Abstract
We tested the surrogate value of butterflies, red-listed butterflies and grasshoppers for each other in terms of diversity patterns congruence and complementarity at a site in the NATURA 2000 network. Grammos Mountain is proposed as a new Prime Butterfly Area for Greece: it supports a total of 56 grasshopper species and 112 butterfly species, 24 of which are of European conservation concern (SPEC) and two of Prime Butterflies Area Project. We found a strong congruence in the species richness patterns of SPEC butterflies, butterflies and grasshoppers, because three common ecological factors influenced them: number of flower heads, altitude, and cover of low trees or bushes (Redundancy Analysis, CANOCO). Each complementarity network maintained quite well the species richness of the other two target groups (<18% average species loss). SPEC butterflies were the best surrogate group overall and therefore we propose that they should be monitored on a permanent basis.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to “Proodeutiki Enosi Pyrsogiannis” for financially supporting our field research and to L. Willemse and A. Grill for their valuable support and help in specimen identification. We also thank H. Papaioannou, P. Gerofoka, G. Theodoropoulos, G. Michaelides and G. Adamides for field assistance.
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Zografou, K., Sfenthourakis, S., Pullin, A. et al. On the surrogate value of red-listed butterflies for butterflies and grasshoppers: a case study in Grammos site of Natura 2000, Greece. J Insect Conserv 13, 505–514 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-008-9198-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-008-9198-6