Tales of urban conservation: Eumaeus butterflies and their threatened cycad hostplants
Tales of urban conservation: Eumaeus butterflies and their threatened cycad hostplants
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DOI：
10.1007/s11252-016-0599-0
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发表时间：
2017-04-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
MacGregor-Fors, Ian
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ramirez-Restrepo, Lorena;Koi, Sandy;MacGregor-Fors, Ian
城市化已经导致世界各地的几种蝴蝶物种在当地灭绝，而其他蝴蝶则设法在城市地区茁壮成长。Eumaeus属的蝴蝶是美洲最引人注目和最丰富多彩的灰蝶之一，但它们的神经毒性寄主苏铁是一个高度受威胁的植物群。苏铁的主要威胁是其栖息地的丧失和改变，以及出于观赏目的而将其移走，这除了其缓慢的生长速度外，还使其非常脆弱。观赏苏铁从自然栖息地被带到城市地区，在那里它们对Eumaeus繁殖起着重要作用。本文报道两例Eumaeus属的两种Eumaeus（E. childrenae、E.阿塔拉）正在跟踪和利用观赏苏铁在城市地区繁殖，这表明从生态学角度讲，城市地区是多么重要。除了作为城市地区保护的旗舰物种具有巨大的潜力外，这些蝴蝶和植物物种及其相互作用还为将和解生态思想付诸行动的想法提供了令人鼓舞的启示。
Urbanization has caused the local extinction of several butterfly species around the world, while others have managed to thrive in urban areas. Butterflies of the genus Eumaeus are among the most striking and colorful lycaenid butterflies in the Americas, but their neurotoxic hostplants, cycads, are a highly threatened plant group. The main threats for cycads are the loss and modification of their habitats and their removal for ornamental purposes, which in addition to their slow growth rate, make them highly vulnerable. Ornamental cycads are taken from natural habitats to urban areas, where they are playing an important role for Eumaeus reproduction. We here report two cases in which two Eumaeus species (E. childrenae, E. atala) are following and utilizing ornamental cycads to reproduce in urban areas, showing how significant urban areas can be, ecologically speaking. Aside from having enormous potential as flagship species for conservation in urban areas, these butterfly and plant species, and their interactions, shed encouraging light on the idea of putting reconciliation ecology ideas into action.