Lessons from Butterflies of the Black Belt Prairie: The Southern Dogface as an Indicator of Prairie Remnants
Lessons from Butterflies of the Black Belt Prairie: The Southern Dogface as an Indicator of Prairie Remnants
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黑带草原蝴蝶的教训：南部狗脸作为草原遗迹的指标
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发表时间：
2018
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通讯作者：
B. Counterman
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作者：
J. Fenner;T. Schartel;B. Counterman
在北美所有陆地生态系统中，草原是最受威胁的。随着北美草原的持续威胁和日益破碎化，有必要对剩余的功能性草原残余斑块进行适当的识别。在本研究中，我们提出南方狗面蝶（Zerene cesonia）可以作为识别功能性草原残余斑块的指标。为了正式检验指标状态，我们将重点放在极度濒危的黑带草原上。本文研究了密西西比州黑带地区几个草地上Pierid、硫、蝴蝶、草原寄主植物分布和环境条件（土壤pH值和面积）之间的关系。黑带是一个未被充分研究的草原协会，在其所在地区之外鲜为人知。黑带系统拥有许多原生的或从大平原分离出来的动植物物种。其中一种是赤藓，据观察其分布仅限于草原草原。野外观测结果表明，柴草是草原残余物斑块的明确指示物。室内产卵实验结果表明，赤腹草对草原三叶草（Dalea purpurea）有强烈的偏好。综上所述，这些结果表明，长尾草蠹蛾与草原残余物存在关联，这可能是由于其偏好草原三叶草作为其幼虫寄主。总的来说，这项研究提供了一个如何利用蝴蝶群落及其环境相互作用来评估草地功能和保护工作的例子。
ABSTRACT Of all terrestrial ecosystems in North America, grasslands are the most threatened. With continued threats and increased fragmentation of North American prairies, there is a need for proper identification of the remaining functional prairie remnant patches. In this study, we propose the Southern Dogface butterfly, Zerene cesonia, may serve as an indicator for identifying functional prairie remnant patches. To formally test for indicator status we focus on the critically imperiled Black Belt prairie. We investigated the relationship between Pierid, sulphur, butterflies, prairie host plant distributions, and environmental conditions (soil pH and area) across several grassland sites in the Black Belt region of Mississippi. The Black Belt is a grassland association that is understudied and poorly known outside of its local region. The Black Belt system hosts many species of flora and fauna either native or disjunct from the Great Plains. One such species is Z. cesonia, which is observed to be limited in its distribution to prairie grasslands. The results from field observations showed that Z. cesonia is clear indicator of prairie remnant patches. The results from laboratory oviposition experiments show Z. cesonia has a strong preference for prairie clover, (Dalea purpurea). Collectively, these results suggest Z. cesonia has an association with prairie remnants that may be driven by its preference of prairie clover as its larval host. Broadly, this study provides an example of how butterfly communities and their environmental interactions can be used to assess grassland function and conservation efforts.