Successful Conservation of a Threatened Maculinea Butterfly

被引：210

作者：

Thomas, J. A. ^{[1
,2
]}

Simcox, D. J. ^{[2
]}

Clarke, R. T. ^{[2
,3
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Oxford, Dept Zool, Oxford OX1 3PS, England

[2] Ctr Ecol & Hydrol, Wallingford OX10 8BB, Oxon, England

[3] Bournemouth Univ, Sch Conservat Sci, Ctr Conservat Ecol & Environm Change, Poole BH12 5BB, Dorset, England

来源：

SCIENCE | 2009年 / 325卷 / 5936期

关键词：

SOCIAL PARASITE; NICHE SELECTION; ANT NESTS; HOST; CRISIS; ARION;

D O I：

10.1126/science.1175726

中图分类号：

O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];

学科分类号：

07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;

摘要：

Globally threatened butterflies have prompted research-based approaches to insect conservation. Here, we describe the reversal of the decline of Maculinea arion (Large Blue), a charismatic specialist whose larvae parasitize Myrmica ant societies. M. arion larvae were more specialized than had previously been recognized, being adapted to a single host-ant species that inhabits a narrow niche in grassland. Inconspicuous changes in grazing and vegetation structure caused host ants to be replaced by similar but unsuitable congeners, explaining the extinction of European Maculinea populations. Once this problem was identified, UK ecosystems were perturbed appropriately, validating models predicting the recovery and subsequent dynamics of the butterfly and ants at 78 sites. The successful identification and reversal of the problem provide a paradigm for other insect conservation projects.

引用

页码：80 / 83

页数：4

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