Use of Exotic Hosts by Lepidoptera: Widespread Species Colonize More Novel Hosts

Jahner, Joshua P.; Bonilla, Melvin M.; Badik, Kevin J.; Shapiro, Arthur M.; Forister, Matthew L.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01310.x

Cited by 77 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Planting of these exotic plants should be prohibited for their risk to the local natural environment (GISD 2010) and native species in general should be favored if biodiversity is a priority. However, urban butterflies in Hong Kong evidently make consistent use of non-native plant resources, as do many urban butterflies globally (Graves and Shapiro 2003;Jahner et al 2011). This pattern applies beyond butterflies in that Corlett (2005) also observed frequent use of non-native plants by native birds and fruit bats in urban Hong Kong.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Butterfly diversity, habitat and vegetation usage in Hong Kong urban parks

Tam

Bonebrake

2015

Urban Ecosyst

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The conservation value of urban parks for butterfly communities remains poorly understood, particularly for tropical butterflies in Asia. We conducted point count and route transect butterfly surveys, and used them to sample four habitats located within 13 urban parks across Hong Kong. We found 1054 individuals and 58 species of butterflies recorded in 60 survey hours over 6 months. This represents approximately one quarter of the entire known Hong Kong butterfly species list. Over 30 % of the individuals counted were Catospilia sp. but six of the species identified are classified locally as rare or very rare. Tree-covered habitats and grasslands showed higher butterfly diversity than open areas. The most common butterfly behavior was Bdirected flight,^which we also found to be habitat-dependent and most common in ponds and open areas. We additionally observed the use of vegetation in urban parks, which included 40 species of nectar plant and four records of butterfly oviposition. The high butterfly diversity, presence of rare species and usage of vegetation (especially as a nectar resource) we documented in this study suggests that urban parks have some conservation value for Hong Kong. However, the use of pesticides and heavy vegetation clearing may limit significant butterfly reproduction and population growth. Altogether these results emphasize the diversity of uses of urban parks for butterflies in Hong Kong while also providing possible directions for improvement in habitat and vegetation management that could increase urban park value for biodiversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Butterfly diversity, habitat and vegetation usage in Hong Kong urban parks

Tam

Bonebrake

2015

Urban Ecosyst

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“…Previous studies using the northern California butterfly dataset have shown that richness has declined in half of the 10 study sites in recent decades, with the greatest decrease in richness at low elevations (Forister et al, 2010;Casner et al, 2014a). Several species have exhibited upward shifts in elevational ranges (Forister et al, 2010), changes in emergence date (Forister & Shapiro, 2003), increased reliance on non-native host plants (Shapiro, 2002;Graves & Shapiro, 2003;Jahner et al, 2011), and rapid declines in population numbers at both low- and high-elevation sites (Nice et al, 2014). Taken together, these results indicate that Californian butterflies are responding to ongoing fluctuations in regional climate, potentially including changing precipitation regimes, as well as changes in land-use patterns (Casner et al, 2014a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond annual and seasonal averages: using temporal patterns of precipitation to predict butterfly richness across an elevational gradient

Badik

Shapiro

Bonilla

et al. 2015

Ecological Entomology

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Abstract. 1. Ecologists often make predictions about community richness and diversity using climate variables that include seasonal precipitation totals and mean daily temperatures. While means and totals can be effective predictors to a certain extent, the complexities of faunal-climate relationships might be over-simplified through the use of coarse-grained variables.2. The goal of this study was to investigate less commonly studied climate variables, including indices of intra-annual variation in the timing and intensity of precipitation events that might be used to predict butterfly richness across an elevational gradient. Data from a long-term, single-observer dataset at four sites in California were examined with Bayesian model averaging and structural equation modelling. Species-specific responses to climate were compared with community responses at each site.3. At lower elevations, it was found that the relative importance of climate variables shifted towards temporal patterns of precipitation, including the timing of the first storm event and the annual number of precipitation events. Heterogeneity among sites was apparent in the importance of specific weather variables, and temporal trends (across years) were detected for a small number of variables. Species-specific results paralleled those obtained from analysis of species richness, thus suggesting a commonality of response to climate across site-specific assemblages.4. Models were improved by inclusion of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Niño-Southern Oscillation indices, indicating that regional variables can profitably be included in faunal-climate relationship analyses. These results emphasise the need for researchers to examine climate variables beyond the most readily summarised means and totals.

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“…Native phytophagous insects are increasingly colonising non-native plants, demonstrating rapid adaptations and becoming model systems for evolutionary biology (Jahner et al, 2011). Waterfowl communities along the mid-Atlantic coast of United States thrive due to the exotic aquatic plants Hydrilla verticillata and Myriophyllum spicatum (Rybicki and Landwehr 2007).…”

Section: Recognizing the Positive Effects Of Biological Invasionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facing the broader dimensions of biological invasions

Tassin

Kull

2015

Land Use Policy

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Invasive species are an excellent opportunity to think about the nature society desires, particularly in the face of global changes. Nature, and human views of nature, are rapidly evolving; our approach to biological invasions through biosecurity institutions and land management policies must evolve in tandem with these changes. We review three dimensions that are insufficiently addressed. First, biological invasions are culturally shaped and interpreted. Humans play a major role in the movement and nurturing of alien life, and aesthetics, perception, and emotion are deeply implicated in the and management of invasive species. What people fear or regret with invasive species are not their effects on nature per se, but their effects on a particular desired nature, and policymaking must reflect this. Second, biological invasions are not restricted to negative impacts. Invasions take place in landscapes where many natural conditions have been altered, so policy tools must recognize that invasive species are a functional, structural and compositional part of transformed ecosystems. In some cases, native species benefit from changes in resource availability caused by invasions or from protections provided by an invasive plant. Finally, invasive species can help ecosystems and people to adapt to global change by maintaining ecosystem processes such as productivity, carbon storage, and nutrient cycling in a context of climate change or land cover transformations. While recognition is growing among ecologists that novel, invaded ecosystems have value, and while the on-the-ground application of biosecurity policies has of necessity adjusted to local contexts and other agendas, invasion biology could aid policymaking by better addressing the three complexities inherent in the three dimensions highlighted above.

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Use of Exotic Hosts by Lepidoptera: Widespread Species Colonize More Novel Hosts

Abstract: The study of host shifts by herbivorous insects has played an important role in evolutionary biology, contributing to research in coevolution, ecological speciation, and adaptive radiation. As invasive plants become more abundant in many ecosystems,

Cited by 77 publications

References 46 publications

Butterfly diversity, habitat and vegetation usage in Hong Kong urban parks

Butterfly diversity, habitat and vegetation usage in Hong Kong urban parks

Beyond annual and seasonal averages: using temporal patterns of precipitation to predict butterfly richness across an elevational gradient

Facing the broader dimensions of biological invasions

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