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Butterfly and grasshopper diversity patterns in humid Mediterranean grasslands: the roles of disturbance and environmental factors

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Abstract

The present paper studies butterfly, grasshopper and vascular plant communities in ten seasonally flooded grasslands with different anthropogenic disturbance regimes (NW Greece). Disturbance intensity was assessed on the basis of disturbance frequency and type (grazing, mowing, trampling, constructions). The distribution patterns of butterflies are regulated by humidity and elevation (Redundancy Analysis). Elevation, flower-heads abundance, low disturbance intensity and plant species richness predict grasshopper species richness well, while the latter together with humidity predict plant species richness (Generalized Linear Models). Chorthippus lacustris, a critically endangered endemic grasshopper species, is positively associated with humid microhabitats with high flower-heads abundance. An indicator value procedure reveals four butterfly species as being typical species for habitats with a pronounced character of hedgerows and tree lines. Conservation management of grassland butterflies should focus on the maintenance of the humid character of the humid grasslands as well as on the maintenance of hedgerows and tree lines. The reduction of human-induced disturbance towards occasional grazing and mowing seems to benefit both butterfly and grasshopper communities. Finally, we suggest the use of grasshoppers as surrogates for vascular plants and vice versa, given their congruent species richness patterns.

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Acknowledgments

The present research was partially funded by Interreg IIIA Greece-Italy project (2006–2009). We are particularly grateful to project coordinator Prof. P. Dimopoulos for research support and fruitful advice. We also thank Theodora Pasxali for fieldwork assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Management, University of Ioannina, Seferi 2, 30100, Agrinio, Greece

    Vassiliki Kati, Konstantina Zografou & Elli Tzirkalli

  2. Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, 45110, Ioannina, Greece

    Konstantina Zografou & Elli Tzirkalli

  3. Goritsa Koutseliou, 45500, Ioannina, Greece

    Theodoros Chitos

  4. Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis (section NHN), Leiden University, P.O. box 9514, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Luc Willemse

Authors
  1. Vassiliki Kati
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  2. Konstantina Zografou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vassiliki Kati.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Study sites

Sites

Coordinates

 

Environmental parameters

Latitude (N)

Longitude (E)

Habitat type

Alt (m)

Temp (°C)

Hum (%)

Herb height (cm)

Herb cover

F

TSh cover (%)

DT (m)

S1

39°38′8.12″

20°53′4.60″

6420*

467

32

53

54

3

3

3

<10

S2

39°32′2.15″

20°13′1.31″

6420*

0

28

57

99

4

4

3

30

S3

39°32′59.57″

20°52′49.80″

6420

480

29

44

69

3

5

0

60

S4

39°55′7.28″

20°36′56.12″

6420

468

30

45

59

3

3

0

>100

S5

39°48′17.50″

20°34′52.57″

6450

378

33

65

94

4

3

3

30

S6

39°28′48.36″

20°27′52.34″

6420*

187

25

47

74

3

3

0

80

S7

39°35′48.66″

20°11′27.92″

6420*

0

30

60

83

4

4

2

45

S8

39°32′11.44″

20°12′11.56″

6420*

0

29

51

64

3

5

1

15

S9

39°32′49.02″

20°10′24.78″

1410*

0

30

45

31

2

1

5

40

S10

39°18′18.79″

20°28′14.52″

6420*

101

31

52

51

3

3

4

>100

  1. * Site of Natura 2000 network, Alt altitude, Temp mean air temperature, Hum mean soil humidity, Herb height mean of maximum herb heights at plots, Herb cover mean herb cover (1: 1–5%, 2: 6–25%, 3: 25–50%, 4: 51–75%, 5: >75%), F average flower-heads (1: <10, 2: 11–50, 3: 50–100, 4: 101–200, 5: 201–400, 6: 401–600, 7: >600), TSh cover cover of shrubs and trees at 40 m bandwidth (see herb cover scale), DT distance from nearest tree line/hedgerow

Appendix 2: Species inventory

See Tables 3, 4, and 5.

Table 3 Inventory of the butterfly species and their conservation status for the 27 member states of the EU after van Swaay et al. (2010)
Full size table
Table 4 Inventory of grasshopper species sampled
Full size table
Table 5 Inventory of the vascular plant species sampled
Full size table

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Kati, V., Zografou, K., Tzirkalli, E. et al. Butterfly and grasshopper diversity patterns in humid Mediterranean grasslands: the roles of disturbance and environmental factors. J Insect Conserv 16, 807–818 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-012-9467-2

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