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

斑驳暗翅蝴蝶是加拿大的一种濒临灭绝的蝴蝶，仅限于安大略省西南部和马尼托巴省东南部。该物种与加拿大一些最稀有的生态系统有关，例如橡树稀树草原、橡树和松树林地、高草草原以及幼虫寄主植物（Ceanothus spp.）出现的早期演替栖息地的阿尔瓦尔。由于栖息地丧失、破碎化和管理不善，加拿大大部分历史上居住过的地区已经消失，并且在整个北美地区的数量正在减少。尽管斑驳暗翅鸟在其北美大部分地区都处于危险之中，但有关该物种的已发表研究很少，并且在美国或加拿大的任何地方都没有采取任何措施来恢复濒临灭绝的种群。这个为期五年的项目的目标是进行旨在扭转斑暗翅蝶数量下降的研究，并建立安大略省第一个蝴蝶重新引入区。这一研究合作伙伴关系由来自圭尔夫大学、西部大学、温尼伯大学、剑桥蝴蝶馆、加拿大自然保护协会、加拿大野生动物保护组织、自然资源解决方案公司、阿尔德维尔黑橡树稀树草原和安大略公园的跨学科协作团队领导，将为加拿大各地的蝴蝶保护工作铺平道路，并为这种濒临灭绝的物种在加拿大东部和美国东北部实施领先的恢复工作。要实现恢复斑暗翅可持续种群的项目目标，需要三个关键组成部分：1) 了解现有亚种群的人口统计数据，2) 识别现有亚种群的遗传多样性，以及 3) 建立成功的圈养饲养计划。为了解决这些问题，该项目建立在研究团队和合作伙伴组织成熟的专业知识之上。 加拿大将从这项研究中受益，因为它将支持本地来源的模型，对处于危险中的昆虫物种进行保护和恢复规划，并将减轻未来恢复计划的成本，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.