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When habitat management can be a bad thing: effects of habitat quality, isolation and climate on a declining grassland butterfly

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Abstract

The conservation of most temperate grassland habitats and their characteristic fauna and flora requires regular low-intensive forms of land-use to counteract natural succession. Although many species tolerate moderate disturbance regimes, some are known to be susceptible to grazing or mowing, thereby causing a management dilemma. One of these species is the Woodland Ringlet butterfly, Erebia medusa. In this study, we analysed which environmental factors determine the occurrence of E. medusa in the Diemel Valley (Central Germany). Furthermore, we conducted microclimatic measurements during the winter months to investigate the role of the litter layer as a microclimatic buffer. Patch occupancy in the Diemel Valley was well explained by the amount of litter present in a patch and connectivity to other inhabited patches. The role of local climatic conditions could not be clarified, due to inter-correlations with connectivity. During the winter, the air temperature inside the litter layer was significantly less variable than above it. We conclude that the current distribution of E. medusa in the Diemel Valley is caused by the combined effect of habitat quality and connectivity, and perhaps also by climatic factors. The importance of the litter layer reflects the dependence of E. medusa on low-intensive or absent land-use. In addition, the litter layer possibly constitutes an essential habitat element, as it buffers temperature fluctuations and thus probably reduces the energy consumption of overwintering larvae. Given the species’ preference for abandoned grasslands, the conservation of E. medusa requires a low-intensity habitat management, for example, by rotational grazing or mowing of small parts of the sites. On the landscape level, the preservation of well-connected habitat networks is important.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Gabriel Hermann for information on the habitats and population trends of E. medusa in South-west Germany. We are very grateful to Jan Thiele (Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster) for statistical advice. Benjamin Gräler (Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Münster) helped to write the R script for the model validation procedure. Two anonymous referees made valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This work was funded by a Ph.D. scholarship of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU).

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  1. Thomas Fartmann

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

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  1. Department of Community Ecology, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Robert-Koch-Straße 28, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Gregor Stuhldreher & Thomas Fartmann

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Stuhldreher, G., Fartmann, T. When habitat management can be a bad thing: effects of habitat quality, isolation and climate on a declining grassland butterfly. J Insect Conserv 18, 965–979 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9704-y

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