Intraspecific variation in sex-biased dispersal of a threatened ecotone butterfly between forest patches in a mosaic landscape.

ABSTRACT: Forest patches are vital for saving biodiversity in fragmented temperate agricultural landscapes. They support threatened species, e.g. the charismatic Clouded Apollo butterfly, Parnassius mnemosyne, which lives at forest-meadow edges as it requires resources available in both of these biotopes. Dispersal is a key process to ensure gene flow and the colonization of vacant patches, hence knowledge on mobility is key in the context of conservation. Using intensive mark-recapture sampling, we investigated a lowland metapopulation inhabiting a complex of coppiced forest patches and adjacent grasslands in NE Poland. In order to account for intra-specific variability in movement abilities, three size groups based on their wing length were distinguished. Large males covered significantly longer d

SUBMITTER: Sielezniew M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12274529 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature