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Extent of Dakota skipper, Hesperia dacotae, distribution in Southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada

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Abstract

The Dakota skipper, Hesperia dacotae, (Hesperiidae) is an at-risk Lepidoptera species, limited in Canada to native mesic mixed-grass prairie habitat in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Due to declines in the native mesic mixed-grass prairie the Dakota skipper population is threatened by loss of habitat. Currently, there is little knowledge about Dakota skipper and the availability and distribution of suitable habitat within Saskatchewan. Our objective was to map potential Dakota skipper habitat using a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) based species distribution model with climate, soil, and landscape predictor variables. Potential Dakota skipper habitat was found broadly in the mesic mixed-grass prairie region, however there is only ~217 km2 of potential habitat (probability of occurrence 0.7-1). Locations with high probability of occurrence had soils with a significantly higher soil ammonium (\({\rm {NH}}_{4}^{+}\)) and silt content than low probability locations. While the Dakota skipper is broadly distributed in native mesic mixed-grass prairie of southeastern Saskatchewan, environmental constraints likely restrict this species to a limited proportion of the intact native prairie. Implications for insect conservation: Mapping landscape-level species distributions will assist in the development of conservation and management plans for the Dakota skipper in southeastern Saskatchewan including targeted surveys for unknown populations in areas of high potential, identification of potential reintroduction sites, and selection of lands for conservation.

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Acknowledgements

Funding support for this research came from a NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship in partnership with Stantec Consulting Limited to KS, a NSERC Engage grant to ABH, and grants from NSERC (Discovery Grant), Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada to EGL.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Room 323, Kirk Hall, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5C8, Canada

    Kelsey M. Seidle & Jean-Michel DeVink

  2. Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, Room 5D34, Agriculture Building 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada

    Jeremy Kiss & Angela Bedard-Haughn

  3. Department of Plant Science, University of Saskatchewan, Room 4D36, Agriculture Building, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5A8, Canada

    Anjika U. Attanayake & Eric G. Lamb

  4. Dillon Consulting Ltd, 510 Cope Way, Suite 100, Saskatoon Saskatchewan, S7T 0G3, Canada

    Jean-Michel DeVink

  5. Department of Biology, The University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9, Canada

    Richard Westwood

Authors
  1. Kelsey M. Seidle
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  2. Jeremy Kiss
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  3. Anjika U. Attanayake
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  4. Jean-Michel DeVink
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  5. Angela Bedard-Haughn
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  6. Richard Westwood
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  7. Eric G. Lamb
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Correspondence to Eric G. Lamb.

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Animal care permitting was not required for insect work.

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Seidle, K.M., Kiss, J., Attanayake, A.U. et al. Extent of Dakota skipper, Hesperia dacotae, distribution in Southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. J Insect Conserv 24, 1073–1081 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-020-00276-6

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