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Firebreaks as a barrier to movement: the case of a butterfly in a Mediterranean landscape

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Abstract

Firebreaks are linear strips that dissect the landscape and prevent or mitigate the spread of wildfires in Mediterranean landscapes. However, few studies have addressed their potential effect on insect behavior. The lack of traffic and other human activities in firebreaks makes them suitable for testing the sole effect of physical habitat disruption on animal movement. Our main objective was to evaluate whether the pattern of movement by a butterfly species was affected by this landscape element. We reconstructed flight trajectories of the lycaenid butterfly Plebejus argus within and around one firebreak using visual and GPS tracking in Doñana National Park (southern Spain). Butterflies that were active at the firebreak boundary often refused to enter the firebreak and, when they did, most individuals returned before reaching the opposite side. Inside the firebreak we recorded faster and straighter trajectories than in adjacent scrubland areas. Butterflies that crossed the firebreak headed the most favorable direction to minimize the time spent within the habitat discontinuity. At the landscape scale, firebreak density increased in areas where P. argus habitat was more fragmented and had lower quality. A narrow, open linear element lacking any human activity induces a marked change in the movement behavior of a butterfly species, with potential consequences on population dynamics at the landscape scale. Therefore, firebreaks used for protecting Mediterranean landscapes could have side effects on animal populations other than localized habitat loss due to mere vegetation removal.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía (Grant P06-RNM-1903 to A. Rodríguez). Special thanks to Doñana National Park and the Estación Biológica de Doñana that provided permission and support for working in the field. Rafael Obregón and Laura Gil helped with the field work. Two anonymous referees provided helpful comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edificio C-4, 14071, Córdoba, Spain

    Pilar Fernández, Diego Jordano & Juan Fernández-Haeger

  2. Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Américo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, Spain

    Alejandro Rodríguez

  3. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain

    David Gutiérrez

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  1. Pilar Fernández
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Correspondence to Pilar Fernández.

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Butterfly tracking was conducted with relevant permissions provided by the Doñana National Park.

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Fernández, P., Rodríguez, A., Gutiérrez, D. et al. Firebreaks as a barrier to movement: the case of a butterfly in a Mediterranean landscape. J Insect Conserv 23, 843–856 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00175-5

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