Metapopulation structure and movements in five species of checkerspot butterflies

Metapopulation theory considers that the populations of many species are fragmented into patches connected by the migration of individuals through an interterritorial matrix. We applied fuzzy set theory and environmental favorability (F) functions to reveal the metapopulational structure of the 222 butterfly species in the Iberian Peninsula. We used the sets of contiguous grid cells with high favorability (F ≥ 0.8), to identify the favorable patches for each species. We superimposed the known occurrence data to reveal the occupied and empty favorable patches, as unoccupied patches are functional in a metapopulation dynamics analysis. We analyzed the connectivity between patches of each metapopulation by focusing on the territory of intermediate and low favorability for the species (F < 0.8). The friction that each cell opposes to the passage of individuals was computed as 1-F. We used the r.cost function of QGIS to calculate the cost of reaching each cell from a favorable patch. The inverse of the cost was computed as connectivity. Only 126 species can be considered to have a metapopulation structure. These metapopulation structures are part of the dark biodiversity of butterflies because their identification is not evident from the observation of the occurrence data but was revealed using favorability functions.

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Impact of cyclones on hard coral and metapopulation structure, connectivity and genetic diversity of coral reef fish

Coral Reefs ◽

10.1007/s00338-021-02096-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gabriele Gerlach ◽

Philipp Kraemer ◽

Peggy Weist ◽

Laura Eickelmann ◽

Michael J. Kingsford

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Coral Reef ◽

Genetic Structure ◽

Reef Fish ◽

Coral Reef Fish ◽

Population Genetic Study ◽

Hard Coral ◽

Great Loss ◽

Metapopulation Structure ◽

The Impact

AbstractCyclones have one of the greatest effects on the biodiversity of coral reefs and the associated species. But it is unknown how stochastic alterations in habitat structure influence metapopulation structure, connectivity and genetic diversity. From 1993 to 2018, the reefs of the Capricorn Bunker Reef group in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef were impacted by three tropical cyclones including cyclone Hamish (2009, category 5). This resulted in substantial loss of live habitat-forming coral and coral reef fish communities. Within 6–8 years after cyclones had devastated, live hard corals recovered by 50–60%. We show the relationship between hard coral cover and the abundance of the neon damselfish (Pomacentrus coelestis), the first fish colonizing destroyed reefs. We present the first long-term (2008–2015 years corresponding to 16–24 generations of P. coelestis) population genetic study to understand the impact of cyclones on the meta-population structure, connectivity and genetic diversity of the neon damselfish. After the cyclone, we observed the largest change in the genetic structure at reef populations compared to other years. Simultaneously, allelic richness of genetic microsatellite markers dropped indicating a great loss of genetic diversity, which increased again in subsequent years. Over years, metapopulation dynamics were characterized by high connectivity among fish populations associated with the Capricorn Bunker reefs (2200 km2); however, despite high exchange, genetic patchiness was observed with annual strong genetic divergence between populations among reefs. Some broad similarities in the genetic structure in 2015 could be explained by dispersal from a source reef and the related expansion of local populations. This study has shown that alternating cyclone-driven changes and subsequent recovery phases of coral habitat can greatly influence patterns of reef fish connectivity. The frequency of disturbances determines abundance of fish and genetic diversity within species.

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Low allozyme heterozygosity in North Pacific and Bering Sea populations of red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus): adaptive specialization, population bottleneck, or metapopulation structure?

