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Species traits predict island occupancy in noctuid moths

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Abstract

Knowing how species’ traits relate to processes that underlie occupancy patterns such as colonisation and population persistence, is important for our understanding of how species survive in fragmented and changing landscapes. We used automatic UV light-traps to sample noctuid moths on two remote islands, and compared traits of island occupants with those of a species pool from mainland southeast Sweden. Widely distributed species, generalist species, species with a long adult activity period and species active late in the summer had higher probability of occupancy on the remote islands. The results were consistent between islands. The traits of host plant specificity and species with an adult activity period during late summer remained robust and were statistically significant after controlling for any possible phylogenetic bias. This indicates that species exhibiting those traits survive better when habitat and climate changes. It is crucial to include our results in; (1) conservation planning, e.g. when devising conservation measures in fragmented landscapes; (2) for predictions of future occupancy patterns; and (3) ecosystem impact assessments, e.g. the importance of moths as pollinators, herbivores and being the functional link between parasitoids, plants, consumers and predators.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Anders Forsman, Patrik Dinnétz and Erik Öckinger for valuable statistical advice and constructive comments on the manuscript. Thanks also to Tomas Nilsson, Kjell Arvidsson, Lennart Rovin and Sjöräddningssällskapet Hasslö for organising transport and making it possible to perform the study on Utklippan; Dag Pedersen and the other park wardens on Gotska Sandön. Permission for using light-traps in protected areas was issued by the County Administration Board of Blekinge (Utklippan) and Gotland (Gotska Sandön). Financial support was provided by “Stiftelsen Längmanska Kulturfonden”.

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  1. Department of Community Ecology, UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120, Halle, Germany

    Markus Franzén

  2. School of Natural Sciences, Linnaeus University, 39182, Kalmar, Sweden

    Per-Eric Betzholtz

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  1. Markus Franzén
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  2. Per-Eric Betzholtz
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Correspondence to Markus Franzén.

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Franzén, M., Betzholtz, PE. Species traits predict island occupancy in noctuid moths. J Insect Conserv 16, 155–163 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9401-z

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