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Comparison of butterfly communities and abundances between marginal grasslands and conservation lands in the eastern Great Plains

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Abstract

The alteration and fragmentation of native tallgrass prairie in the Midwestern United States has created a need to identify other land types with the ability to support grassland butterfly species. This study examines butterfly usage of marginal grasslands, which consist of semi-natural grasslands existing within in a larger agricultural matrix, compared to grasslands managed for conservation of prairie species. Using generalized linear mixed models we analyzed how land purpose (marginal vs. conservation grasslands) affected butterfly abundance. We found grassland butterfly species to be significantly more common on conservation grasslands, whereas generalist species were significantly more common on marginal grasslands. Results of ordination analyses indicated that while many species used both types of habitats, butterfly species assemblages were distinct between habitat types and that edge to interior ratio and the floristic quality index of sites were important habitat characteristics driving this distinction. Within conservation grasslands we examined the relationship between butterfly abundance and the planting diversity used in restoring each site. We found higher diversity restorations hosted more individuals of butterflies considered habitat generalists, as well as species considered to be of conservation concern.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of numerous landowners and managers for providing access to the lands under their care. Thanks to the numerous field assistants who helped with butterfly surveys and vegetation measurements. Special thanks to Dr. T. Burk for his generous advice on survey methods and butterfly identifications and to Dr. D. Sutherland for help with plant identifications. We also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Center for Great Plains Studies, and the University of Nebraska Omaha.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE, USA

    Yasmine A. Farhat, William M. Janousek, John P. McCarty, Nichollette Rider & L. LaReesa Wolfenbarger

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  1. Yasmine A. Farhat
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  2. William M. Janousek
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Correspondence to L. LaReesa Wolfenbarger.

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Farhat, Y.A., Janousek, W.M., McCarty, J.P. et al. Comparison of butterfly communities and abundances between marginal grasslands and conservation lands in the eastern Great Plains. J Insect Conserv 18, 245–256 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9635-7

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