What keeps 'living dead' alive : demography of a small and isolated population of Maculinea (= Phengaris) alcon
| Autor: | Krzysztof Deoniziak, I. Dziekanska, Agata Kostro-Ambroziak, Marcin Sielezniew, Robert Rutkowski, Elisa Plazio, Piotr Nowicki |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Phengaris alcon Population 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Gene flow Effective population size education Nature and Landscape Conservation education.field_of_study Ecology biology Population size genetic diversity biology.organism_classification 010602 entomology species persistence foodplant availability Animal ecology Gentiana pneumonanthe Insect Science Butterfly flight period Animal Science and Zoology mark-recapture life span Demography |
| Popis: | Small and isolated populations are prone to future extinctions and thus perceived as ‘living dead’. Although generally considered to be of low conservation value, their existence can still enhance species survival at the landscape scale through improving the connectivity of other populations and facilitating some (even if little) gene flow. We investigated the demography and genetic status of a tiny and highly isolated local population of Maculinea (= Phengaris) alcon near its distribution margin with the aim of identifying the features that allow it to persist. The study comprised intensive mark-recapture, surveys of Gentiana pneumonanthe foodplants and butterfly eggs laid on them, as well as genetic analyses. The population has been found to be characterised by low genetic diversity and estimated at only a few tens of individuals. The foodplant availability turned out to be the most obvious factor limiting M. alcon abundance. Nevertheless, the life expectancy of adult butterflies is fairly long, and their flight period very short, implying that most individuals occur within the same time window. Together with the relatively little protandry observed, i.e. almost synchronous emergence of males and females, this increases the chances of random mating among the individuals. Moreover, the butterflies move freely across the core habitat fragment. All things concerned, the effective population size is presumably not much lower than the recorded population size. Our findings provide guidelines for pinpointing those among ‘living dead’ populations that are likely to be the most persistent and thus worth conservation efforts aimed at preserving them. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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