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Coastal heathland succession influences butterfly community composition and threatens endangered butterfly species

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Abstract

Succession has a strong influence on species diversity and composition of semi-natural open terrestrial ecosystems. While several studies examined the effects of succession on butterflies in grassland and forest ecosystems, the response of heathland butterflies to succession had not been investigated so far. To address this issue we sampled butterfly abundance and environmental parameters on the Baltic island of Hiddensee (NE Germany) along a gradient of coastal heathland succession from grey dunes to birch forest. Our results provide evidence that succession of coastal heathland has a strong influence on butterfly diversity, abundance, and species composition. Thereby grass and tree encroachment present the main threats for heathland butterflies. Diversity and abundance of butterflies were highest in shrub-encroached heath directly followed by early stages of coastal heathland succession (dwarf-shrub heath, grey dune). Both observed threatened species (Hipparchia semele, Plebeius argus) were negatively affected by succession: abundance decreased with increasing vegetation density (both species) and grass cover (P. argus); consequently, the two later successional stages (shrub, birch forest) were not occupied. Our findings highlight the importance of the preservation of early stages of coastal heathland succession for endangered butterfly species. For coastal heathland management we therefore suggest to maintain early successional stages by sheep grazing, mowing or, in case of high nutrient contents, intensive techniques such as sod-cutting or choppering. To a lower extend shrub-encroached sites should also be present, which might be beneficial for overall species richness.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jasmin Mantilla-Contreras for help with the field work and the national park ‘Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft’ for the permission to conduct the study in the protected area. The study was partly funded by the ‘Bauer-Hollmann-Stiftung’. Moreover, we a grateful to two anonymous referees for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Jens Schirmel

    Present address: Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstr. 7, 76829, Landau, Germany

  2. Thomas Fartmann

    Present address: Ecology Group, Department of Biology and Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastr. 13, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Station of Hiddensee, University of Greifswald, Biologenweg 15, 18565, Isle of Hiddensee, Germany

    Jens Schirmel

  2. Department of Community Ecology, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Thomas Fartmann

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  1. Jens Schirmel
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Correspondence to Jens Schirmel.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 4.

Table 4 List of observed butterfly species in five successional stages of a coastal heathland on the Baltic island of Hiddensee, NE Germany
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Schirmel, J., Fartmann, T. Coastal heathland succession influences butterfly community composition and threatens endangered butterfly species. J Insect Conserv 18, 111–120 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9619-7

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