepidoptera surveys performed at 4525 distinct locations in lowland Central France. We considered 19 ecological groups based on habitat specialization, mobility, diet, voltinism or overwintering strategy. Generalized linear mixed-effect models were used to relate the species richness of these groups to landscape variables defined in circular zones with radius from 250 m to 5 km.

Results

Richness of most species groups co-varied with landscape variables, with the exception of mobile, imago-overwintering, monophagous and polyphagous species. Habitat proportion explained more variation in butterfly diversity than habitat connectivity or habitat diversity. Moreover, the best proportion models were generally found for the 250-m circular zones. Thirteen species groups were disfavored by cropland amount. Except for forest specialists and high mobility group, no other group was more diverse in landscapes dominated by a single land cover type. Rather, for total diversity and 14 groups, species richness peaked for forest proportions varying between 40 and 80%, and for total diversity and nine groups for grassland proportions ranging from 30 to 60%.

Conclusions

These results indicate that landscape homogenization is contributing to the ongoing decline in butterflies, and support preserving and (re)creating mosaics of grasslands and forests.

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agreste (2009) La statistique, l’évaluation et la prospective agricole — Zonages. Agreste, Paris

  • Akeboshi A, Takagi S, Murakami M, Hasegawa M, Miyashita T (2015) A forest-grassland boundary enhances patch quality for a grassland-dwelling butterfly as revealed by dispersal processes. J Insect Conserv 19:15–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Archaux F, Chatard P, Faucheux F, Lévêque A, Bichaud M (2015) Papillons du Loiret: atlas des rhopalocères et zygènes du Loiret (2000–2013). So.MOS, ALEXANOR (eds)

  • ASP (Agence de Services et de Paiement) (2012) Mise à disposition du registre parcellaire graphique anonyme. ASP, Paris

  • Aviron S, Jeanneret P, Schüpbach B, Herzog F (2007) Effects of agri-environmental measures, site and landscape conditions on butterfly diversity of Swiss grassland. Agric Ecosyst Environ 122:295–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldi A (2008) Habitat heterogeneity overrides the species-area relationship. J Biogeogr 35:675–681

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belfrage K, Bjorklund J, Salomonsson L (2015) Effects of farm size and on-farm landscape heterogeneity on biodiversity-case study of twelve farms in a Swedish landscape. Agroecol Sustain Food Syst 39:170–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benton TG, Vickery JA, Wilson JD (2003) Farmland biodiversity: is habitat heterogeneity the key? Trends Ecol Evol 18:182–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergerot B, Fontaine B, Julliard R, Baguette M (2011) Landscape variables impact the structure and composition of butterfly assemblages along an urbanization gradient. Landscape Ecol 26:83–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergman K-O, Ask L, Askling J, Ignell H, Wahlman H, Milberg P (2008) Importance of boreal grasslands in Sweden for butterfly diversity and effects of local and landscape habitat factors. Biodivers Conserv 17:139–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bink FA (1992) Ecologische atlas van de dagvlinders van Noordwest-Europa. Schuyt, Haarlem

    Google Scholar 

  • Botham MS, Fernandez-Ploquin EC, Brereton T, Harrower CA, Roy DB, Heard MS (2015) Lepidoptera communities across an agricultural gradient: how important are habitat area and habitat diversity in supporting high diversity? J Insect Conserv 19:403–420

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brereton T, Roy DB, Middlebroo I, Botham M, Warren M (2011) The development of butterfly indicators in the United Kingdom and assessments in 2010. J Insect Conserv 15:139–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brückmann SV, Krauss J, Steffan-Dewenter I (2010) Butterfly and plant specialists suffer from reduced connectivity in fragmented landscapes. J Appl Ecol 47:799–809

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgio G, Sommaggio D, Marini M, Puppi G, Chiarucci A, Landi S, Fabbri R, Pesarini F, Genghini M, Ferrari R, Muzzi E, van Lenteren JC, Masetti A (2015) The influence of vegetation and landscape structural connectivity on butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperiidae), carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae), syrphids (Diptera: Syrphidae), and sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) in Northern Italy Farmland. Environ Entomol 44:1299–1307

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cizek L, Fric Z, Konvicka M (2006) Host plant defences and voltinism in European butterflies. Ecol Entomol 31:337–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Concepcion ED, Moretti M, Altermatt F, Nobis MP, Obrist MK (2015) Impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity: the role of species mobility, degree of specialisation and spatial scale. Oikos 124:1571–1582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dainese M, Luna DI, Sitzia T, Marini L (2015) Testing scale-dependent effects of seminatural habitats on farmland biodiversity. Ecol Appl 25:1681–1690

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dray S, Choler P, Doledec S, Peres-Neto PR, Thuiller W, Pavoine S, ter Braak CJF (2014) Combining the fourth-corner and the RLQ methods for assessing trait responses to environmental variation. Ecology 95:14–21

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • EEA (European Environment Agency) (2011) Urban Soil Sealing in Europe. EEA, Copenhagen

