Fen meadows on the move for the conservation of Maculinea (Phengaris) teleius butterflies

Wynhoff, Irma; Kolvoort, A. M.; Bassignana, Chiara Flora; Berg, Matty P.; Langevelde, Frank van

doi:10.1007/s10841-016-9941-3

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Several rare and Red-Listed birds have also increased in the reserve, including Coturnix and Perdix perdix. Many common butterflies have spread, but the target species P. teleius has still not successfully colonized areas outside the Moerputten nature reserve, probably because the density of host ants is still too low (69). Thus, although conservation has expanded its habitat, the quality is not yet sufficiently high enough to support the butterfly.…”

Section: Conservation Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions

Warren

Maes

Swaay

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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281

183

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We review changes in the status of butterflies in Europe, focusing on long-running population data available for the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium, based on standardized monitoring transects. In the United Kingdom, 8% of resident species have become extinct, and since 1976 overall numbers declined by around 50%. In the Netherlands, 20% of species have become extinct, and since 1990 overall numbers in the country declined by 50%. Distribution trends showed that butterfly distributions began decreasing long ago, and between 1890 and 1940, distributions declined by 80%. In Flanders (Belgium), 20 butterflies have become extinct (29%), and between 1992 and 2007 overall numbers declined by around 30%. A European Grassland Butterfly Indicator from 16 European countries shows there has been a 39% decline of grassland butterflies since 1990. The 2010 Red List of European butterflies listed 38 of the 482 European species (8%) as threatened and 44 species (10%) as near threatened (note that 47 species were not assessed). A country level analysis indicates that the average Red List rating is highest in central and mid-Western Europe and lowest in the far north of Europe and around the Mediterranean. The causes of the decline of butterflies are thought to be similar in most countries, mainly habitat loss and degradation and chemical pollution. Climate change is allowing many species to spread northward while bringing new threats to susceptible species. We describe examples of possible conservation solutions and a summary of policy changes needed to conserve butterflies and other insects.

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Section: Conservation Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions

Warren

Maes

Swaay

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

281

183

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“…The core site Moerputten (115 ha) consists of moist meadows and wet forests. In the past, the surrounding area was dominated by intensively used agricultural fields and cattle pastures (Wynhoff, 1998 ; Wynhoff et al, 2017 ). The wet meadows in Moerputten provide the habitat for M. teleius which is restricted to one core population in this reserve.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wet meadows in Moerputten provide the habitat for M. teleius which is restricted to one core population in this reserve. The restoration actions were described in detail earlier (Wynhoff et al, 2017 ). The restoration areas were at distances from the butterfly population within the known long dispersal range (average 2 km, maximum 4.5 km) (Van Langevelde & Wynhoff, 2009 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sod translocation to restore habitats of the myrmecophilous butterfly Phengaris (Maculinea) teleius on former agricultural fields

Sevilleja

Langevelde

Gallego‐Zamorano

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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In Europe, 50%–70% of former natural grassland area has been destroyed during the past 30 years due to land use changes, losses are expected to increase in the future. Restoration is thought to reverse this situation by creating suitable abiotic conditions. In this paper, we investigate the effects of sod translocation with specific vegetation to facilitate the restoration of a former intensive agricultural field into a wet meadow. First, starting conditions were optimized including modification of the local hydrology, removal of the fertilized topsoil, application of liming, and translocation of fresh clippings as a seed source. The second part aimed at restoring the habitat for the butterfly species Phengaris (Maculinea) teleius, one of the species that was especially affected by the loss of wet meadows. This species engages in a complex myrmecophilous relationship with one host plant, Sanguisorba officinalis, and one obligate host ant, Myrmica scabrinodis. We used sod translocation to create islands of habitat to promote host plant and host ant colonization. After 4 years following the restoration, we observed that plants spread from the transplanted sods to the surroundings. The vegetation composition and structure of the transplanted sods attracted colonization of Myrmica ants into the restored areas. Following the increase in vegetation cover and height, Myrmica ant colonies further spread into the restored areas. Therefore, sod translocations can be considered an effective restoration method following topsoil removal in the process of restoring wet meadows to provide a starting point for ant colonization and plant dispersion. With these findings, this paper contributes to the evidence‐based restoration of wet meadows on former agricultural fields, including complex interactions between invertebrates and their required ecological relationships.

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“…Johst et al ., ; Korosi et al ., ; Sielezniew et al ., ; Soares et al ., ; Andersen et al ., ; Klein et al ., ; Skorka et al ., ; Nowicki et al ., ; ; Vilbas et al ., ; Kajzer‐Bonk et al ., ; Vanden Broeck et al ., ; Vrabec et al ., ). The validity of this approach is already exemplified by the long‐term restoration and spread of Maculinea arion in the United Kingdom (Thomas et al ., ; Thomas et al ., ) and of M. nausithous and M. teleius in the Netherlands (Wynhoff et al ., ; Wynhoff et al ., ). This ‘large blue management’, in turn, has benefited other declining species in two ways (Elmes & Thomas, ): (i) through the restoration of continuity of disappearing seral stages within grasslands and across landscapes and (ii) through the direct impacts of keystone Myrmica populations, for example, through the dispersal of plants with elaiosome‐bearing seeds (some of which are specifically attractive to Myrmica ) and their deposition in enemy‐free patches of loose soil around the ant nests (Randle et al ., ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation of co‐evolved interactions: understanding theMaculinea–Myrmicacomplex

Thomas

Schönrogge

2019

Insect Conserv Diversity

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The six papers in this Special Issue of Insect Conservation and Diversity are presented as a gedenkschrift honouring ground‐breaking contributions made by the late Graham Elmes towards understanding the biology of Myrmica ants and their social parasites. A common theme is that each research paper contributes new knowledge applicable to the future survival of Maculinea (= Phengaris) species of butterflies, which have become flagships for insect conservation across Europe. All Maculinea species are highly specialised, with larvae that feed briefly on a specific foodplant before living underground for 11–23 months as social parasites of Myrmica colonies. This introductory overview provides a brief history of the research that has led to the current collection, with emphasis on Graham Elmes' life and work. It is followed by three research papers that illustrate the diversity, socio‐biology and ecology of Myrmica ants. A fourth describes an extreme adaptation that increases the efficiency with which some populations of Maculinea larvae exploit the resources within Myrmica nests. A fifth, more theoretical, paper models the constraints that typically lead to host specificity among social parasites and explores why host switches are rare and quick.

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Fen meadows on the move for the conservation of Maculinea (Phengaris) teleius butterflies

Cited by 11 publications

References 43 publications

The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions

The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions

Sod translocation to restore habitats of the myrmecophilous butterfly Phengaris (Maculinea) teleius on former agricultural fields

Conservation of co‐evolved interactions: understanding theMaculinea–Myrmicacomplex

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