Plant quality and local adaptation undermine relocation in a bog specialist butterfly

Camille Turlure,Michiel Wallis De Vries,Viktoriia Radchuk,Michel Baguette,Mark Meijrink,Gert‐Jan Van Duinen,Arnold Van Den Burg

doi:10.1002/ece3.427

Camille Turlure, Michiel Wallis De Vries + Show 5 more

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The butterfly Boloria aquilonaris is a specialist of oligotrophic ecosystems. Population viability analysis predicted the species to be stable in Belgium and to collapse in the Netherlands with reduced host plant quality expected to drive species decline in the latter. We tested this hypothesis by rearing B. aquilonaris caterpillars from Belgian and Dutch sites on host plants (the cranberry, Vaccinium oxycoccos). Dutch plant quality was lower than Belgian one conferring lower caterpillar growth rate and survival. Reintroduction and/or supplementation may be necessary to ensure the viability of the species in the Netherlands, but some traits may have been selected solely in Dutch caterpillars to cope with gradual changes in host plant quality. To test this hypothesis, the performance of Belgian and Dutch caterpillars fed with plants from both countries were compared. Dutch caterpillars performed well on both plant qualities, whereas Belgian caterpillars could not switch to lower quality plants. This can be considered as an environmentally induced plastic response of caterpillars and/or a local adaptation to plant quality, which precludes the use of Belgian individuals as a unique solution for strengthening Dutch populations. More generally, these results stress that the relevance of local adaptation in selecting source populations for relocation may be as important as restoring habitat quality.

Highlights

Many of the evaluated species of different taxonomic groups are currently considered endangered, their decline being closely linked to the multiple negative impacts of human activities
Reintroduction and/or supplementation may be necessary to ensure the viability of the species in the Netherlands, but some traits may have been selected solely in Dutch caterpillars to cope with gradual changes in host plant quality
Dutch caterpillars performed well on both plant qualities, whereas Belgian caterpillars could not switch to lower quality plants. This can be considered as an environmentally induced plastic response of caterpillars and/or a local adaptation to plant quality, which precludes the use of Belgian individuals as a unique solution for strengthening Dutch populations. These results stress that the relevance of local adaptation in selecting source populations for relocation may be as important as restoring habitat quality

Summary

Introduction

Many of the evaluated species of different taxonomic groups are currently considered endangered, their decline being closely linked to the multiple negative impacts of human activities (including habitat degradation and fragmentation, introduction of invasive species and pollution; Millenium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). Extinction risks may even be underestimated as studies often ignore species losses through co-extinction of interacting species (Diamond 1989). The study by Koh et al (2004) provides a clear example. They modeled the status of affiliate species with host species currently listed as endangered, and estimated that 200 species went extinct due to the extinction of their host species, and more than 6000 species need to be considered as co-endangered.

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