  • Eglington SM, Brereton TM, Tayleur CM, Noble D, Risely K, Roy DB, Pearce-Higgins JW (2015) Patterns and causes of covariation in bird and butterfly community structure. Landscape Ecol 30:1461–1472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engler JO, Balkenhol N, Filz KJ, Habel JC, Rödder D (2014) Comparative landscape genetics of three closely related sympatric hesperid butterflies with diverging ecological traits. PLoS ONE 9:e106526

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Essayan R, Jugan D, Mora F (2013) Atlas des papillons de jour de Bourgogne et Franche-Comté. Bourgogne-Nature (ed). Vol. Hors-série n°13

  • European Environmental Agency (2013) The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator: 1990–2011

  • Fahrig L (2013) Rethinking patch size and isolation effects: the habitat amount hypothesis. J Biogeogr 40:1649–1663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahrig L, Baudry J, Brotons L, Burel F, Crist TO, Fuller RJ, Sirami C, Siriwardena GM, Martin J-L (2011) Functional landscape heterogeneity and animal biodiversity in agricultural landscapes: heterogeneity and biodiversity. Ecology Lett 14:101–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahrig L, Girard J, Duro D, Pasher J, Smith A, Javorek S, King D, Lindsay KF, Mitchell S, Tischendorf L (2015) Farmlands with smaller crop fields have higher within-field biodiversity. Agric Ecosyst Environ 200:219–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Chacon A, Stefanescu C, Genovart M, Nichols JD, Hines JE, Paramo F, Turco M, Oro D (2014) Determinants of extinction-colonization dynamics in Mediterranean butterflies: the role of landscape, climate and local habitat features. J Anim Ecol 83:276–285

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Franzén M, Nilsson SG (2007) What is the required minimum landscape size for dispersal studies? J Anim Ecol 76:1224–1230

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gamez-Virues S, Perovic DJ, Gossner MM, Borsching C, Bluthgen N, de Jong H, Simons NK, Klein AM, Krauss J, Maier G, Scherber C, Steckel J, Rothenwohrer C, Steffan-Dewenter I, Weiner CN, Weisser W, Werner M, Tscharntke T, Westphal C (2015) Landscape simplification filters species traits and drives biotic homogenization. Nat Commun 6:8568

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Habel JC, Brueckmann SV, Krauss J, Schwarzer J, Weig A, Husemann M, Steffan-Dewenter I (2015) Fragmentation genetics of the grassland butterfly Polyommatus coridon: stable genetic diversity or extinction debt? Conserv Genet 16:549–558

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IGN (Institut Géographique National) (2012) BD TOPO®. IGN, Paris

  • Jackson HB, Fahrig L (2015) Are ecologists conducting research at the optimal scale? Global Ecol Biogeogr 24:52–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Julliard R, Clavel J, Devictor V, Jiguet F, Couvet D (2006) Spatial segregation of specialists and generalists in bird communities. Ecol Lett 9:1237–1244

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Komonen A, Grapputo A, Kaitala V, Kotiaho JS, Paivinen J (2004) The role of niche breadth, resource availability and range position on the life history of butterflies. Oikos 105:41–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kormann U, Rosch V, Batary P, Tscharntke T, Orci KM, Samu F, Scherber C (2015) Local and landscape management drive trait-mediated biodiversity of nine taxa on small grassland fragments. Divers Distrib 21:1204–1217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krämer B, Poniatowski D, Fartmann T (2012) Effects of landscape and habitat quality on butterfly communities in pre-alpine calcareous grasslands. Biol Conserv 152:253–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krauss J, Steffan-Dewenter I, Tscharntke T (2003) How does landscape context contribute to effects of habitat fragmentation on diversity and population density of butterflies? J Biogeogr 30:889–900

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuussaari M, Heliölä J, Luoto M, Pöyry J (2007) Determinants of local species richness of diurnal Lepidoptera in boreal agricultural landscapes. Agric Ecosyst Environ 122:366–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lafranchis T (2000) Les papillons de jour de France, Belgique et Luxembourg et leurs chenilles. Biotope, Mèze

    Google Scholar 

  • Lizee M-H, Bonardo R, Mauffrey J-F, Bertaudiere-Montes V, Tatoni T, Deschamps-Cottin M (2011) Relative importance of habitat and landscape scales on butterfly communities of urbanizing areas. Comptes Rendus Biol 334:74–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnusson A, Skaug HJ, Nielsen A, Berg CW, Kristensen K, Maechler M, van Bentham KJ, Bolker BM, Brooks ME (2017) glmmTMB: generalized linear mixed models using template model builder. R package version 0.1.3. https://github.com/glmmTMB

