The Effect of Habitat on Insect Movements: Experimental Evidence from Wild-Caught Butterflies.

ABSTRACT: There is broad evidence that the main driver of the ongoing biodiversity crisis is land-use change, which reduces and fragments habitats. The consequence of habitat fragmentation on behavioural responses of fitness-related traits in insects have been so far understudied. In herbivorous insects, oviposition-related behaviours determine access to larval food, and the fate of the next generation. We present a pilot study to assess differences in behaviours related to movement and oviposition in Limenitis camilla butterflies from Wallonia (Belgium), one of the most fragmented regions in Europe. We first quantified variation in functional habitat connectivity across Wallonia and found that fragmented habitats had more abundant, but less evenly distributed host plants of L. camilla

SUBMITTER: Marcantonio M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10531938 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature