Lepidoptera’s Biodiversity and Conservation in the 21st Century

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Conservation Biology and Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 2404

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università degli Studi di Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy
Interests: Lepidoptera conservation; butterfly monitoring scheme; biodiversity conservation; butterfly biology and ecology; host parasite interaction; sustainability

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università degli Studi di Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy
Interests: insects’ ecology and conservation; entomology; ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The decline in Lepidoptera populations reflects the declines recorded in other insects, and it is likely related to ecosystem deterioration. One of the most important challenges of the 21st century is to reverse the decline of biodiversity and restore ecosystems.

Different environmental pressures threaten Lepidoptera all over the world, such as habitat loss and degradation, agriculture intensification, climate change, and afforestation. The vulnerability of Lepidoptera species depends on their sensitivity to local and global threats that impact upon them. Species dispersal ability (including migration), demographics (such as population size and density), trophic specialization (monophagy vs. polyphagy), and local adaptations might be crucial factors to determine species sensitivity.

According to the European Agenda 2030, biodiversity conservation has to be a priority. Specifically, we face the need to develop specific tools for conservation, such as action plans for threatened species, assessment protocols for sustainable agriculture, and models for prioritization of species and areas.

This Special Issue will gather a selection of articles addressing the new challenges in Lepidoptera conservation, from the understanding of the vulnerability at species, population, or community level to developing tools or local solutions for conservation. These aspects can be addressed in relation to different threats (i.e., acoustical, chemical and light pollution) and in different contexts (i.e., agriculture, urban context, or mountain areas). 

Prof. Dr. Simona Bonelli
Dr. Irene Piccini
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • vulnerability
  • sensitivity
  • dispersal ability
  • conservation tools
  • local solutions
  • action plan
  • threatened species
  • assessment protocols
  • prioritizing species and areas
  • umbrella species
  • protected species

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2429 KiB  
Article
Movements of a Specialist Butterfly in Relation to Mowing Management of Its Habitat Patches
by Miloš Popović and Piotr Nowicki
Biology 2023, 12(3), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12030344 - 21 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1547
Abstract
Over the centuries, mowing and grazing have been crucial for sustaining populations of grassland insects and their overall diversity in Europe. While long-term positive effects of mowing have been studied in more detail, little is known about the direct impacts of mowing on [...] Read more.
Over the centuries, mowing and grazing have been crucial for sustaining populations of grassland insects and their overall diversity in Europe. While long-term positive effects of mowing have been studied in more detail, little is known about the direct impacts of mowing on adult butterflies. Here, we explore how different habitat management (mown, recovered after mowing and unmown) affects movements and population estimates of the endangered specialist butterfly Phengaris teleius. The results showed higher dispersal probability from mown (22%) and recovered meadows (16%) than from the unmown ones (9%). However, mowing shortened the average dispersal distances (mown = 102 m, recovered = 198 m, unmown = 246 m) and reduced butterfly population size. In contrast, a larger area of the habitat patches promoted long-distance dispersal and sustained larger populations. We hypothesise that mowing caused depletion of resources and triggered dispersal of poorly adapted individuals. This behaviour is maladaptive and could lead to higher dispersal-related mortality; thus, mowing should be avoided before and during the butterfly flight period. This study suggests that the species’ persistence in a fragmented landscape depends on large, unmown and interconnected habitats that support more viable populations, promote long-distance dispersal, and enable (re)colonisation of vacant patches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lepidoptera’s Biodiversity and Conservation in the 21st Century)
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