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How Euphydryas maturna survived extinction in the Czech Republic: status of a relic population after intensive conservation management

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Abstract

In the Czech Republic, the scarce fritillary (Euphydryas maturna) had been considered extinct until the rediscovery of an extant population in Dománovický les, Central Bohemia. Subsequent efforts to protect the locality were thwarted by disputes between landowners and researchers. In 2010, when the population size was reaching critically low levels, appropriate management was finally established at the locality. To evaluate the current status of the population, an intensive mark-release-recapture study was conducted in the area in 2016 and 2017, comprising several hundreds captured individuals. The total population size was estimated at 764 butterflies for 2016 and 518 butterflies for 2017. In comparison with the pilot study performed in 2002, the population size was slightly higher, but the dispersal rates were lower. These results indicate that Euphydryas maturna in the Czech Republic has managed to bounce back from a critical population size. On the other hand, the risk of extinction has not been averted due to continued habitat loss and stochastic environmental effects. Management efforts should aim to expand the habitats used by the breeding populations, at present predominantly confined to temporary forest clearings and to open canopy forest with low tree density. Moreover, assisted reintroductions of this only surviving population to the surrounding areas should be considered.

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Acknowledgements

The study was partly funded by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (NCA CR), Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, and by the Internal Grant Agency of the Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague (CIGA) through Project No. 20172002. The analysis was supported by the Polish National Science Centre (Grant Number DEC-2013/11/B/NZ8/00912). The authors thank P. Bína, V. John, and J. Pipek for their consultations as well as for the valuable advice provided during the entire research project. NCA CR provided the permission for the MRR study. Additionally, we are thankful to members of the Czech Society for Butterfly and Moth Conservation (M. Bezděk, E. Lehečka, M. Pálka, A. Pavlíčko, V. Rybová, and Z. Weidenhoffer) and students of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (L. Drbohlavová, B. Kramosilová, N. Myšková, and K. Reklová) who participated in the monitoring. Finally, the authors thank Cactus Editage for their proofreading services.

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  1. Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 21, Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Vladimír Vrabec, Terezie Bubová & Martin Kulma

  2. Natural Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, Protected Landscape Area Administration, Moravský kras, Svitavská 29, 678 01, Blansko, Czech Republic

    Antonín Krása

  3. Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland

    Piotr Nowicki

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Vrabec, V., Bubová, T., Kulma, M. et al. How Euphydryas maturna survived extinction in the Czech Republic: status of a relic population after intensive conservation management. J Insect Conserv 23, 393–403 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00145-x

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