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsq184 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 (3) ◽

pp. 499-506 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

W. Stewart Grant ◽

Susan E. Merkouris ◽

Gordon H. Kruse ◽

Lisa W. Seeb

Keyword(s):

Bering Sea ◽

North Pacific ◽

Population Bottleneck ◽

Ice Age ◽

Red King Crab ◽

Paralithodes Camtschaticus ◽

Allozyme Diversity ◽

King Crab ◽

Metapopulation Structure ◽

Adaptive Specialization

AbstractGrant, W. S., Merkouris, S. E., Kruse, G. H., and Seeb, L. W. 2011. Low allozyme heterozygosity in North Pacific and Bering Sea populations of red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus): adaptive specialization, population bottleneck, or metapopulation structure? – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: . Populations of red king crab in the North Pacific and Bering Sea have declined in response to ocean-climate shifts and to harvesting. An understanding of how populations are geographically structured is important to the management of these depressed resources. Here, the Mendelian variability at 38 enzyme-encoding loci was surveyed in 27 samples (n = 2427) from 18 general locations. Sample heterozygosities were low, averaging HE = 0.015 among samples. Weak genetic structure was detected among three groups of populations, the Bering Sea, central Gulf of Alaska, and Southeast Alaska, but without significant isolation by distance among populations. A sample from Adak Island in the western Aleutians was genetically different from the remaining samples. The lack of differentiation among populations within regions may, in part, be due to post-glacial expansions and a lack of migration-drift equilibrium and to limited statistical power imposed by low levels of polymorphism. Departures from neutrality may reflect the effects of both selective and historical factors. The low allozyme diversity in red king crab may, in part, be attributable to adaptive specialization, background selection, ice-age population bottlenecks, or metapopulation dynamics in a climatically unstable North Pacific.

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Metapopulation structure and dynamics of an endangered butterfly

Basic and Applied Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.baae.2009.09.006 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 354-362 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Margaret S. Guiney ◽

David A. Andow ◽

Timothy T. Wilder

Keyword(s):

Structure And Dynamics ◽

Metapopulation Structure

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Rainfall and the interaction of microclimate with larval resources in the population dynamics of checkerspot butterflies (Euphydryas editha) inhabiting serpentine grassland

Oecologia ◽

10.1007/bf00377280 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 71 (2) ◽

pp. 161-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

D. S. Dobkin ◽

I. Olivieri ◽

P. R. Ehrlich

Keyword(s):

Population Dynamics ◽

Serpentine Grassland ◽

Euphydryas Editha ◽

Checkerspot Butterflies

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Decomposed pairwise regression analysis of genetic and geographic distances reveals a metapopulation structure of stream-dwelling Dolly Varden charr

Molecular Ecology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-294x.2006.03019.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 15 (11) ◽

pp. 3175-3189 ◽

Cited By ~ 73

Author(s):

ITSURO KOIZUMI ◽

SHOICHIRO YAMAMOTO ◽

KOJI MAEKAWA

Keyword(s):

Regression Analysis ◽

Dolly Varden ◽

Metapopulation Structure

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Interconnections Accelerate Collapse in a Socio-Ecological Metapopulation

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11071852 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1852 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zachary Dockstader ◽

Chris Bauch ◽

Madhur Anand

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Models ◽

Ecological Sustainability ◽

Human Populations ◽

Metapopulation Model ◽

Single Population ◽

Metapopulation Structure ◽

Model Dynamics ◽

Simplifying Assumptions ◽

Over Exploitation ◽

The Impact

Over-exploitation of natural resources can have profound effects on both ecosystems and their resident human populations. Simple theoretical models of the dynamics of a population of human harvesters and the abundance of a natural resource being harvested have been studied previously, but relatively few models consider the effect of metapopulation structure (i.e., a population distributed across discrete patches). Here we analyze a socio-ecological metapopulation model based on an existing single-population model used to study persistence and collapse in human populations. Resources grow logistically on each patch. Each population harvests resources on its own patch to support population growth, but can also harvest resources from other patches when their own patch resources become scarce. We show that when populations are allowed to harvest resources from other patches, the peak population size is higher, but subsequent population collapse is significantly accelerated and across a broader parameter regime. As the number of patches in the metapopulation increases, collapse is more sudden, more severe, and occurs sooner. These effects persist under scenarios of asymmetry and inequality between patches. Our model makes simplifying assumptions in order to facilitate insight and understanding of model dynamics. However, the robustness of the model prediction suggests that more sophisticated models should be developed to ascertain the impact of metapopulation structure on socio-ecological sustainability.

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