Recovery and Maintenance of Self-sustaining Populations of the Endangered Mottled Duskywing

斑点黑翅蝶是加拿大一种濒临灭绝的蝴蝶，仅限于安大略西南部和马尼托巴东南部。该物种与加拿大一些最稀有的生态系统有关，如橡树稀树草原，橡树和松树林地，高草草原和具有早期演替栖息地的阿尔瓦，其幼虫寄主植物（Ceanothus spp.）发生。它已经从加拿大的大多数历史上被占领的地点消失，并且由于栖息地丧失，破碎和管理不善，整个北美正在下降。虽然斑翅黑翅雀在北美大部分地区都受到威胁，但关于该物种的研究很少，在美国或加拿大的任何地方都没有恢复濒危种群的努力。这个为期五年的项目的目标是进行研究，旨在扭转斑点暗翅的下降，并建立安大略的第一个蝴蝶重新引入。由来自圭尔夫大学、西方大学、温尼伯大学、剑桥蝴蝶保护学院、加拿大自然保护协会、加拿大野生动物保护协会、自然资源解决方案公司的跨学科协作团队领导，奥尔德维尔黑橡树稀树草原，和安大略公园，这种研究伙伴关系将铺平道路，蝴蝶保护工作在加拿大各地，并为这一濒危物种，实施领先的恢复工作在加拿大东部和美国东北部。有三个关键组成部分需要实现项目目标的恢复可持续的人口的斑点Duskywing：1）现有的亚群的人口统计学的理解，2）识别现有的亚群的遗传多样性，和3）建立一个成功的圈养饲养计划。为了解决这些问题，该项目利用了研究小组和伙伴组织的成熟专门知识。 加拿大将从这项研究中受益，因为它将支持一个当地来源的模型，用于保护和恢复有风险的昆虫物种，并将减轻恢复计划的未来成本，从而产生显着的长期经济效益。

The Mottled Duskywing is an endangered butterfly in Canada that is restricted to southwestern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba. This species is associated with some of the rarest ecosystems in Canada, such as oak savannas, oak and pine woodlands, tallgrass prairies, and alvars with early successional habitat where its larval host plant (Ceanothus spp.) occurs. It has been lost from the majority of historically occupied locations in Canada and is declining throughout North America due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and poor management. Although the Mottled Duskywing is imperiled throughout most of its North American range, very little published research exists on the species, and no efforts to recover imperiled populations have occurred anywhere in the US or Canada. The goal of this five-year project is to conduct research aimed at reversing the decline of Mottled Duskywing and establish Ontario's first butterfly reintroduction. Led by a collaborative, interdisciplinary team from the University of Guelph, Western University, University of Winnipeg, Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Wildlife Preservation Canada, Natural Resource Solutions Inc., Alderville Black Oak Savanna, and Ontario Parks, this research partnership will pave the way for butterfly conservation efforts throughout Canada and, for this endangered species, to implement leading-edge recovery efforts throughout eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. There are three critical components needed to achieve the project goal of recovering sustainable populations of the Mottled Duskywing: 1) an understanding of the demography of existing subpopulations, 2) identification of the genetic diversity of existing subpopulations, and 3) establishment of a successful captive rearing program. To address these components, the project builds on the well-established expertise of the research team and partner organizations. Canada will benefit from this research because it will support a locally-sourced model for the conservation and recovery planning of an insect species at risk and it will mitigate future costs of recovery programs, resulting in significant long-term economic benefits.