  • Marini L, Fontana P, Battisti A, Gaston KJ (2009) Agricultural management, vegetation traits and landscape drive orthopteran and butterfly diversity in a grassland-forest mosaic: a multi-scale approach. Insect Conserv Divers 2:213–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marini L, Öckinger E, Bergman KO, Jauker B, Krauss J, Kuussaari M, Poyry J, Smith HG, Steffan-Dewenter I, Bommarco R (2014) Contrasting effects of habitat area and connectivity on evenness of pollinator communities. Ecography 37:544–551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miguet P, Jackson HB, Jackson ND, Martin AE, Fahrig L (2016) What determines the spatial extent of landscape effects on species? Landscape Ecol 31:1177–1194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naumann C, Tarmann G, Tremewan W (1999) The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae (Lepidoptera). Apollo Books Stenstrup, Fyn

    Google Scholar 

  • Öckinger E, Smith HG (2006) Landscape composition and habitat area affects butterfly species richness in semi-natural grasslands. Oecologia 149:526–534

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Öckinger E, Bergman KO, Franzén M, Kadlec T, Krauss J, Kuussaari M, Pöyry J, Smith HG, Steffan-Dewenter I, Bommarco R (2012) The landscape matrix modifies the effect of habitat fragmentation in grassland butterflies. Landscape Ecol 27:121–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver T, Roy DB, Hill JK, Brereton T, Thomas CD (2010) Heterogeneous landscapes promote population stability. Ecol Lett 13:473–484

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver TH, Stefanescu C, Páramo F, Brereton T, Roy DB (2014) Latitudinal gradients in butterfly population variability are influenced by landscape heterogeneity. Ecography 37:863–871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olivier T, Schmucki R, Fontaine B, Villemey A, Archaux F (2016) Butterfly assemblages in residential gardens are driven by species’ habitat preference and mobility. Landscape Ecol 31:865–876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perović D, Gamez-Virues S, Boerschig C, Klein AM, Krauss J, Steckel J, Rothenwoehrer C, Erasmi S, Tscharntke T, Westphal C (2015) Configurational landscape heterogeneity shapes functional community composition of grassland butterflies. J Appl Ecol 52:505–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2015) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienne, Austria

    Google Scholar 

  • Saura S, Torne J (2009) Conefor Sensinode 2.2: a software package for quantifying the importance of habitat patches for landscape connectivity. Environ Model Softw 24:135–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saura S, Vogt P, Velázquez J, Hernando A, Tejera R (2011) Key structural forest connectors can be identified by combining landscape spatial pattern and network analyses. For Ecol Manage 262:150–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sekar S (2012) A meta-analysis of the traits affecting dispersal ability in butterflies: can wingspan be used as a proxy? J Anim Ecol 81:174–184

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soga M, Koike S (2013) Patch isolation only matters for specialist butterflies but patch area affects both specialist and generalist species. J For Res 18:270–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens VM, Trochet A, Van Dyck H, Clobert J, Baguette M (2012) How is dispersal integrated in life histories: a quantitative analysis using butterflies. Ecol Lett 15:74–86

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens VM, Trochet A, Blanchet S, Moulherat S, Clobert J, Baguette M (2013) Dispersal syndromes and the use of life-histories to predict dispersal. Evol Appl 6:630–642

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas JA, Bourn NAD, Clarke RT, Stewart KE, Simcox DJ, Pearman GS, Curtis R, Goodger B (2001) The quality and isolation of habitat patches both determine where butterflies persist in fragmented landscapes. Proc R Soc Lond B 268:1791–1796

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van Halder I, Barnagaud J-Y, Jactel H, Barbaro L (2015) Woodland habitat quality prevails over fragmentation for shaping butterfly diversity in deciduous forest remnants. For Ecol Manage 357:171–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villemey A, van Halder I, Ouin A, Barbaro L, Chenot J, Tessier P, Calatayud F, Martin H, Roche P, Archaux F (2015) Mosaic of grasslands and woodlands is more effective than habitat connectivity to conserve butterflies in French farmland. Biol Conserv 191:206–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weissteiner CJ, García-Feced C, Paracchini M-L (2016) A new view on EU agricultural landscapes: quantifying patchiness to assess farmland heterogeneity. Ecol Ind 61:317–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We warmly thank M. Bichaud, P. Chatard, R. Essayan, F. Faucheux, D. Jugan, A. Lévêque and F. Mora for providing us with atlas data, Benoît Fontaine for data on species habitat specialization, Inge van Halder for giving us access to her database on species traits, Simon Rolland for GIS work and constitution of the database, and V. Moore for language corrections. This work was supported by the LEVANA project funded by the French Ministry of Environment (program DIVA 3, contract 12-MBGD-DIVA-5-CVS-030).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Irstea, UR EFNO, Domaine des Barres, 45290, Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France

    Frédéric Archaux, Claire Lorel & Anne Villemey

  2. CESCO, MNHN-CNRS-SU, CP135, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France

    Claire Lorel

Authors
  1. Frédéric Archaux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Claire Lorel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anne Villemey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frédéric Archaux.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 243 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Archaux, F., Lorel, C. & Villemey, A. Landscape drivers of butterfly and burnet moth diversity in lowland rural areas. Landscape Ecol 33, 1725–1739 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-018-0697-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-018-0697-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation