University of Alberta · ABSTRACT The Mormon metalmark (Apodemia mormo) butterfly is widely...
Transcript of University of Alberta · ABSTRACT The Mormon metalmark (Apodemia mormo) butterfly is widely...
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UniversityofAlberta
Beyondthehostplant:Multi‐scalehabitatmodelsforanorthernperipheralpopulationofthebutterfly,Apodemiamormo(Lepidoptera:Riodinidae)
by
AshleyAnneWick
AthesissubmittedtotheFacultyofGraduateStudiesandResearchinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeof
MasterofScience
in
ConservationBiology
DepartmentofRenewableResources
©AshleyAnneWickSpring2013
Edmonton,Alberta
PermissionisherebygrantedtotheUniversityofAlbertaLibrariestoreproducesinglecopiesofthisthesisandtolendorsellsuchcopiesforprivate,scholarlyorscientificresearchpurposesonly.Wherethethesisisconvertedto,orotherwisemadeavailableindigitalform,theUniversityofAlbertawilladvisepotentialusersofthethesisof
theseterms.
Theauthorreservesallotherpublicationandotherrightsinassociationwiththecopyrightinthethesisand,exceptashereinbeforeprovided,neitherthethesisnoranysubstantialportionthereofmaybeprintedorotherwise
reproducedinanymaterialformwhatsoeverwithouttheauthor'spriorwrittenpermission.
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ABSTRACT
TheMormonmetalmark(Apodemiamormo)butterflyiswidelydistributed
throughoutwesternNorthAmerica.Itislistedasthreatened,however,in
Saskatchewan,Canadabecauseofasmallpopulationsizewithinarestrictedhabitat.
Tomosteffectivelymanageforthisspecies,landmanagersandconservationists
requireamorethoroughunderstandingofitsecologyandhabitat.Icompletedthree
studiesthatadvancetheunderstandingofthisthreatenedbutterfly.First,ina
microhabitatstudyIshowedthathostplantabundance,soilchemistry,and
microtopographyareimportantindeterminingwhetherabutterflyhabitatis
occupied.Second,Idevelopedandevaluatedthepredictionaccuracyofspecies
distributionmodelsusingtwomodelingtechniques,theresultsofwhichincreased
theknownA.mormocoloniesinSaskatchewanfrom37to88.Finally,Idocument
theovipositionofA.mormoinCanada,showingthatnorthernperipheral
populationsofthisbutterflyexhibitreproductivestrategiesdivergentfromthosein
itscentralrange.
Keywords:Apodemiamormo,Eriogonumpauciflorum,speciesdistribution
modeling,microhabitat,GrasslandsNationalPark,Saskatchewan,Conservation
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thisprojectwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthekindnessofthepeopleofthe
villageofValMarie,SaskatchewanandthestaffatGrasslandsNationalPark.In
particular,HeatherSauderwasanoutstandingandintuitivefieldassistant,andan
excellentnaturalist.JohanneJanelleisatalentedwildlifephotographerwhohelped
documentnewbehaviorsoftheMormonmetalmark,PatFargeyofferedvaluable
ecologicalknowledgeofthelandscape,CarolandJimprovidedmewithalovely
homeinthefield.
ManypeopleintheDepartmentofRenewableResourcesattheUniversityofAlberta
offeredmeencouragement,supportandadvice.Dr.NadirErbilginhasbeena
constantsourceofpersonalandacademicencouragementasmyadvisor.Asidefrom
theinvaluableadvicefrommyadvisorycommittee,Drs.JohnSpence,ShelleyPruss,
andJensRoland,Ireceivedcounselingfromotherprofessorsandfellowgraduate
students.InparticularI’dliketothankmyfellowgraduatestudentsJenKlutschand
CrisiaTabacaruforhoursofguidanceandencouragement.Additionally,thankyou
toDevinGoodsman,DavidRoberts,KristaFink,SeanCoogan,JillianMartin,Kelsey
Jansen,Dr.EveylnMerrill,Dr.JamiePinzon,andDr.J.C.Cahillaswellastheentire
ErbilginandSpencelabs.
ThankstoParksCanada,theUniversityofAlberta,andtheFishandWildlifeFundof
Saskatchewanfortheirfundingandsupport.
Andfinally,mygratitudegoesouttothosewhohavesupportedandencouragedme
formanyyears,inparticularmyparents(ChristineBroeg,JeffBroeg,JeffWick,and
MarthaWick),grandparents,andbrothers(KyleandMorgan).Theyhavehelped
cultivateandsupportmyloveofnature.Aspecialthankstomylong‐timementor,
Dr.KeithSummervilleDrakeUniversity.
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TABLEOFCONTENTS
CHAPTERI.TheecologyandnaturalhistoryoftheMormonmetalmark
Introduction 1
NaturalhistoryofA.mormo 1
Studysites 4
PreviousstudiesonApodemiamormo 5
Thesisoverview 7
LiteratureCited 9
CHAPTERII.Speciesdistributionmodelsrevealnewcoloniesofathreatened
butterfly,Apodemiamormo(Lepidoptera:Riodinidae)
Introduction 13
Materials&methods 14
Studyspecies:Apodemiamormo 14
Studyarea 15
Butterflypresence 16
Predictorvariables 16
Models 17
Results 18
Discussion 20
Environmentalvariablesthatpredictbutterflypresence 21
Groundvalidation&modelcomparison 21
GrazingandA.mormo 22
Implicationsfortheconservation&managementofA.mormo 23
Acknowledgements 25
Literaturecited 26
Tables&figures 32
CHAPTERIII.Beyondthehostplant:Additionalfactorsexplaining
microhabitatassociationsinanorthernperipheralpopulationofApodemia
mormo(Riodinidae)
Introduction 41
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Materials&methods 42
Studysites 42
Apodemiamormoandhostplant 43
Studydesign 44
Dataanalysis 45
Results 45
Discussion 46
Acknowledgements 50
Literaturecited 51
Tables&figures 58
CHAPTERIV.FirstObservationsofMormonMetalmark(Apodemiamormo)
OvipositionBehaviorinCanada
Introduction 62
Observations 64
Discussion 64
Acknowledgements 66
Literaturecited 67
Tables&figures 70
CHAPTERV.
GeneralDiscussion:Summaryofnewinformationaboutthehabitatand
ecologyofApodemiamormo
Introduction 71
ConservationstatusofApodemiamormo 72
Grazing 73
Exoticspecies 74
Futuredirections 75
Literaturecited 77
APPENDIXI.
MarkreleaserecaptureoftheMormonmetalmark 80
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LISTOFTABLES
Table2‐1.Predictorvariablesusedtobuildtheresourceselectionfunctionand
RandomForestsmodelspredictingnewcoloniesofApodemiamormoinsouthern
Saskatchewan.Candidatevariablesweretestedforassumptionspriortothefinal
models.
..................................................................................33
Table2‐2.GeneralizedlinearmodelcoefficientsofApodemiamormooccurrencesfor
thevariablesusingaresourceselectionfunction.P‐valuesillustratesignificancefor
eachvariable.Residualdevianceandnullshowthatdeviancedecreasedfromthe
nullmodel.
..................................................................................34
Table3‐1.Summarystatisticsaverages(withstandarderrorofthemean)ofhabitat
predictorsat102microhabitatplotsrepresentingoccupiedorunoccupiedsitesby
ApodemiamormoinsouthernSaskatchewan(Canada).
..................................................................................58
Table3‐2.Plantsurveyresultsareshownwiththescientificandcommonnamesof
theplantsaswellastheaverage%coverforeachspecies,dividedbyoccupiedand
unoccupiedsites.
..................................................................................59
Table3‐3.Coefficientsoflineardiscriminants(Scores)includedinthemodel.The
relationshipexplainswhethereachvariablewaspositivelyornegativelyassociated
withbutterflypresenceinhostplanthabitat.
..................................................................................60
TableAppendix‐1.MarkreleaserecaptureresultsfromAugust2011.G6‐BH1areplots
establishedinGrasslandsNationalPark,VM10‐VM14representplotsestablishedinthe
ValMarieCommunityPasture.Atotalof885butterflieswerecaughtwith142recaptures.
..................................................................................80
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TableAppendix‐2.AnexplanationofthetermsshowninTable6‐1.Allresultswerebased
onanalysesfromtheProgramMARK(White2012;www.phidot.org).
..................................................................................81
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LISTOFFIGURES
Figure2‐1.Twostudysiteswereusedintheseinvestigations,theValMarie
CommunityPastureandGrasslandsNationalPark’sEastandWestBlocks,locatedin
southernSaskatchewan,Canada.
..................................................................................35
Figure2‐2.VariableimportanceplotgeneratedbytheRandomForestsalgorithm.
Theplotshowsthevariablesimportancemeasuredasincreasednodepurity
(IncNodePurity)andtheincreaseofmeansquareerror(%IncMSE),which
representsthedeteriorationofthepredictiveabilityofthemodelwheneach
predictionisreplacedinturnbyrandomnoise.Highervaluesof%IncMSEand
IncNodePurityindicateahighervariableimportance.Thefullvariablenamesare
showninTable2‐1.
..................................................................................36
Figure2‐3.ThemapsshowtheEastBlockofGNP(a,b)theVMCP(c,d),andthe
WestBlockofGNP(e,f).TheRSFisshownontheright(b,d,f)andRandomForests
ontheleft(a,c,e).Themodelwasonlytargetedforareasthathavepreviouslybeen
delineatedasbadlandshabitatpriortothisstudy.
..................................................................................37
Figure2‐4.SitespredictedtohaveApodemiamormopresencesbyeachmodel
(probabilityof0.60orhigher)weresearchedinGrasslandsNationalParkandthe
neighboringValMarieCommunityPasture.Thefigureshowstheobserved(number
ofsitesinwhichApodemiamormowasfound)versusexpected(numberofsitesthat
werepredictedtocontainA.mormo).
..................................................................................38
Figure2‐5.SitespredictedtonothaveApodemiamormohabitatbytheRandom
ForestsmodelforboththeValMarieCommunityPasture(VMCP)andGrasslands
NationalPark(GNP).Thefigureshowstheobserved(numberofsitesinwhichthe
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modelwascorrectinpredictingtheabsenceofA.mormo)versusexpected(number
ofsitesthatwerepredictedtonotcontainA.mormo).
..................................................................................39
Figure2‐6.Modelresultsseparatedbasedonwhetherornotanareawasungrazed,
grazedbybison,orgrazedbycattle.TheValMarieCommunityPasture(VMCP)is
grazedbycattle,theEastBlockofGrasslandsNationalPark(GNP)isnotgrazed,and
theWestBlockofGNPisgrazedbybison.Thefigureshowstheobserved(numberof
sitesinwhichApodemiamormowasfound)versusexpected(numberofsitesthat
werepredictedtocontainA.mormo).
..................................................................................40
Figure3‐1.Lineardiscriminantanalysisshowsthedistribution“discriminants”of
thetwodistributions,thefirstofwhichis“unoccupied”habitatandthesecond,
whichis“occupied”habitat.
..................................................................................61
Figure4‐1.FemaleMormonMetalmark,Apodemiamormo,ovipositingincracksin
thesoilinTimmonscoulee,GrasslandsNationalParkofCanada(WestBlock),near
ValMarie,SaskatchewanonAugust21,2011.Photo:JohaneJanelle.
..................................................................................70
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CHAPTERI.
TheecologyandnaturalhistoryoftheMormonmetalmark
Introduction
Butterflies(Lepidoptera)aretaxonomicallywellknown,relativelyeasytofind,have
shortlifecyclesthatareeasytoworkwith,and,arecharismatic.Itisthereforeno
surprisethat,formodern‐dayresearch,butterfliesaretheinsectgroupmost
frequentlymodeledfordevelopmentandtestingofecologicaltheory(Thomas
2005).
Lifehistoryandbasicecologyofaspeciescansometimesbeoverlooked,especially
inthecaseofoutlier,orperipheral,populations.InthisintroductorychapterIfirst
presentanoverviewofthebiologyandecologyofmystudysubject,theMormon
metalmark(Lepidoptera:RiodinidaeApodemiamormoFelder&Felder1859),a
butterflylistedasthreatenedinthefarreachesofitsnorthernrangein
Saskatchewan,Canada(COSEWIC2003).Second,Idescribethestudysites,
GrasslandsNationalPark(GNP)andtheneighboringValMarieCommunityPasture
(VMCP),bothlocatedinextremesouthwesternSaskatchewan.Next,Isummarize
previousstudiesonA.mormoandrelatedspecies.Lastly,Ipresentmyobjectivesfor
thefollowingchaptersofthisthesisanddescribehowtheyrelatetothecurrent
conservationneedsofthespecies.
NaturalhistoryofA.mormo
Apodemiamormoisasmall‐bodied(wingspan25‐32mm)butterflyofthefamily
Riodinidae(Layberryetal.1998;COSEWIC2003).Themetalmarksbelongtothe
superfamilyPapilionidea,orthetruebutterflies.Riodinids,orthemetalmarks,are
so‐namedbecauseofmetallicmarksonthewingsofmanyspecies.Thename
“Mormonmetalmark”occasionallyelicitscuriosityastoitsetymology.Infact,Felder
&Felderweremistakenwhentheygavethebutterflyits“Mormon”moniker.The
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Felderswerestay‐at‐hometaxonomistswhowouldreceivespecimensfromothers
onfieldexpeditions.WhentheygavethespeciesnametothisApodemiathey
thoughtthatthetypespecimenshadcomefromUtah,wheninfacttheywere
mistakenandthespecimenswerefromNevada.Intheend,thisbutterflywasleft
withaname,albeitinaccurate,thatenduresinnaturalists’memories.
Worldwidethereareover1400speciesofmetalmarks,only24ofwhicharefound
inNorthAmerica(Scott1986;Layberryetal.1998;Pelham2008).Accordingto
Opler&Powell(1962),A.mormowasoriginally5allopatricspecies,butthesehave
allbeenreducedtosubspeciesintaxonomicrevisions.Apodemiamormoisthemost
widespreadriodinidinNorthAmerica,witharangethatextendsfromnorthwest
MexicothroughoutthewesternUnitedStatesandupintosouthernCanada(Scott
1986;Layberryetal.1998).ItistheonlyriodinidfoundinCanada(Layberryetal.
1998)withadistributionthatbecomesmoreisolatedanddisjunctinitsnorthern
range(COSEWIC2003).ItispolytypicwithrespecttothearrayofEriogonumhost
speciesituses,andinthediversityofadultsizeandcoloracrossitsrange(Opler&
Powell1962;Powell1975).
TheCanadianpopulationsrepresentlessthan1%ofA.mormo’stotalpopulation
andglobalrange(Canningsetal.1998).TwoA.mormopopulationshavebeen
documentedinCanada:anendangeredpopulationintheSimilkameenRiverValley
ofBritishColumbiaandathreatenedpopulationinthemixedgrassprairiesof
southernSaskatchewan(COSEWIC2003).Thetwolistingsweregivenoriginallyby
theCommitteeontheStatusofEndangeredWildlifeinCanadaundertheFederal
SpeciesAtRiskAct(SARA;COSEWIC2003).TheprairiepopulationinSaskatchewan
ispartofanorthernoutlierpopulationthatcontinuesintotheUnitedStatesalong
theMilkandMissouriRiversandtheirtributaries,butisdisjunct(orspatially
separate)fromthemainpartofthedistributioninthesouthwesternUSA(Opler
1999;Prussetal.2008).ThelistinginSaskatchewanisbasedontheextreme
fluctuationsofpopulationsfromyeartoyearanditsoccurrenceinahighly
restrictedhabitat(COSEWIC2003;Prussetal.2008).Habitatlossand
fragmentation,exoticspecies,pollutionfromagrochemicals,andclimatechange
couldposeadditionalthreatstothealreadyrarebutterflyinSaskatchewan(Prusset
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al.2008).Apodemiamormo(includingsubspecies)remainstheonlymemberofits
familyintheworldtobelisted,althoughthismaybeattributedtoalackof
informationaboutmanyriodinidsthatresideinthehyper‐biodiverseandloosely
regulatedneotropicalforests.
ApodemiamormoutilizesvariousspeciesofEriogonum,abuckwheatofthefamily
Polygonaceae,asitslarvalfoodplantthroughoutitsrange.TheSaskatchewan
populationusesthebranchedumbrellaplant(Polygonaceae:Eriogonum
pauciflorum)asitshostplantandnectarsource(Prussetal.2008).AlthoughE.
pauciflorumisabundantinandaroundGNP,itappearsthatA.mormodoesnot
occupymanyoftheseeminglysuitablehostplanthabitatpatches.Itispossiblethat
theremaybeotherbioticand/orabioticvariablesaffectingwhetherornotagiven
patchofhabitattobesuitableA.mormo.Theadultbutterflyusesrubberrabbitbrush
(Asteraceae:Ericamerianauseosa)asasecondarynectarsourceparticularlyduring
thelatterpartoftheflightseasonwhenEriogonumspp.maybedeteriorating
(Hooper2002).Thebutterflyalsotendstoperchonothersubstratesfoundin
badlandhabitatwhereEriogonumspp.isplentiful,suchasrocksandbaresoil,
creepingjuniper(JuniperushorizontalisMoench),sagebrush(ArtemisiacanaPursh),
wolf‐willow(ElaeagnuscommutateBernh.ExRydb)andbuffaloberryshrubs
(SheperdiaargenteaNutt.;Hooper2002;Wickpers.obs.).
TheSaskatchewanpopulationismarkedlyunivoltinewithastaggeredemergenceof
adultsatthebeginningofAugustthatdiminishestowardstheendofthemonth.
However,dependingonweather,itmayflyfrommid‐JulyintoSeptember
(Hendersonetal.2008;Wickpers.obs.).Itsflightandbreedingaremostly
synchronizedwiththefloweringofE.pauciflorum.Withinitslifespan,whichis
about10days,thebutterflyemerges,mates,andfemalesoviposittheireggs(Pruss
etal.2008;Wickpers.obs.).ThepeakadultpopulationinSaskatchewanisreached
inthesecondandthirdweeksoftheflightperiodinmid‐August,butmayvary
dependingontemperatureanddroughtconditions.AccordingtoHowe(1975),in
otherpartsofitsrangethebutterflyoverwintersasyounglarvaeinthestemsof
Eriogonumspp.orunderlitter.Itiscurrentlyunverifiedatwhatstagethebutterfly
overwintersinSaskatchewan.
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Studysites
InthisresearchIattempttoexamineanddefinetheoccupiedhabitatconditionsof
A.mormoinitsnorthernperipheralrangeinSaskatchewan.Iconductedthese
studiesinGrasslandsNationalPark(GNP;49°15’N,107°0’W),whichislocatedin
extremesouthernSaskatchewan,inMayandJuneof2011.Long,cold,drywinters
andshort,hot,humidsummerscharacterizeitssub‐humidclimate.Meandaily
temperaturesforValMarie,Saskatchewanrangefrom‐12.4°CinJanuaryto18.3°C
inJulywithtemperatureextremesinJanuaryof‐49.4CandJuly41.1C
(EnvironmentCanada2012).Thereare170daysbetweenkillingfrosts(Frid&
Wilmhurst2009).
Ofthe52,700hathatcompriseGNP,approximately29,000haaresparsely
vegetatedbadlandhabitat,alsoreferredtoaserodedcommunities,andthe
remainingisclassifiedasuplandandlowlandgrasslands(Michalsky&Ellis1994).
Basedondatafromfieldsurveyssummarizedinthisthesis,Iestimatethatthereare
approximately4017hawithsignificantE.paciflorumcoveragewithinGNP(Wick
unpublisheddata).Theparkisdividedintotwomainareas,theEastBlockandthe
WestBlock,separatedbyapproximately40kmofpastureandfarmland.TheEast
Block,surroundedbytheWoodMountainplateau,includesmuchofRockCreek;the
WestBlocksurroundstheFrenchmanRivervalleysoutheastofthevillageofVal
Marie(SaskatchewanInstituteofPedology1992).TheWestBlockoftheParkis
hometoaherdofplainsbison(Bisonbison)whicharestockedatarateof1bison
per55ha(W.Olsonpers.com.2012),aswellasmanySARAlistedspecies,suchas
thegreatersagegrouse(Centrocercusurophasianus),greatershorthornedlizard
(Phynosomahernandesi),andSprague’spippet(Anthusspragueii).Avarietyof
wildlifeuniquetoCanada,GNPisecologicallyvaluable.Threatstowildlifewithinthe
Parkincludeinvasionbyexoticspeciessuchasyellowsweetclover(Melilotus
officinalis),crestedwheatgrass(Agropyroncristatum),andsmoothbrome(Bromus
inermis)(Prussetal.2003).
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BecauseseveralA.mormocolonieshavebeendocumentedthere,IincludedtheVal
MarieCommunityPasture(VMCP;49°41’N,107°92’W),whichislocatedseveral
kilometersnorthwestofGNP.TheVMCPwasoriginallycreatedaspartofthePrairie
FarmRehabilitationAdministrationbuthassincebeenintegratedintotheAgri‐
EnvironmentServicesBranch.Thepastureismadeofup40,649haofvaried
topographymuchlikeGNP,andisgrazedbyatarateof1cowper35hectares(T.
Dyckpers.com.2012).TheVMCPiscommunallygrazedbycattlefromaroundthe
1stofMayuntiltheendofOctoberandpatronsarecharged43centsperdaypercow
plus$20/yearfeeforeachcalf.
PreviousstudiesonApodemiamormo
Apodemiamormoconsistsofacomplexofallopatricallyseparatedpopulationsin
NorthAmerica,with17recognizedsubspecies,15ofwhicharefoundinCalifornia
(Pelham2008;USFWS2001).Onesubspecies,Lange’smetalmark(Apodemiamormo
langei),wasdescribedin1938andisnoteworthybecauseithasbeenclosely
studiedafterbeingoneofthefirstinsectstobelistedasendangeredunderthe
EndangeredSpeciesActoftheUnitedStates(ESA;Arnold&Powell1983;Morse
2009;Johnsonetal.2011).Lange’smetalmarkisendemictotheAntiochDunesof
ContraCostaCounty,California(USFWS2001).In1983,Arnold&Powell(1983)
reporteddensitiesof28.7males/acreand41.8females/acreandfoundthatadults
ofbothsexeslivedaboutoneweek.Therearetwopopulationswithinthedunes
withonlyminimalgeneflowbetweenthem,eventhoughlessthanamileseparates
them.AccordingtoArnold&Powell(1983),onlyonemarkedindividual(amale)
traversedthegapinseveralyearsofstudy.Lange’smetalmarkemploysnakedstem
buckwheat(Eriognoumnudumssp.auriculatum)asahostplant.In2006,thepeak
countofLange’smetalmarkwasjust45(USFWS2001).
The2002designationofA.mormoasendangeredinBritishColumbiahasprompted
furtherresearchinCanada.SurveysinBritishColumbiahaveshownthattheadult
population,oncethoughttobelimitedtoafewhundredindividuals,mayactuallybe
upwardsof2000(S.Desjardinspers.com.2011).Arecentinvestigationfoundthat
theBritishColumbiaandSaskatchewanpopulationsarenotcloselyrelated
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genetically,suggestingthattheyhavearrivedasaseparatenortherlycolonization
andhavenotmovedwesttoeast(Prosheketal.2013).Prosheketal.(2013)also
revealedthattheSaskatchewanpopulationismoregeneticallydiversethanthe
BritishColumbiapopulation,andconcludedthattheconservationlistingsas
threatenedandendangeredareaccurate.
AlldocumentedA.mormosightingsinSaskatchewanhaveoccurredinthecurrentor
proposedboundariesofGNPortheVMCP(COSEWIC2003).RonaldHooperwasthe
firsttodocumentA.mormoinSaskatchewanintheKilldeerBadlandsofwhatisnow
theEastBlockofGNPin1974,andmaderepeatedtripstonewlocationsinGNPin
1983andthenagainin2002,inwhichhediscoveredseveralmorecolonies(Hooper
2002).By2002therewere8knowncoloniesofthebutterflyinSaskatchewanbut
Hooperclaimsthatmorehadnotbeendocumentedbecauselepidopteristswerenot
lookingattherighttime,intherightplaces(Hooper2002).Searchesafterthe
specieswaslistedin2002yieldedadditionalcoloniessothat,whenIbeganthis
researchin2011,therewere37knowncoloniesofA.mormoinSaskatchewan.
ThelistingofA.mormoinCanadaledtoadditionalstudiesonthebutterflyinits
northernrange.Forinstance,in2010Petersonetal.recordedthefirstcaterpillar
observationsofthemetalmarkinCanada,inGNP.Thisstudyprovidednovel
informationonthebehaviorandphenologyofthespecies’caterpillarstagesinthe
metalmark’snorthernrange.TheyobservedcaterpillarsinJuneandJulyintheWest
BlockofGNPandfoundthatthecaterpillarsarecrepuscularandfeedforshort
periodsintheeveningsarounddusk,andlongerintheearlypre‐dawnhours.The
authorsdidnotobservethecaterpillarsfeedingwhenthetemperaturewaslower
than8C.Apodemiamormoisasolitaryforager,butonemaysometimesobserve
severalindividualsonthesameplant(Petersonetal.2010).
ApodemiamormohasneverbeenreportedinAlbertaeventhoughthereissuitable
habitatwherethehostplantoccurs.In2007,asurveyconductedforthebutterflyin
suitablehostplanthabitatinAlbertafailedtoyieldanyevidenceofA.mormo
(Anweiler2007).Repeatedsurveysareneededtoconfirmtheabsenceofthe
butterflyinAlberta.
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RecentresearchshowsthatA.mormoovipositioninSaskatchewandiffersfromthat
inotherpartsoftherange;thisworkispresentedinChapterIVofthisthesis.This
studyshowedthatfemalesovipositedonsoilandunderrocks,notonthehostplant,
andthatthefemaleslaidtheireggssingly,notinclusters.Wicketal.(2012)
suggestedthattheSaskatchewanpopulationislikelyunderdifferentadaptive
pressuresthathavepotentiallypromptedthischangeinreproductivestrategy.
Thesisoverview
InthisthesisIpresentmyworkonA.mormo,andtheautecologyofthiselusive
butterflyinitsnorthernrange.Combiningtoolsandtheoryfromlandscapeecology,
populationandcommunityecology,andobservationalstudiesofnaturalhistory,I
havedefinedandcharacterizedhabitatforA.mormoatthemicroandlandscape
level.Asidefromtheprimaryresearchgoalsofthisproject,itismyhopethatthese
resultswillhelpParksCanadatobetterprotecthabitatthatiscriticalforalllife
stagesofthebutterfly.MyresultsformetalmarkpopulationsintheAgri‐
EnvironmentServicesBranch(formerlythePFRA)communitypasturespresented
inthisthesishavealreadybeenusedintheinter‐jurisdictionalSouthoftheDivide
Multi‐SpeciesActionPlan(inpress)inwhichspeciesdistributionmodelsforat‐risk
specieswerecombinedtodevelopregionalgoalsforconservationinsouthern
Saskatchewan.ApodemiamormoistheonlyinsectincludedinthisActionPlan,
whichhasbeenusedtoidentifybiodiversityhostspotsforatriskspeciesin
southernSaskatchewan.Additionally,datafrommyresultsisbeingincorporated
intoamulti‐speciesmanagementplanforGNP.
ToidentifynewcoloniesofA.mormo,inChapterIIIconstructedalandscape‐level
habitatsuabilitymodelacrossthestudyareabasedonspatialenvironmental
variables.Iusedtwocontrastingmodelingtechniques,aresourceselectionfunction,
whichisbasedonageneralizedlinearmodel,andRandomForests,whichisan
algorithmicmachine‐learningtechnique.Whiletheresultingmodelspredicted
differentbutterflylocalitieswithinthestudyarea,fieldassessmentsinpotential
habitatsshowedthatbothmodelsperformedmoderatelywellinpredicting
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butterflypresencewithindependentsamples(verifiedwithground‐validation).
Predictionsuccesswas76%forRandomForestsand64%fortheResource
SelectionFunction.OverallpredictionsuccesswashigherwhenIremoveddatafrom
theVMCP,assuccesswasonly19%inthehabitatgrazedbycattle.Applicationand
fieldverificationofthesemodelsincreasedtheknownlocationsofA.mormo
coloniesinSaskatchewanfrom37to88.
TodeterminepotentialmicrohabitatrequirementsofA.mormoinChapterIII,I
asked:“Ishostplanthabitatoccupiedbythebutterflyfundamentallydifferentfrom
habitatthatisunoccupied?”Iansweredthequestionbymeasuringhabitatvariables
onsoil,vegetation,andmicrotopographyin102quadrats,roughlyhalfofwhich
wereunoccupiedandtheotherhalfoccupiedbythebutterfly.Theresultsindicated
thatbutterfliesselectedhostplantsgrowinginhabitatwithgreater%hostplant
cover,greater%baregroundcover,asteeperslope,asouth‐westerlyaspect,lower
soilnitrogen,andhighersoilaciditythaninunoccupiedEriogonumcolonies.Thus,
unoccupiedhabitatdiffersdifferentfromhabitatcurrentlyoccupiedbythebutterfly.
Conservationeffortsshouldfocusonthoseareaswherethebutterflyiscurrently
found.
InChapterIV,isaversionofapaperpublishedinTheCanadianFieldNaturalistin
2012.ThispaperprovidesthefirstdocumentationoftheovipositionofA.mormoin
Canadaandshowsthatthisbehaviordivergesfromthatseeninotherpartsofthe
butterfly’srange.
Finally,inChapterV,thethesisdiscussion,Isummarizethemainfindingsofthe
researchIconducted,revisitkeyissuesthatrelatetothenaturalhistoryand
conservationofA.mormoinSaskatchewan,andconcludebypresenting
managementandconservationrecommendations.
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Literaturecited
Arnold,R.A.&J.A.Powell.1983.Apodemiamormolangei.In:Arnold,R.A.(Ed.),
EcologicalStudiesofEndangeredButterflies(Lepidoptera:Lycaenidae):Island
Biogeography,PatchDynamics,andtheDesignofHabitatPreserves.Universityof
CaliforniaPublicationsinEntomology,pp.98‐128.
EnvironnentCanada.2012.http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca
ESRI.2011.ArcGIS:Versionrelease10.EnvironmentalSystemsResearchInstitute,
Redlands,California,USA.
Frid,L.&J.F.Wilmhurst.2009.Decisionanalysistoevaluatecontrolstrategiesfor
crestedwheatgrass(Agropyroncristatum)inGrasslandsNationalParkofCanada.
InvasivePlantscienceandManagement2:324‐336.
Henderson,A.,P.Fargey,S.Pruss.F.Sperling.2008.Earlysightingofararebutterfly,
MormonMetalmark,inGrasslandsNationalPark,SK.BlueJay66:105‐106.
Hooper,R.R.1973.ButterfliesofSaskatchewan.SaskatchewanDepartmentof
NaturalResources,p.201.
Howe,W.E.1975.TheButterfliesofNorthAmerica.Doubleday,N.Y.,p268.
Layberry,R.A.,P.W.Hall&J.D.Lafontaine.1998.TheButterfliesofCanada.
UniversityofTorontoPress:280.
Michalsky,S.J.&R.A.Ellis.1994.VegetationofGrasslandsNationalPark.Grasslands
NationalPark,ValMarie,Saskatchewan.April1994.
Morse,S.2009.BringingabutterflybackfromtheBrink.U.S.Fish&WildlifeService
EndangeredSpeciesBulletin34:6‐7.
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10
New,T.R.,R.M.Pyle,J.A.Thomas,C.D.Thomas&P.C.Hammond.1995.Butterfly
ConservationManagement.AnnualReviewofEntomology40:57‐83.
Opler,P.A.&J.A.Powell.1962.Taxonomicanddistributionstudiesofwestern
componentsoftheApodemiamormocomplex(Riodinidae).Journalofthe
Lepidopterists’Society15:145‐171.
Opler,P.A.1999.Afieldguidetowesternbutterflies.2nded.HoughtonMifflin
Company,Boston.540pp.260.
Pelham,J.P.2008.AcatalogueofthebutterfliesoftheUnitedStatesandCanada
withacompletebibliographyofthedescriptiveandsystematicliterature.Journalof
ResearchonLepidoptera40:1‐652.
Peterson,K.,E.Amosa,S.D.Pruss&N.Erbilgin.2010.Firstcaterpillarobservations
oftheMormonmetalmark(Apodemiamormo)(Lepidoptera:Riodinidae)butterflyin
GrasslandsNationalPark,Saskatchewan,Canada.BlueJay.68:37‐40.
Powell,J.A.1975.Riodinidae.Themetalmarks.In:Howe,W.H.(Ed.),TheButterflies
ofNorthAmerica.Doubleday,GardenCity,NewYork,pp.259‐272.
Proshek,B.,L.A.Crawford,C.S.Davis,S.Desjardins,A.E.Henderson&F.A.H.
Sperling.2013.ApodemiamormoinCanada:populationgeneticdatasupportprior
conservationranking.JournalofInsectConservation17:155‐170
RDevelopmentCoreTeam(2009)R:alanguageandenvironmentforstatistical
computing.RFoundationforStatisticalComputing,Vienna.
Scott,J.A.1986.ThebutterfliesofNorthAmerica:Anaturalhistoryandfieldguide.
StanfordUniversityPress,Stanford.
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Thomas,J.A.2005.Monitoringchangeintheabundanceanddistributionofinsects
usingbutterfliesandotherindicatorgroups.PhilosophicalTransactionsoftheRoyal
SocietyB360:339‐357.
ThorpeJ.&N.Nicolichuk.2009.PredictivevegetationmappingatGrasslands
NationalPark–FinalReport.SRCPublicationNo.12162‐1E09.
WickA.A.,J.Janelle,S.Pruss,andN.Erbilgin.2011.FirstobservationsofMormon
metalmark(Apodemiamormomormo)ovipositionbehaviourinCanada.Canadian
FieldNaturalist:126:34‐37.
Documentscited
Anweiler,G.G.2007.2007SearchfortheMormonMetalmark(Apodemiamormo)in
Alberta.UnpublishedReport.
Cannings,R.J.,E.Durance&L.K.Scott.1998.SouthOkanaganecosystemrecovery
plan:Scientificassessment.UnpublishedReport,BritishColombiaMinistryof
Environment.Penticton108.
COSEWIC.2003.COSEWICassessmentandupdatestatusreportontheMormon
MetalmarkApodemiamormoinCanada.CommitteeontheStatusofEndangered
WildlifeinCanada.Ottawa.vii+22pp.
Hooper,V.L.2002.StatusReportofApodemiaMormo(C.R.Felder)inSaskatchewan.
4pp.
Johnson,J.J.,Jones,J.,Baudour,M.,Wagner,M.,Flannery,D.,Werner,D.,Holden,D.,
Virun,K.,Wilson,T.,Delijani,J.,Delijani,J.,Newton,B.,Gundell,D.,Thummar,B.,
Blakey,C.,Walsh,K.,Sweeney,Q.,Ware,T.,Adams,A.,Taylor,C.,andLongcore,T.
2011.CaptiveRearingofLange’sMetalmarkButterfly,2010‐2011.FinalReportto
NationalFishandWildlifeFoundation.TheUrbanWildlandsGroup.
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Pruss,S.D.,A.Henderson,P.Fargey,andJ.Tuckwell.2008.RecoveryStrategyfor
theMormonMetalmark(Apodemiamormo)PrairiePopulation,inCanada.Speciesat
RiskActRecoveryStrategySeries.ParksCanadaAgency.Ottawa.vi+23pp.
SaskatchewanInstituteofPedology.1992.GrasslandsNationalParkSoilSurvey.
UniversityofSaskatchewanPress,Saskatoon,Saskatchewan.53pp.
SpeciesatRiskAct.2003.
http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/the_act/HTML/Guide_e.cfm
USFWSAntiochDunesDraftComprehensiveConservationPlan.2001.U.S.Fishand
WildlifeServiceCalifornia/NevadaRefugePlanningOffice.
Personalcommunications
Arnold,R.A.2011.EntomologicalConsultingServices,Ltd.PleasantHill,CA,United
States.
Desjardins,S.2011.UniversityofBritishColumbia,Kelowna,BC,Canada.
Dyck,T.2012.LandManager,AgricultureandAgrifoodCanada(AAFC).
Olson,W.2012.Warden,GrasslandsNationalPark.
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CHAPTERII.
Speciesdistributionmodelsrevealnewcoloniesofathreatenedbutterfly,
Apodemiamormo(Lepidoptera:Riodinidae)
Introduction
Developingmodelstoeffectivelypredicthabitatconditionsrequiredbyrarespecies
isacentralpursuitofconservationbiologyandessentialtoconservationplanning
(Thompson2004;Guisanetal.2006;Turlureetal.2009;Lawsonetal.2012;Oliver
etal.2012).Forrarespecies,andparticularlyperipheralpopulations,
understandingecologicalrequirementsisespeciallyimportantfordefininghabitat
ordistribution.Speciesdistributionmodels(SDMs)supportconservationinitiatives
byrelatingaspecies’distributiontothedistributionofenvironmentalfactorsthat
predicthabitatuse(Guisan&Zimmermann2000;Soberón&Peterson2005;Araujo
&Guisan2006;Oliveretal.2012).Suchtoolsareparticularlyimportantto
maximizeeffectiveuseoflimitedresourcesforhabitatprotectionandconservation
(Cabeza&Moilanen2001;Araujoetal.2002;Wilseyetal.2012).Predictionsfrom
SDMscanassistconservationistsinprioritizingandfacilitatinghabitatprotection
forthreatenedspeciesbyidentifyingwheresuccessismostlikelytooccur(Manelet
al.1999;Jaberg&Guisan2001;Araujoetal.2002;Cabeza&Moilanen2003;Wilson
etal.2011).
PopularityofSDMshasincreasedinrecentyearsinpartbecauseofthedevelopment
ofavarietyofmappingandstatisticaltechniquesthateffectivelycorrelatespecies
distributionstoenvironmentalcharacteristics(Pulliam2000;Soberón&Peterson
2005;Araujo&Guisan2006).Suchmodelsofferausefulalternativetomonitoring
speciesontheground,whileaidingconservationistsinefficientlyassessingand
projectingimpactsofland‐usechangesorclimatechangeonthedistributionof
organisms,aswellasfacilitatinghabitatprotectionforthreatenedspecies(Kienast
etal.1996;Lischkeetal.1998;Maneletal.1999;Jaberg&Guisan2001;Rebelo&
Jones2010).
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NorthernperipheralpopulationsofawidevarietyofspeciesresideinCanada,
includingthatoftheMormonmetalmark(Lepidoptera:Riodinidae,Apodemia
mormoFelder&Felder1859).Therangeofthisbutterflyextendsfromnorthwest
MexicothroughmuchofthewesternUSandintoextremesouthernCanada(Scott
1986;Layberryetal.1998).Apodemiamormoisofparticularecologicalinterest
becauseitsCanadianrangeisdisjunctfromcentralpartsofitsrangeand
populationsofthespeciesresidinginSaskatchewanhavedisparatereproductive
adaptations(Wicketal.2012).
TheCommitteeontheStatusofEndangeredWildlifeinCanada(COSEWIC)recently
assessedthetwopopulationsofA.mormoinCanada.Themixed‐grass“prairie
population”insouthernSaskatchewanwasdesignatedas‘threatened,’andasmall
populationlocatedintheSimilkameenRiverValleyofsouthernBritishColumbia
waslistedas‘endangered’(COSEWIC2003).
InthisstudyIusedSDMstodefinethebutterfly’shabitatbyidentifying
environmentalfactorsassociatedwithhabitatoccupancyatthelandscapelevel.In
particular,Iwasinterestedinwhythebutterflydoesnotoccupymanyareasin
whichitshostplant,EriogonumpauciflorumPursh,isabundant.Ihypothesizedthat
landscape‐levelenvironmentalfeaturesinfluencethesuitabilityofhabitatforA.
mormoandaccountforitsabsenceinsomehostplantpatches.Iusedthese
environmentalfeaturestomodelhabitatoccupancyforthebadlandsofsouthern
Saskatchewanthroughtheuseoftwomodelingapproaches:aresourceselection
function(RSF;Manlyetal.2002);andRandomForests(Breiman2001).Ithen
testedmodelpredictionswithgroundvalidationbysearchingforbutterfliesin
previouslyunsurveyedareasduringthebutterfly’sbriefadultflightperiod.
Materials&methods
Studyspecies:Apodemiamormo
TheprairiepopulationofA.mormoinSaskatchewanisstrictlyunivoltine,with
adultsemerginginearlyAugustandflyingfor2‐3weeks(Hendersonetal.2008;
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Petersonetal.2010).Althoughthisbutterflyspeciesusesseveralspeciesof
Eriogonumthroughoutitsrange,theprairiepopulationreliessolelyonE.
pauciflorumasitsobligatorylarvalfoodplantandprimarynectarsource(Scott
1986;Prussetal.2008).InSaskatchewan,A.mormoalsousesrabbitbrush
(EricamerianauseosaPall.ExPursh)asasecondarynectarsource.Thebutterflyand
itshostplantsareassociatedwitherodedhillsidesandembankmentsinthe
badlandsofsouthernSaskatchewan(Prussetal.2008).
Studyarea
ThisworkwasconductedinGrasslandsNationalPark(GNP;Figure2‐1;49°06’N,
107°25’W)islocatedinextremesouthernSaskatchewanandcomprises52,700ha
inthemixedgrassecoregion(Thorpe&Nicolichuk2009).TheParkcontains29,000
haofbadlands,terraintooruggedandunproductiveforhumancultivation
(SaskatchewanInstituteofPedology1992;Prussetal.2008).Muchofthebadlands
arearemainsunaffectedbyhumanactivity,apartfromsomehistoricalcattle
grazing.Thebutterfly’sprimaryhostplant,E.pauciflorum,occursonlyinthe
badlands.Iestimatethatthereareapproximately4017haofE.paucifloruminthe
badlandsofGNPbasedoncalculationsfromvegetationtransectscompletedin2011
(Wickunpublisheddata).TheParkismadeupoftwoparcelsseparatedbyabout40
km:1)theWestBlock,intheFrenchmanRiverValley,whichcontainsaherdof
Bisonbisonand2)theEastBlock,locatedaroundRockCreek(Figure2‐1).TheWest
Blockisgrazedatarateofonebisonper55ha(Olsonpers.com.2012)andtheEast
Blockisungrazedwiththeexceptionofasmallexperimentalareathatdoesnot
includebadlandswhichisgrazedbycattle.
LocatedseveralkilometersnorthwestofGNP,theValMarieCommunityPasture
(VMCP;Figure2‐1;49°41’N,107°92’W)comprises40,629hathatwassetaside
duringtheDustBowlunderthePrairieFarmRehabilitationAdministration,which
wasrecentlychangedtotheAgri‐EnvironmentalServicesBranch.TheVMCPis
grazedatarateofonecowper35ha(T.Dyckpers.com.2012).
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AllknownA.mormocoloniesinSaskatchewanarelocatedwithinGNPandthe
VMCP.
Butterflypresence
MultipleA.mormo surveysconducted inGNPandtheVMCPfrom1974until2011
provided301geo‐referenced locationswhere thebutterflyhadbeendocumented.
Usinga222mbuffer radius todefinecolonies theserecordssuggesta totalof37
known colonies. The 222 m buffer was calculated by walking the perimeters of
knowncoloniesandaveragingthesizeofthesecolonies(S.Prusspers.com.2012).
Theseknownbutterflylocationsweretreatedas“used”pointsduringthemodeling
described below. Absence datawere not systematically documented prior to this
studyso Igeneratedasetofunused,oravailablehabitat locationswherethehost
plant occurred but A. mormo presence was unknown (Manly et al. 2002). I
generated this list of available habitat areas as a random sample of landscape
locationsbyinGeographicInformationSystem(GIS;Boyceetal.2002;ArcMap10;
ESRI2011).Thesepresence/availablelocationscomprisedtheresponsevariablefor
subsequentA.mormomodels.
Predictorvariables
Allvariablesusedtomodelandpredictbutterflyhabitat(forafulllistseeTable2‐1)
weregeospatialandavailableinGIS(ArcMap10;ESRI2011).Iemployeda20x20
m cell size to characterize A.mormohabitat in the study area. This resolution is
compatiblewiththebiologyoftherathersessilebutterflyandallpredictorvariables
wereavailableat thisscale (orsmaller).Becauseof theaprioriknowledge thatA.
mormo’s host plant is restricted to badlands, I also restricted the study area to
badlandshabitat.Otherhabitats,suchasrivervalleybottomsorhilltopprairies,do
not supportpopulationsof thehostplant, and thuswere considered tobematrix
habitat.
I derived six variables as environmental predictors (Table 2‐1) from a digital
elevationmodel (DEM) of the study area, and developed a normalized difference
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vegetationindex(NDVI)inGISfromSPOT‐5(2007)satelliteimagery.TheNDVIisa
measureof ‘greenness’, ordensityofplantgrowth, inagivenareausingremotely
senseddata.IusedacorrelationmatrixwithintheProgramR(RDevelopmentCore
Team2009) todeterminewhetherpredictorvariableswerehighlycorrelated(r>
0.70;seeManlyetal.2002)forfurtheranalysesIidentifiedthemoreparsimonious
model in relation to Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) which increases when
including a variable adds more variance than it explains (Burnham & Anderson
2002;Manlyetal.2002).TopographicRuggednessIndex(TRI)wasremovedfrom
further analyses because it was correlated with slope (SLOPE). Aspect (ASPECT)
was strongly correlated with solar radiation (SOL202) and hillshade (HLSHD), a
measurementofshadedrelief,soIdidnot includeASPECTinthemodelingefforts
(Table 2‐1). HLSHDwas not shown to be significant in the RSF, but excluding it
increasedthemodelsAIC,soIincludedit.
Models
IusedtwomodelstostudytherelationshipbetweenA.mormopresenceandthe
environmentalpredictors.Inthefirstapproach,Iconstructedaresourceselection
function(RSF)usinganexponentialgeneralizedlinearmodelwiththelogitfunction
(Guisan&Zimmermann2000;Manlyetal.2002).ARSFisanyfunctionthatgivesa
resultproportionaltotheprobabilitythataresourceunitwillbeselectedbyan
animal(Manlyetal.2002).Resourceselectionfunctionsarebasedonthepremise
thatindividualsofagivenspeciesbehaviorallyselectparticularresources,andthese
functionshavebeenusedtodeveloppredictivemodelsinconservationplanningfor
avarietyofmammalandavianspecies,includingmountaincaribou,northern
goshawksandnorthernflyingsquirrels(Johnsonetal.2004;Carrolletal.2006;
Hough&Dieter2009).This‘use/availability’designisthemostcommonlyused
methodwhendealingwithdatacollectedinwildlifestudies(Johnsonetal.2006).I
usedthePackagelme4(Batesetal.2011)intheProgramRtoprovideGLM‐based
logisticregressionRSFtoinputintotheGIS.
Asasecondmodelingapproach,IemployedRandomForests,abootstrapped
regressiontreeanalysisinthemachine‐learningfamilyofmodelingtechniques
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(Breiman2001;Breiman&Cutler2005).RandomForestshasseveraladvantages
overothermodelingmethods.Forinstance,itcanincludemanycorrelated
variables,itisthoughtnottooverfit,itassumesnonlinearinteractionsamong
predictorvariables,anditdeliversanoutputof‘variableimportance’byranking
predictorvariableswithrespecttohowoftentheycorrectlypredictanoutcomeof
presenceorabsence(Prasadetal.2006;Cutleretal.2007;Roberts&Hamann
2011).BecauseRandomForestsisanalgorithmicmodel,ithasnoassumptionsof
normalityorco‐linearity.Instead,themodellearnstherelationshipamongvariables
startingfromanuniformedstate,andgoesontoelucidatecomplexrelationships
amongvariables(Breiman2001).Iusedthepackage“RandomForests”inthe
ProgramRtobuildthismodel(Liaw&Wiener2002;Breiman&Cutler2005;R
DevelopmentCoreTeam2009).
IconstructedapredictivemapofA.mormohabitatinbothGNPandtheVMCPusing
eachmodel.InAugust2012Ivalidatedmodelperformancebymethodically
searchingforhostplantsandbutterfliesinthesitesthateachmodelpredicted
wouldhavebutterflypresence(>0.60relativeprobabilityofpresence).Additionally,
Isearchedforhostplanthabitat,inlieuofbutterfliesbecausetheflightseasonhad
ended,whereRandomForestspredictedhabitatwouldbeabsent(<0.40relative
probabilityofpresence).IvalidatedpredictionsofabsenceforonlyRandomForests
becauseitperformedbetterthantheRSFinthefirstportionofthestudy.
Results
Thefinalmodelsincludedthefollowingfivevariables:normalizeddifference
vegetationindex(NDVI),compoundtopographicindex(CTI),slope(SLOPE),
hillshade(HLSHD),andareasolarradiation(SOL202).AlthoughHLSHDdidnot
contributesignificantlytotheRSFmodel,excludingitresultedinaless
parsimoniousmodel,soitwasincluded.ThefollowingRSFcoefficientsareshownin
Table2‐2andtheequationwasusedintheGIStopredictA.mormohabitatacross
thestudyarea:
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y=exp[4.390‐CTI(0.391)+HLSHD(0.012)‐SOL202(0.006)‐SLOPE(0.043)‐
NDVI(62.4)]
AlthoughRandomForestsrelaxesmanyassumptionsaboutpredictorvariables
requiredbyGLMs,Iusedthesamesetofpredictorvariablesforbothmodelsto
supportthebestpossiblecomparisonbetweenmodels.TheRandomForestsmodel
isbasedonamachine‐learningalgorithmandthereforecannotberepresentedby
anequation,butinsteadgivesoutputintermsoftherelativeimportanceof
variables(Figure2‐2).Outputsshowthatthevariableimportancemeasuredbythe
increasein%meansquareerror(Inc%MSE).GreaterInc%MSEindicateshigher
variableimportance;inotherwords,importancevaluesareassignedinrelationto
thenumberoftimesthatavariableisincludedinaniterationofthemodeland
correctlypredictspresenceinaknownarea.Inthefinalmodel,NDVIwasthemost
importantpredictoraccordingtothevariableimportanceplot(Figure2‐2).In
decreasingorderofimportancethepredictorsincludedintheRandomForests
modelwere:NDVI,SLOPE,SOL202,HLSHD,CTI.
Overall,findingsindicatedthatbutterflypresencewasassociatedwithmoderately
sloped,dryhabitatwithlittlevegetation,lowsolarradiationwithhighershaded
reliefvalues.Iusedeachmodeltopredictprobabilityofbutterflypresencebasedon
environmentalcharacteristicsofeach20x20mcellwithinthestudyarea(Figure2‐
3).TheRSFpredictedamuchhigherproportionofunsuitablehabitatintheVMCP
(Figure2‐4d)thaninGNP(Figure2‐4b,f)incomparisontotheresultsfromRandom
Forests(Figures2‐4a,b,c).
In2012,IsearchedpreviouslyunsurveyedareasintheVMCPandGNPwherethe
modelspredictedA.mormopresenceorabsence.Toselectsearchsites,Idividedthe
20x20pixelsintothefollowingtwocategoriesbasedontheoutputofeachmodel:
1)areaspredictedtohavebutterflies(>0.6probability)and2)areaswithlow
probability(<0.4)ofoccurrence.Withthesebinaryhigh/lowmapsIrandomly
selected200pointsfromtheoutputofeachmodelforeachcategoryinGIS.I
searchedforA.mormointhesesitesduringthepeakflightseasoninAugust2012.It
appearedthattheflightperiodendedearly,dueto2012beingadroughtyear;
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therefore,Ididnotincludedatacollectedafter27August,inordertoavoid
detectionerrors.Nobutterflieswereseenafterthisdate,eveninseveralareaswith
knownA.mormocolonies.
Ivisited168sitesthatwerepredictedtohavebutterflies(Figure2‐4),and76sites
thatwerepredictednottohavebutterflies(Figure2‐5).Regardingpredictionof
presence,RSFwasaccurate64%ofthetime,whileRandomForestswascorrect
76%ofthetime(Figure2‐4).SinceRandomForestsconsistentlyoutperformedthe
RSFmodelwithrespecttobutterflyandhostplantpresence,IusedRandomForests
torandomlyselectsitespredictedtohavenobutterflies.RandomForestswas
accurateat92%inpredictionsofnohabitatsuitableforA.mormo(Figure2‐5).
ThemodelresultsapportionedbythetypeofgrazingareshowninFigure2‐6.The
modelswereonlyaccurateincorrectlypredictingA.mormopresence19%(N=31)
ofthetimeintheVMCP,whichisgrazedbycattleatarateofonecowper35ha.The
modelsweremoreaccurate73%(N=106)intheWestBlockofGNP,whichisgrazed
bybisonatarateofonebisonper55ha.ThemodelsweremostaccurateintheEast
BlockofGNP(85%,N=27)wherethereisnograzingbycattleorbisoninanyareas
studiedthatwereoccupiedbyA.mormo.
Discussion
Speciesdistributionmodelshavebeendevelopedformanyspecies,buttheir
applicationinconservationbiologyhasbeencompromisedbythelackof
independentassessmentsofmodelperformance(Greavesetal.2006).Thereare
severalstudiesthathavevalidatedsuchmodelsinthefield.Forexample,Newbold
etal.(2010)usedSDMstomodelthedistributionofbutterflies,mammals,reptiles,
andamphibiansandthentestedtheaccuracyoftheirmodelsusingground
validation.Groundvalidationuncovered15newlocalitiesoftherarebat,
Barbastellabarbastellus,inPortugal,extendingitsknownrangeby100km(Rebelo
&Jones2010).Inthepresentstudy,IdevelopedalternativeSDMstopredictA.
mormopresenceandabsence,andthenusedgroundvalidationtotesttheabilityof
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21
themodels,tocorrectlypredictpresenceandabsenceandtodocumentnew
coloniesofthebutterfly,aswellascomparetwomodelingmethods.
TheSDMsIusedheresuccessfullypredictedsuitableandunsuitablehabitatforA.
mormoandprovideanimprovedunderstandingofwhatconstituteshabitatforthis
species.Giventhesesuccesses,thesemodelscanbeappliedintheconservationofA.
mormoandtheseapproachesmayhavegeneralutilityformodelingpopulationsof
threatenedspeciesthatusepatchyhabitats.
Environmentalvariablesthatpredictbutterflypresence
Priortothisinvestigation,knowledgeofthehabitatoftheA.mormoprairie
populationwaslimitedtothepresenceofitshostplant,E.pauciflorum,inbadlands.
Inthisstudy,Idemonstratedthatfiveenvironmentalvariablescanbeusedto
improvepredictionsofbutterflypresenceandabsencewithintheseconstraints.The
NDVIwasthemostimportantpredictorofbutterflypresenceinbothmodels.NDVI
hadanegativerelationshipwithprobabilityofbutterflyoccurrence;A.mormois
mostlikelytooccurinsparselyvegetatedareaswherehostplantsoccurinthe
badlands.IcouldnotidentifyhostplantatthescaleofSPOTsatelliteimages(10m).
However,IsuspectthatlowNDVIvaluesindicatethepresenceofE.pauciflorumand
E.nauseosabecausetheseplantsarelikelyfavoredbythelowlevelsofcompetition
inhighlyerodedhabitat.Inarelatedstudy(ChapterIIIofthisthesis),I
demonstratedthatA.mormooccursinareaswithlittlevegetationcoveraslongas
itshostplantsareabundant;infact,scarcityofotherplantspeciesmayencourage
butterflypresence.Ingeneral,A.mormohabitatcanbecharacterizedassiteswithE.
pauciflorumthatarenotsteeplysloped,withlittlevegetation,lowsolarradiation,
anddrierwithhighershadedreliefwithhostplantdensities.
Groundvalidation&modelcomparison
ValidationagainstnewdataisessentialtotestifSDMseffectivelypredict
occurrencesofspecies.Ingeneral,modelperformanceisbesttestedagainstnew
presence/absencedatafromthestudyarea,butthathavenotbeenusedtodevelop
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22
themodel(Maneletal.2001;Wintleetal.2005).Validationofmodelusefulnessis
bestachievedbysearchingforthetargetspeciesinareaspredictedbythemodel
(Boyceetal.2002).Therefore,IsearchedforA.mormoduringtheAugust2012
flightperiodatsiteswheretheywerepredictedtobeeitherpresentorabsent.
Groundvalidationconfirmedtheusefulnessofbothmodels,andincreasedthe
numberofknownA.mormocoloniesfrom37to88inasingleflightseason.
InadditiontobetterpredictingnewsitesforA.mormo,RandomForestsmore
accuratelypredictedtheabsenceofbutterflyhabitat.Althoughtheevaluationof
modelsisinextricablyrelatedtotheirintendedpurpose(Araujo&Guisan2006),my
resultscorroboratetheearliersuggestionthatRandomForestsissuitablefor
uncoveringpatternsandrelationshipsinhighlycomplex,non‐linearecologicaldata
(Cutleretal.2007).Thisapproachiswellsuitedforusewiththreatened,
endangered,orperipheralspecies(Marmionetal.2009).
GrazingandA.mormo
WithintheVMCP,inwhichcattleweregrazed,themodelswerecorrectonly19%of
thetime.Modelpredictionsweresubstantiallymoreaccurateinareasungrazed
(85%)orgrazedbybison(73%)intheEastandWestBlocksofGNP,respectively.
TheseresultssuggestthatcattlegrazinghasadifferentialimpactontheabilityofA.
mormotouseavailablehostplantpatches,oratleastontheabilityofeither
modelingapproachtopredictbutterflypresenceinareasgrazedbycattle.However,
furtherworkisrequiredtoascertainifgrazingtypes(cattleorbison)differentially
affectA.mormo,butalsothestockingrates,asthesearehigherintheVMCP.
ManyofthesitesintheVMCPthatwerepredictedtohavebutterflieshadabundant
hostplants,butnobutterflies,evenduringthepeakoftheflightseason.Neither
cattlenorbisonappearedtotargetE.pauciflorumasafoodsource.Recentresearch
demonstratedthatovipositingfemalesofA.mormoplaceeggsdirectlyonsoilor
rocks,notonthehostplant,aswaspreviouslythought(Wicketal.2012).Thereis
limitedpeer‐revieweddatatocomparelifehistoryandtheecologicaleffectsof
managedorunmanagedgrazingbothin(Fuhlendorfetal.2010).
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23
However,theeffectthatlivestockgrazingmayhaveonbutterflypopulationsis
complexandthenatureoftherelationshipdependsonmanyfactors,suchas
butterflylifehistorytraits,plantcommunitysuccession,grazingregimes,and
invasiveplantdynamics(Swengel2001;Vogeletal.2007;Prestonetal.2012).
Furtherwork,suchasacomparativestudyontheecosysteminteractionsofcattle
andbisoninbadlandshabitatontheSaskatchewanpopulationofA.mormowould
likelyclarifytheseissues.
Implicationsfortheconservation&managementofA.mormo
Resourcelimitationisapressingproblemforconservationandlandmanagement
planning.Thisstudyresultedinanadditional106observationsofindividualA.
mormolocalitiesinGNPandVMCP,simplybyusingwidelyavailablespatialdatato
predictbutterflydistributions.Whilethenumberofknowncoloniesin
Saskatchewanincreasedby237%(i.e.from37to88colonies),thisstudyalso
confirmedtheobservationthatA.mormoisnotfoundinmanyareasofhostplant
habitat(Prussetal.2008).
TheresultsIhavepresentedherehavesignificantimplicationsfortheconservation
ofA.mormoinitsnorthernperipheralrange.First,itappearsthatnewcoloniesof
thespeciescanbepredictedwithremotelysenseddata.ThehabitatofA.mormo
wasreasonablywellcharacterizedusingwidelyavailablepredictorenvironmental
variablesderivedfromadigitalelevationmodel(DEM)andsatelliteimagery(SPOT
2007).Second,usingthesameenvironmentalpredictors,thepossiblepresenceofA.
mormomaybeinvestigatedinotherareasofsouthernSaskatchewan.Themodel
couldalsobeappliedtosearchareasofAlbertawithsimilarbadlandsbutwhereno
A.mormocolonieshavebeenpreviouslyuncovered(Anweiler2007).
ThisstudywasfocusedontheprairiepopulationofA.mormoinSaskatchewan;
however,greaterknowledgeofthispopulationwilllikelycontributetoconservation
effortsacrossthespecies’northernrange,includingpopulationsinBritish
Columbia,Montana,WashingtonandUtah.Ourunderstandingoftheconservation
ofmostinvertebratespeciesoftendependsonanintimateunderstandingofhabitat
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24
associations.ToolssuchasSDMsmayhelpconservationistsandlandmanagers
predictandunderstanddistributions,assistinmakingdecisionsregarding
reintroduction,restoration,andmeasurestoreduceprobabilityoflocalextirpation
(Maneletal.2001;Bartel&Sexton2009).Inthefaceoftheperniciouseffectsof
climatechangeandhabitatalteration,habitatmodelingmethodsmaysavevaluable
timeandenergyindocumentingspecies’distributionsaswellasuncovering
unknownpopulations.
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25
Acknowledgements
ThisprojectwasfundedbyParksCanadaandtheUniversityofAlberta.Grasslands
NationalParkstaff,enthusiasticvolunteers,H.Sauder,K.Illerbrun,C.Tabacaru,J.
Klutsch,A.B.Sturm,andB.Smerekovawereinstrumentalinassistingintheground
validationsearches.ThankstoAgricultureCanada,pasturemanagerT.PlattandT.
DyckforpermitsandaccesstothePFRApastures.ThankstoA.Hamann,D.Roberts
andE.Merrillforstatisticalguidance.
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26
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Tables&Figures
Table2‐1.Predictorvariablesusedtobuildtheresourceselectionfunctionand
RandomForestsmodelspredictingnewcoloniesofApodemiamormoinsouthern
Saskatchewan.Candidatevariablesweretestedforassumptionspriortothefinal
models.
*NA=Notapplicable
Source Process Outcome
Variable
Units Resolution
Digitalelevation
model(DEM)
NA* Elevation Meters 20m
DEM SurfaceAnalyst(Spatial
Analyst,ArcGIS10)
Topographic
Ruggedness
Index(TRI)
Index 20m
DEM SurfaceAnalyst(Spatial
Analyst,ArcGIS10)
Slope
(SLOPE)
Degrees 20m
DEM SurfaceAnalyst(Spatial
Analyst,ArcGIS10)
Aspect
(ASPECT)
Categorial
(N,NE,E,
etc.)
20m
DEM SurfaceAnalyst(Spatial
Analyst,ArcGIS10)
Hillshade
(HLSHD)
NA* 20m
DEM SurfaceAnalyst(Spatial
Analyst,ArcGIS10)
AreaSolar
Radiation
(SOLAR202)
NA* 20m
SRCPredictive
vegetation
model
NA* Vegetation
(SRCE2)
Index 1:20,000
polygon
DEM Rastercalculator
Compound
Topographic
Index(CTI)
Index 20m
SPOT5(2007)
SatelliteImagery
Rastercalculator
Normalized
Difference
Vegetation
Index
Index 10m
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Table2‐2.GeneralizedlinearmodelcoefficientsofApodemiamormooccurrencesfor
thevariablesusingaresourceselectionfunction.P‐valuesillustratesignificancefor
eachvariable.AICmodelselectionwasusedtorankmodelsupportandfindthe
mostparsimoniousmodel.Residualdevianceandnulldeviancearealsoshown,
showingthatdeviancedecreasedfromthenullmodel.
ResourceSelectionFunctionmodelcreation
Nulldeviance: 1391.6
Residualdeviance: 1044.8
Variable1 RSFCoefficient RSFP‐value2
Intercept 10.49 0.1077
CTI ‐0.391 1.36e‐08*
HLSHD 0.012 0.1396
SOL202 ‐0.006 0.0074*
SLOPE ‐0.043 0.000122*
NDVI ‐62.372 <2e‐16*
1VariableswereexplainedinTable1.
2*Indicatessignificanceat0.01=alpha
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Figure2‐1.ThestudyareconsistingoftheValMarieCommunityPastureand
GrasslandsNationalPark’sEastandWestBlocks,insouthernSaskatchewan,
Canada.
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Figure2‐2.VariableimportanceplotgeneratedbytheRandomForestsalgorithm.
Theplotshowsthevariableimportancemeasuredasincreasednodepurity
(IncNodePurity)andtheincreaseofmeansquareerror(%IncMSE),which
representsthedeteriorationofthepredictiveabilityofthemodelwheneach
predictionisreplacedinturnbyrandomnoise.Ahighervalueof%IncMSEindicates
ahighervariableimportance.ThefullvariablenamesareshowninTable1.
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Figure2‐3.ProbabilityoffindingApodemiamormoinGrasslandsNationalPark.
Mapsaredividedupbysection,theEastBlock(a,b)theVMCP(c,d),andtheWest
BlockofGNP(e,f).Theresourceselectionfunctionisshownontheright(b,d,f)and
RandomForestsontheleft(a,c,e).Themodelwasonlytargetedforareasthathave
previouslybeendelineatedasbadlandhabitatpriortothisstudy.
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Figure2‐4.Numberofobserved(siteswhereApodemiamormowasactuallyfound)
versusexpected(sitespredictedtohaveApodemiamormopresences)byeach
model(probabilityof0.60orhigher)weresearchedinGrasslandsNationalPark
andtheneighboringValMarieCommunityPastureinsouthernSaskatchewan,
Canada.
27
45
73
42
59
101
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
RSF RandomForests
RSF&RandomForests
Numberofsites
Model
Observed
Expected
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Figure2‐5.Numberofobserved(siteswhereApodemiamormowasnotfound)
versusexpected(sitespredictedtonothaveApodemiamormo)bytheRandom
ForestsmodelforboththeValMarieCommunityPasture(VMCP)andGrasslands
NationalPark(GNP)insouthernSaskatchewan,Canada.
24
46
70
25
51
76
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
VMCP GNP VMCP&GNP
Numberofsites
Location
Observed
Expected
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Figure2‐6.Numberofobserved(siteswhereApodemiamormowasactuallyfound)
versusexpected(sitespredictedtohaveApodemiamormopresences)modelresults
separatedbasedonwhetherornotanareawasungrazed,grazedbybison,or
grazedbycattle.TheValMarieCommunityPasture(VMCP)isgrazedbycattle,the
EastBlockofGrasslandsNationalPark(GNP)isnotgrazed,andtheWestBlockof
GNPisgrazedbybison,allsitesarelocatedinsouthernSaskatchewan,Canada.
6
23
77
31 27
106
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cattlegrazed Notgrazed Bisongrazed
VMCP EastBlock(GNP)
WestBlock(GNP)
Numberofsites
Locations
Observed
Expected
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CHAPTERIII.
Beyondthehostplant:Additionalfactorsexplainingmicrohabitatassociations
inanorthernperipheralpopulationofApodemiamormo(Riodinidae)
Introduction
Understandingrelationshipsbetweenspeciesandtheirhabitatsisacentralaspect
ofecology(Grinnell1917;Elton1927).Definingandunderstandinghabitatisof
particularsignificanceforspeciesatriskandthoseattheextremeperipheryoftheir
ranges(Fraser2000).Accordingtoevolutionarytheory,individualsshouldbemore
concentratedatthecenteroftheirrangethantheperipheryandthusonecanexpect
gradualdeclinesinabundanceatrangeedges(Brown1984).However,these
featuresaredynamicandsomespeciesarepresentlyshiftingtheirdistributionsto
higherlatitudesinresponsetoclimatewarming(Rootetal.2003;Parmesan&Yohe
2003).Undersuchconditions,northernperipheralpopulationswilllikelybecome
increasinglyimportantforpersistenceofsuchtaxa.
Peripheralpopulationsareofevolutionarysignificanceastheyarethoughttobe
freertoevolveandthusmaybepremiersitesforevolutionarychange,and
ultimately,speciation(Mayr1940).Althoughmanyperipheralpopulationsaremore
geneticallyimpoverishedthancentralpopulations,theyalsomaybemore
geneticallydistinctandthereforeofinteresttostudentsofevolutionandecology
(Noss1994).Environmentalchangessuchasglobalwarmingcanaffectthe
distribution,phenology,abundance,anddiversityofspecies(Crick&Sparks1999;
Roy&Sparks2000;Parmesan&Yohe2003;Rootetal.2003),particularlyat
latitudinalandaltitudinalrangelimitsandthusperipheralpopulationsmaybe
importanttolong‐termpersistenceofmanyspecies(Hunter1991;Fraser2000;
Daviesetal.2006).Furthermore,phenologicalmismatchesbetweeninsectsand
theirhostplants,whichmaybemostcommonatrangelimits,canhavedire
consequencesinperipheralpopulations(Hunter1992;Quiring1993;Peterson
1997).InalandmarkpaperRosenzweig(1991)suggestedthatitiscrucialto
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investigatemicrohabitatcharacteristicsofpopulationsatrangeperipheries,where
naturalselectionmaydrivethemtoselectthemostadvantageousmicrohabitats.
Lepidopterahavelongbeenusedasamodelspeciesforstudiesinecologyand
evolutionarybiologyandrecentliteraturesuggeststhatLepidopteradiscriminate
amonghabitatsbasedonenvironmentalvariablesbeyondsimplepresenceoftheir
hostplants(Papaj&Rausher1987;Lastraetal.2006;Ashtonetal.2009).For
example,severalstudiessuggestthatsoilnutrientsaffecthabitatpreferencesof
butterflyspecies(Ehrlich1965;Ravenscroft1994;Prudicetal.2005).Grassland
habitatsthatvaryinexposuretosolarradiationbecauseofslopeandaspectcreatea
varietyofthermalmicroenvironmentsthatdramaticallyaffectlarvalgrowthand
development,especiallyinthecooler,northernrangeofthebaycheckerspot
butterfly(Murphy&Weiss1988).
InthischapterIinvestigatemicrohabitatcharacteristicsforthedisjunctnorthern
peripheralpopulationoftheMormonmetalmark(Apodemiamormo)insouthern
Saskatchewan,Canada.Theconservationstatusofthispopulationislistedas
threatened(COSEWIC2003).Myobjectivewastodefinepossiblebutterfly
microhabitatusebyexaminingsoils,vegetation,andtopographyforhostplant
habitatswherethebutterflyispresent(occupiedhabitat)andthatwhereitisabsent
(unoccupiedhabitat).
Materials&methods
Studysites
GrasslandsNationalPark(GNP;49°15’N,107°09’W)wasestablishedin1984and
islocatedinthemixedgrassprairieregionofsouthernSaskatchewan,Canada.With
long,cold,drywintersandshort,hot,humidsummers,GNPcomprisesuplandand
lowlandgrasslandsthatareinterspersedwithsparselyvegetatedbadlandhabitat.
The52,700hathatcompriseGNPincludeapproximately29,000haofbadlands,
whichareerodedcommunitiescharacterizedbysparsevegetation(Michalsky&
Ellis1994).
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GrasslandsNationalParkisapportionedintotwomainareas:theEastBlockandthe
WestBlock.Theseparcelsareseparatedbyapproximately40kmofprivatelyowned
pastureandfarmland.TheEastBlockincludesmuchofRockCreekandis
surroundedbytheWoodMountainplateau;theWestBlocksurroundsthe
FrenchmanRivervalleysoutheastofthevillageofValMarie,SK(Saskatchewan
InstituteofPedology1992).TheWestBlockcontainsaherdofbison(Bisonbison)
thatgrazetheareaatadensityofonebisonper55ha(W.Olsonpers.com.2012).
InadditiontoGNP,IalsostudiedbutterflyhabitatsintheValMarieCommunity
Pasture(VMCP;49°41’N,107°92’W),whichislocatedseveralkilometers
northwestofthepark.TheVMCPwasoriginallycreatedaspartofthePrairieFarm
RehabilitationActbutisnowmanagedbytheAgri‐EnvironmentServicesBranch.It
ismadeupof40,649haandisstockedatadensityofonecowper35haandcattle
grazefromApriluntiltheendofOctober(T.Dyckpers.com.2012).TheVMCP
containsseveralcoloniesofA.mormoaswellaslargeareasofhostplanthabitat
whererepeatedsurveyshavenotuncoveredthepresenceofthebutterfly.
Apodemiamormoandhostplant
Apodemiamormoisasmallbutterflyoftheprincipallyneotropicalfamily
Riodinidae.Themostwide‐rangingriodinidinNorthAmerica,itoccursfromMexico
toCanada,throughoutthewesternUnitedStates.Onlytwopopulationsarefoundin
southernCanadaandthesecomprisetheextremenorthernrangeofthespecies
(Scott1986;Layberryetal.1998):the“prairiepopulation”inSaskatchewanandthe
“mountainpopulation”intheSimilkameenRiverValleyinBritishColumbia
(COSEWIC2003;Prussetal.2008).Thesubjectofthisstudyistheprairie
population,locatedinthenorthernmixedgrassprairieecoregioninSaskatchewan.
WhileA.mormopopulationsinthesouthernpartofitsrangemayhavemultiple
flightperiods,theprairiepopulationisstrictlyunivoltinewithadultsgenerally
emergingatthebeginningofAugustandwaningtowardstheendofthemonth
(Arnold1980;Petersonetal.2010).However,dependingonweather,theflight
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periodofA.mormocanrangefrommid‐JulyintoSeptember(Hendersonetal.2008).
Theadultpopulationdensitytypicallypeaksduringmid‐August.
Thebutterflyusesbranchedumbrellaplant(Eriogonumpauciflorum)asitssole
larvalhostplantandprimarynectarsource.Rabbitbrush(Ericamericanauseosa)is
usedasasecondarynectarsource,althoughitisnotalwayspresenttheareawhere
butterflycoloniesoccur.Adultsusebothplants,aswellascreepingjuniper
(Juniperushorizontalis),baresoil,androcks,forperchingandmating(Wickpers.
obs.).Femalesintheprairiepopulationovipositinsmallcrevicesinthesoilandon
rocksnearE.pauciflorum,notdirectlyonthehostplantaspreviouslythoughtfrom
studiesofotherpopulations(Wicketal.2012).
Studydesign
Historically,presenceofA.mormohasbeendocumentedthroughfieldsurveysby
ParksCanada,theUniversityofAlberta,andFishandWildlifestaff.LocationsofE.
pauciflorumpatchesunoccupiedbythebutterflyhavealsobeenrecorded(Parks
Canada,unpublisheddata2011).Usingthisinformation,Iestablished1025mx5m
quadratsinareaswhereE.pauciflorumwaspresentinthebadlandsofGNPand
VMCPin2011.Roughlyhalf(n=50)ofthesequadratswerelocatedinareaswhereA.
mormohadpreviouslybeendocumented;thesearehereafterreferredtoas
“occupiedhabitat”.Theremainingquadrats(n=52)in“unoccupiedhabitat”were
chosenaccordingtoarandomstratifieddesignandlocatedinknownE.pauciflorum
locations.ThesequadratswerevisitedfromMaytoJuneof2011andaseriesof
microhabitatmeasurementsweretakenineachquadrat.
Afterverifyingthathostplantswereindeedpresent,Irecordedtheelevationas
measuredatthecenterofeachquadratandnotedifthehabitatwasgrazed(by
bisoninGNPorcattleinVMCP).Icollectedasoilcorefromthecenterofeach
quadratusinganopen‐facedauger.Thesoilsamplesweredriedandsubsequently
analyzedfortotalnitrogencontent(TKN,mgL;anindicatorofsoilfertilitystatus),
acidity(pH)andsoilelectricalconductivity(EC;ameasurementofsoilsalinity)in
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theHighVolumeLabattheUniversityofAlberta.OnsiteIalsomeasuredsoil
penetrabilityusingapentrometer(g/cm;E280DaytonPocketPentrometer).
AtthecenterofeachquadratImeasuredslopeandaspect.Tocharacterizethebiotic
communityIestimated%bareground,%hostplantcoverand%coverofall
vascularplantspeciestothenearest5%.Grassesandsedgesweredifficultto
reliablyidentifytospecies,soIestimatedsedgesandgrassesasatotalgrasscover
tocharacterizetherelationshipsbetweenthisvegetationtypeandthehostplant.
DataAnalysis
InordertousethedatatodiscriminatebetweenoccupiedandunoccupiedhabitatsI
ranalineardiscriminantanalysis(LDA)usingtheRpackageMASS(Venables&
Ripley2002;RDevelopmentCoreTeam2009).Lineardiscriminantanalysisisa
classicparametricmethodofclassificationusedwithacategoricalresponsevariable
(Sherrod2012).AnLDAaimstominimizewithingroupvariancebyexplainingthe
varianceamonggroupsusingasetofpredictorvariablesandmaximizestheratioof
between‐classvariancetowithin‐classvariancebyfindingalineartransformation
ora“discriminantfunction”(Sherrod2012).TheLDAresultsyieldtwo
distributions:oneeachforoccupiedandunoccupiedhabitat.IusedaWelchtwo
samplet‐testtotestwhetherthetwodistributionsstatisticallydifferedfromone
another.
Results
AssummarizedinTable3‐1,averagemeasurementsfortheindependentvariables
differedbetweenunoccupiedandoccupiedhabitat.Soilpenetrability,availablesoil
nitrogen,%baregroundcover,andelevationwerealllowerinoccupiedhabitats,
whileunoccupiedhabitatshadlowersoilsalinityandhighersoilpH.Occupied
patcheswereonsteeperslopesandmoregenerallyhadasouth‐westerlyaspect.
Thevegetationcompositionandstructuresurveys(Table3‐2)weredoneinthe
earlypartofsummer(May/June),andtherefore,asidefromthehostplantand
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primarynectarplant(E.nauseosa),themostcommonplantswerespringflowers.
Someplantswereplentifulintheplotssurveyedearlyintheseasonandallbut
absentfromplotsbythelatesummer,andbecauseofthisobviousphenological
effect,theseplantswereexcludedfromfurtheranalyses.However,yellowumbrella
plant,saltbush,pricklypearcactusandsagewereallpresentthroughoutthe
summer.Table3‐3showstheabundancesofplantsthatweresurveyedintheplots.
SinceIwasinterestedinwhethertheoverallcommunitiesdifferedbetween
occupiedandunoccupiedhabitat,IpresenttheresultsoftheLDA(Figure3‐1),
insteadofpresentingresultsforeachindividualvariable.TheLDAsuggestsdistinct
distributionsforoccupiedandunoccupiedhabitats.AWelchTwoSampleT‐test
showedasignificantdifference(df:133.9,T=2.347,P=0.02)betweenthe
distributions,indicatingthatE.pauciflorumpatchesthatareoccupiedorunoccupied
byA.mormodifferbasedonacombinationofthefollowingsevenvariables:%E.
pauciflorumcover,elevation,aspect,availablesoilnitrogen,slope,%bareground
cover,andsoilpH(Table3‐3).
Discussion
PresenceofA.mormoinE.pauciflorumhabitatpatchesreflectsacombinationof
topographic,soilandbioticvariables.Althoughhostplantpresenceisakey
predictorofbutterflypresence,itisinsufficienttofullycharacterizehabitat
occupancybythebutterfly.Apodemiamormowasfounddisproportionatelyin
patchesofE.pauciflorumthathadlowerelevationthanaverage,greaterslope,anda
south‐westerlyaspect,lowersoilnitrogen,higheracidity,andhigher%bareground
cover.
Clearly,theextentoflocalE.pauciflorumcoverincreasestheprobabilityofA.
mormopresence.Itislikelythathighhostplantdensitiesareimportantfor
developinglarvaeastheyundertakeshortdistancemigrationfromonehostplantto
anotherduringtheirlateinstardevelopment,asadultA.mormofemalesdonot
ovipositonhostplants(Petersonetal.2010;Wicketal.2012).Inanotherstudy,
densityofhostplantflowerheadswasthemostimportantfactorindetermining
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presenceandabundanceoftheendangeredlargebluebutterfly,Maculineateleius
(Bataryetal.2007).
Otherstudieshaveshownthatmicrohabitatfactorsaffectwhichplantsinsects
chooseastheirhosts.Yamatotoetal.(2007),forexampledemonstratedthatthe
biomassofparticularhostplantspeciespositivelyaffectedtheabundanceof
butterflyspecies.Thisalignswithmyfindings:althoughhostplantpresenceis
insufficienttopredictA.mormopresence,althoughprobabilityofoccupancy
increaseswithabundanceofthehostplant.InastudyofthevulnerableBritish
silverspottedskipperbutterfly(Hesperiacomma)thebutterfly’sidealhabitat
consistedofbrokensouth‐facingterrainwith45%hostplantcoverand40%bare
ground(Thomasetal.1986).Interestingly,thebutterflyhadapparently
disappearedfromsitesafterthesehabitatcharacteristicshadchanged.
MyresultsarealsoconsistentwithfindingsabouttheQuinocheckerspotbutterfly
(Euphydryasedithaquino),forwhichpresencewaspositivelyassociatedwith
microhabitatfeaturessuchashostplantpresence,vegetationstructure,andareas
withhighsolarinsolation(Osborne&Redak2000).Theseauthorsalsofoundthat
highshadewasassociatedwithdelayedemergencefromdiapausewhereaslow
shadewasassociatedwithearlyemergenceandaccelerateddevelopment.
Furthermore,Dobkinetal.(1987)andWeissetal.(1988)bothfoundthat
topographicheterogeneitywithrespecttoslopeexposureinserpentinegrasslands,
contributedtothelongtermpersistenceofpopulationsofE.editha.Thisislikely
becausemicroclimate,whichdependsonmicrotopography,affectsthephenologyof
hostplantsoflarvaeandnectarsources(Weissetal.1988).Shadingand
microclimateeffectsonA.mormocouldbeinvestigatedtoidentifypotential
mechanismsthatexplainhabitatpreferencesdeterminedinthisstudy.
Similarmicrohabitatfeaturesareimportanttohabitatuseinotherspeciesof
conservationconcern.Forexample,astudyonthemicrohabitatselectionoffive‐
linedskinks(Eumecesfasciatus;listedasspecialconcernunderSARA)intheir
northernperipheralpopulationsinCanadafoundthatsitepreferencesweredriven
primarilybythermoregulationandprotectionfrompredators(Quirtetal.2006).
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Similartothecurrentstudy,thefindingsofQuirtetal.(2006)increasedthe
understandingofhabitatselectioninthenorthernrangeofanorthernperipheral
population.
Presenceofexoticplantsinfluenceshabitatuseinmanybutterflyspecies,mainly
throughcompetitiveexclusionofhostplants(Proctor&Woodwell1975;Murphy&
Ehrlich1988;Murphy&Weiss1988;Mattonietal.1997;Osborne&Redak2000).
However,theonlyexoticspeciesIdocumentedinE.pauciflorumhabitatwas
Melilotusofficinalis.Althoughtheoccurrenceofthisspeciesinhostplanthabitatwas
verylowatanaverageof0.1%coverinoccupiedhabitatand0.9%coverin
unoccupiedhabitat,itmayhaveinfluencedhabitatselectionbyA.mormo.Infact,in
GNPtherearelargetractsoflandthathavebeendenselyoccupiedbythisexotic
plant,someofthemborderingsmallE.pauciflorumpatches,whichmayinfluenceA.
mormomovementbetweenlargerhabitatpatches.Additionally,dispersalwasnota
parameterthatweexaminedinthisstudy,butcouldlikelyinfluencewhetherornot
thebutterflycanreachagivenE.pauciflorumhabitat.
Conservationimplications
Inthefaceofglobalwarmingandothermajorenvironmentalandlandusechanges,
peripheralpopulationswilllikelybeimportantforthelong‐termpersistenceof
manyspecies(Hunter1991;Fraser2000).Itisvitaltounderstandtheecologyand
habitatrequirementsofthesepopulationsinordertoeffectivelymanagehabitats
forpersistenceofsuchperipheralpopulations.ThedistributionofA.mormointhe
prairiepopulationisrestrictedintwoways:butterfliesonlyoccurinbadland
habitatandinproximityofthelarvalhostplant,E.pauciflorum.Beyondthese
previouslyunderstoodhabitatrestrictions,Ihaveshownthatotherenvironmental
characteristicsinfluencebutterflyoccupancyinE.pauciflorumpatches.Isuggest
thattheprimaryconcernforconservationoftheprairiepopulationofA.mormoisto
preserveandmaintainthequalityofhabitatthatthebutterflycurrentlyoccupies
becauseitappearsthatA.mormoisselectingforasubsetofhostplanthabitat.
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Mostimportantly,theresultspresentedhereimproveunderstandingofhabitat
requirementsforA.mormoinitsnorthernrange,andcanbeusedbylandmanagers
toidentifyandconservehabitatforthebutterfly.Thefollowingcriteriashouldbe
helpfulfordefininganddesignatingcriticalhabitatforA.mormo:patcheswithhigh
%ofE.pauciflorumcover,growingonsoilswithhigherpHandlowavailable
nitrogen,onsteepslopesthataresouth‐westtosouthfacingatlowerthanaverage
elevation,inbadlandhabitatwithbaregroundcover,andparticularly,areasthatare
currentlyorhavebeenrecentlyoccupiedbythebutterfly.
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Acknowledgements
ThisprojectwasfundedbyParksCanadaandtheUniversityofAlberta.This
researchwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthehelpofmyfaithfulfield
assistant,HeatherSauder,aswellasindispensibleassistancefromthepeopleofVal
Marie,SaskatchewanandGrasslandsNationalPark.
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Literaturecited
Arnold,R.A.1980.ApodemiamormolangeiIn:EcologicalStudiesofSixEndangered
Butterflies(Lepidoptera:Lycaenidae):IslandBiogeography,PatchDynamics,and
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57
PersonalCommunications
Dyck,Trevor.2012.LandManager,ArigcultureandAgrifoodCanada.
Olson,Wes.2012.Warden,GrasslandsNationalPark.
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Tables&Figures
Table3‐1.Summarystatisticsaverages(standarderrorofthemean)ofhabitat
predictorsat102microhabitatplotsrepresentingoccupiedorunoccupiedsitesby
ApodemiamormoinsouthernSaskatchewan,Canada.
Variable Unoccupied Occupied
Penetrabilitya
3.234(0.199)
2.95(0.188)
TKNmgLb 0.099(0.07) 0.089(0.005)
Soilacidity(pH) 5.858(1.49) 5.962(0.190)
Soilsalinity(EC)c 1055.263(169) 1159.043(198.081)
Bareground%cover 50.980(3.0) 51.270(3.101)
Elevation 841.10(5.905) 831.532(6.337)
Aspect 171.62(13.62) 201.04(15.12)
Slope 12.58(1.22) 17.766(1.754)
aPenetrabilityisameasureofthepenetrabilityofthesoil.
bTKNisavailablesoilnitrogen,anindicatorofsoilfertilitystatus.
cSoilelectricalconductivity(EC)isameasurementofsoilsalinity.
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Table3‐2.Plantsurveyresultsexpressedastheaverage%coverforeachspeciesin
occupiedandunoccupiedsites,insouthernSaskatchewan,Canada
Latinname CommonName Occupied% Unoccupied%
Eriogonumpauciflorum Branchedumbrellaplant 21.5 16.0
Ericamericanauseosa Rabbitbrush 6.4 5.1
Juniperushorizontalis Creepingjuniper 3.7 2.8
Opuntiapolyacantha PricklyPearCactus 0.46 0.92
Poaceae&Cyperaceae Grassesandsedges 5.4 7.4
Hymenoxysrichardsonii ColoradoRubberweed 0.1 1.1
Eriogonumflavum YellowUmbrellaplant 0.7 0.6
Artemisiasp. Sage(prairieandpasture) 4.5 5.0
Atriplexnuttallii Saltbush 2.3 0.9
Melilotusofficinalis Yellowsweetclover 0.1 0.6
Rosasp. Wildrose 1.6 2.6
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Table3‐3.Coefficientsoflineardiscriminants(Scores)includedinthemodel.
Explainingtherelationshipofeachvariablewithbutterflypresenceinhostplant
habitat.
Variable Scores Relationship
Elevation ‐0.0139 ‐
Aspect 0.0042 +
TKN ‐4.1195 ‐
Slope 0.0665 +
%Baregroundcover 0.0248 +
pH 0.2216 +
%Eriogonumcover 0.0627 +
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Figure3‐1.Lineardiscriminantanalysisshowsthedistribution“discriminants”of
thetwodistributions,thefirstofwhichis“unoccupied”habitatandthesecond,
whichis“occupied”habitat.
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CHAPTERIV.
FirstObservationsofMormonMetalmark(Apodemiamormo)Oviposition
BehaviourinCanada
ThischapterwaspublishedinTheCanadianFieldNaturalist.
Received11November2011,Accepted3June2012.
Wick,A.A.,Jannelle,J.,Pruss,S.&Erbilgin,N.2012.Firstobservationsofovipositionbehaviourof
theMormonmetalmark(Apodemiamormo)inSaskatchewan.TheCanadianFieldNaturalist.126:
34‐37.
Introduction
TheMormonMetalmark,Apodemiamormo(FelderandFelder1859)isabutterflyof
theprimarilyneotropicalfamilyRiodinidae.Itsrangeextendsfromnorthwestern
MexicothroughmuchofthewesternUnitedStates,butitsdistributionbecomes
patchyinthenorthwesternU.S.andsouthernCanada(Scott1986;Layberryetal.
1998).TheCanadianprairiepopulationsoftheMormonMetalmarkcomprisethe
mostnortherlydocumentedextentofthespecies’range.
ThespecieswasfirstobservedinCanadainAugust1974,whenlepidopteristRonald
HooperdocumentedtheMormonMetalmarkinwhatisnowtheeastblockof
GrasslandsNationalParkofCanada(GNP)insouthernSaskatchewan(Hooper
2002*).Surveysweresporadic,butin1983searcheffortsyieldedtwonewcolonies,
inthewestblockofGrasslandsNationalPark.In2002,sixadditionalcolonieswere
discovered(Hooper2002*).Thespecieswasassessedasthreatenedin
Saskatchewan(Hooper2002*),andthePrairiepopulationoftheMormon
MetalmarkwasassessedasthreatenedbytheCommitteeontheStatusof
EndangeredWildlifeinCanada(COSEWIC)(COSEWIC2003*).Withthese
assessments,increasedsearcheffortshaveledtothedocumentationof40colonies
inGNP,aswellasthefederalValMarieCommunityPasturemanagedbyAgriculture
andAgri‐FoodCanada,whichislocatednorthwestofthepark.
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ThereisasecondpopulationinCanadalocatedintheSimilkameenRivervalleyin
southernBritishColumbia(theSouthernMountainpopulation);thispopulationwas
assessedasendangeredbyCOSEWIC(COSEWIC2003*).Bothpopulationsareonthe
ListofWildlifeSpeciesatRiskofthefederalSpeciesatRiskAct,thePrairie
populationasthreatenedandtheSouthernMountainpopulationasendangered.
RecentworkonthepopulationgeneticsoftheMormonMetalmarkinthenorthern
partofitsrangehasreinforcedthelistingsofendangeredandthreatenedunderthe
SpeciesatRiskActandhasuncoverednewinformationthattheBritishColumbia
andSaskatchewanpopulationsareonlydistantlyrelated(Prosheketal.2012).This
suggeststhatfurtherresearchshouldinvestigatewhetherthesepopulationsmay
warrantaseparatetaxonomicstatus(Prosheketal.2012).Littleisknownaboutthe
biologyandpopulationdynamicsofthenorthernprairiepopulations,andmuchof
theinformationcurrentlyavailablereferstoobservationsintheU.S.southwest.
MormonMetalmarklarvaeinSaskatchewanareknowntofeedontheBranched
UmbrellaPlant(alsoknownasFew‐floweredBuckwheat)(Eriogonumpauciflorum
Pursh),whichgrowsalmostexclusivelyonerodedorheavyclaysoils,foundon
hillsides,slopes,andembankments(COSEWIC2003*).TheBranchedUmbrellaPlant
iscommonundertheseconditionsinbadlandshabitat,ofwhichthereareroughly
290km2withinthecurrentandproposedboundariesofGrasslandsNationalPark
(Prussetal.2008*).RubberRabbitbrush,Ericamerianauseosa(Pall.exPursh)G.L.
Nesom&Baird,isalsousedbyMormonMetalmarkadults,whichfeedonthenectar
andperchontheplants.In2010,thefirstobservationsofMormonMetalmark
caterpillarsinGrasslandsNationalParkprovidedvaluableinformationaboutthe
earlylifehistoryofthisbutterflyinCanada(Petersonetal.2010).However,there
wasnodocumentedevidenceofovipositionbehavioroftheMormonMetalmarkin
Canada.GiventheimportanceofGrasslandsNationalParkinthisspecies’Canadian
rangeandthelackofbiologicalinformationspecifictonorthernpopulations,further
understandingofthelifehistoryandbehaviourofthisspeciesisvitalforeffective
conservationplanning.
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Observations
OnseveraloccasionsinAugust2011,weobservedMormonMetalmarkfemales
ovipositinginTimmonscouleeinthewestblockofGrasslandsNationalPark,near
thetownofValMarie.OnAugust21,betweennoonand5:00P.M.,wefollowed
severalfemalesthatwouldfindanareaofexposedsoilorrockwithinthehost
plant’shabitat.Oneinparticularbegancurlingherabdomenunderneathherand
walkingforwarduntilshelocatedasuitablespotunderarock(Figure1).Allthe
individualsweobservedlaidasingleamber‐colouredeggapproximatelythesizeof
apinhead,eitherincracksinthesoilorundersmallrocks.Intheinstanceswhere
theeggswerelaidinsoilcracks,morethanoneeggmayhavebeenlaid,butwedid
notobservethis.Whiletheselocationswereallnear(<2m)BranchedUmbrella
Plants,wedidnotobserveanyeggsbeinglaidonthelowerleavesofthehostplant
ingroupsof2–4,aspreviouslydescribed(ArnoldandPowell1983;Scott1986;Pyle
2002).Theentireovipositionprocesstookanywherefrom5to30seconds.
Discussion
Evidencethatthisovipositionbehaviourdiffersfromthatwhichhasbeen
documentedinthesouthernportionofthespecies’rangesuggeststhatdifferent
ecologicaladaptationsmaybeatworkatthenorthernperipheryofitsrange.These
adaptationsmaybetheresultofalternatereproductivestrategies.Thephysiologyof
ectothermssuchasbutterfliesandotherarthropodsislargelydependentonoptimal
temperatureranges,andnaturalandexperimentalmanipulationsrevealthatthese
organismsarecapableofphenotypicplasticityinresponsetotemperature
differences(Fischeretal.2003a,2003b,2004;SteigengaandFischer2007;Berger
etal.2008).Specifically,incertainspeciesofbutterfly,femalesraisedincooler
temperaturestendtoproduceasmallernumberoflargereggsthanconspecifics
raisedunderwarmerconditions(Fischeretal.2003b;Geisteretal.2009).
AtypicalMormonMetalmarkeggdepositionnumbersandsitesmayalsoreflectthe
coldertemperaturesfoundinnorthernpartsofitsrange.Instudyingotherbutterfly
species,Bergeretal.(2008)suggestthatbotheggplacementandmaturationare
limitedbytemperature;eggdevelopmenttimesarealsoinfluencedbydirectsolar
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radiation(Bryantetal.2002).Eggslaidinopenhabitatdevelopedmorequickly
(Bryantetal.2002),andthoseeggswithanorientationtomorningsunhadhigher
survivorshipinthecoldestyears(Bonebrakeetal.2010).Incoolerclimates,where
developmenttimeislimited,thepositionofaneggcanhaveaprofoundinfluenceon
survivalandmaturation(Bonebrakeetal.2010).
Experimentswithotherbutterflyspeciesalsoindicatesignificanttemperature
effectsoneggandlarvaldevelopmentaswellasonmortalityrates(Fischeretal.
2004;Koda&Nakamura2010).Thus,MormonMetalmarkeggslaidintheground
andcoveredwithsnowmaybesubjecttomoremoderatetemperaturerangesas
wellaslowerratesofdesiccationthaneggslaidabovegroundonthehostplant.
However,atthispoint,itisunclearwhethereggsorearlyinstarcaterpillars
overwinterintheSaskatchewanpopulation.
Otherstudieshaveshownthateggsplacedawayfromthehostplantonalternate
substratesmayalsobenefitfromdecreasedpredation.Forexample,inastudyofthe
neotropicalbuttterflyOleriaonega,significantincreasesinsurvivalwerefound
whentheeggsweretransferredtoalternatesubstrates(De‐Silvaetal.2011).
However,De‐Silvaetal.(2011)statethatthisanti‐predationstrategymust
outweighthecosttothelarvaeoffindingthehostplant.Additionally,theMormon
Metalmarkmaynotsufferfromextremelyhighpredationfromants,asitdoesinthe
southernpartsofitsrange,suchasCalifornia,wheretheendangeredsubspecies
Lange’sMetalmark(Apodemiamormolangei)resides(Johnsonetal.2011*).
Thedifferencesinovipositionbehaviourreportedhereaddimportantbiological
informationforthisspeciesofconservationconcernandmayaffecttheresidence
descriptionundertheSpeciesatRiskActandthewayinwhichcriticalhabitatis
designatedandprotectedunderthatlegislation.Thisreproductivestrategydiverges
fromwhatwecurrentlyknowaboutthespeciesinotherpartsofitsrange.Further
investigationwillelucidatethemechanismsdrivingthisbehavioraldifference
acrossthespecies’range.
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Acknowledgements
Manythankstoourfaithfulfull‐timefieldassistant/localguide,HeatherSauder,as
wellastovolunteersfromacrossNorthAmericaandtheeverhelpfulstaffat
GrasslandsNationalPark.Thanksalsotothereviewersfortheirhelpfulcomments.
ThisprojectwasfundedbytheParksCanadaAgencyandtheUniversityofAlberta.
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67
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CommitteeontheStatusofEndangeredWildlifeinCanada(COSEWIC).2003.
COSEWICassessmentandupdatestatusreportontheMormonMetalmark
ApodemiamormoinCanada.CommitteeontheStatusofEndangeredWildlifein
Canada,Ottawa,Ont.vii+22pages.
De‐Silva,D.L.,A.S.Vasquez,andJ.Mallet.2011.Selectionforenemy‐freespace:eggs
placedawayfromthehostplantincreasesurvivalofaneotropicalithomiine
butterfly.EcologicalEntomology36:667‐672.
Elrod,MortonJ.1970.TheButterfliesofMontanawithKeysforDeterminationof
Species.TheMidcontinentLepidopteraSeries,no.17.AssociationofMinnesota
Entomologists.(Reprintfrom1906UniversityofMontana,Missoula,Montana).
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Fischer,K.,A.N.M.Bot,P.M.Brakefield,andB.J.Zwaan.2003a.Fitness
consequencesoftemperature‐mediatedeggsizeplasticityinabutterfly.Functional
Ecology17:803‐810.
Fischer,K.,E.Eenhoorn,A.N.M.Bot,P.M.Brakefield,andB.J.Zwaan.2003b.Cooler
butterflieslaylargereggs:developmentalplasticityversusacclimation.Proceedings
oftheRoyalSocietyofLondonB270:2051‐2056.
Fischer,K.,A.N.M.Bot,andP.M.Brakefield.2004.Geneticandenvironmental
sourcesofeggsizevariationinthebutterflyBicyclusanynana.Heredity92:163‐169.
Geister,T.L.,M.W.Lorenz,K.H.Hoffmann,andK.Fischer.2009.Energeticsof
embryonicdevelopment:effectsoftemperatureoneggandhatchlingcompositionin
abutterfly.JournalofComparativePhysiology179:87‐98.
Hooper,R.R.2002.StatusReportofApodemiamormo(C.R.Felder)in
Saskatchewan.4pages.
Johnson,J.J.,J.Jones,M.Baudour,M.Wagner,D.Flannery,D.Werner,D.Holden,K.
Virun,T.Wilson,J.Delijani,J.Delijani,B.Newton,D.Gundell,B.Thummar,C.Blakey,
K.Walsh,Q.Sweeney,T.Ware,A.Adams,C.Taylor,andT.Longcore.2011.Captive
rearingofLange’sMetalmarkbutterfly,2010‐2011.FinalReporttoNationalFish
andWildlifeFoundation.TheUrbanWildlandsGroup,LosAngeles,California.
Koda,K.,andH.Nakamura.2010.Effectsoftemperatureonthedevelopmentand
survivalofanendangeredbutterfly,Shijimiaeoidesdivinusbarine(Leech)
(Lepidoptera:Lycaenidae).EntomologicalScience13:29‐34.
Kohler,Steve.1980.ChecklistofMontanabutterflies(Rhopalocera).Journalofthe
Lepidopterists’Society34:1‐19.
Layberry,RossA.,P.W.Hall,andJ.D.Lafontaine.1998.TheButterfliesofCanada.
UniversityofTorontoPress,Toronto,Ontario.280pages.
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Peterson,K.,E.Amosa,S.Pruss,andN.Erbilgin.2010.Firstcaterpillarobservations
oftheMormonmetalmark(Apodemiamormo)(Lepidoptera:Riodinidae)butterfly
inGrasslandsNationalPark,Saskatchewan,Canada.BlueJay68:37‐40.
Proshek,B.,L.A.Crawford,C.S.Davis,S.Desjardins,A.E.Henderson&F.A.H.
Sperling.2013.ApodemiamormoinCanada:populationgeneticdatasupportprior
conservationranking.JournalofInsectConservation17:155‐170.
Pruss,S.D.,A.Henderson,P.Fargey,andJ.Tuckwell.2008.Recoverystrategyforthe
MormonMetalmark(Apodemiamormo)prairiepopulationinCanada.Speciesat
RiskActRecoveryStrategySeries.ParksCanadaAgency,Ottawa,Ontario.vi+23
pages.
Pyle,R.M.2002.TheButterfliesofCascadia:Afieldguidetoallthespeciesof
Washington,Oregon,andsurroundingterritories.SeattleAudubonSociety,Seattle.
420pages.
Scott,JamesA.1986.TheButterfliesofNorthAmerica,aNaturalHistoryandField
Guide.StanfordUniversityPress,PaloAlto,California.581pages.
Steigenga,M.J.,andK.Fischer.2007.Ovariandynamics,eggsize,andeggnumberin
relationtotemperatureandmatingstatusinabutterfly.Entomologia
ExperimentalisetApplicata125:195‐203.
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Tables&Figures
Figure4‐1.FemaleMormonMetalmark,Apodemiamormo,ovipositingincracksin
thesoilinTimmonscoulee,GrasslandsNationalParkofCanada(westblock),near
ValMarieonAugust21,2011.Photo:JohaneJanelle.
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CHAPTERV.
GeneralDiscussion
SummaryofnewinformationaboutthehabitatandecologyofApodemiamormo
Introduction
TheaimofthisthesiswastoimproveunderstandingofthebiologyoftheMormon
metalmark(Lepidoptera:Apodemiamormo),aswellastheecologicalrequirements
ofthisthreatenedspeciesitsnorthernrangeinSaskatchewan,Canada.Ipresented
anup‐to‐datereviewofinformationaboutthebutterflyinbothCanadaandthe
UnitedStatesinChapterI.InChapterIIIcomparedtwolandscape‐levelpredictive
speciesdistributionmodelsforA.mormo.Idevelopedthesemodelswithgeospatial
environmentaldataandrecordsofA.mormooccupancyusingtwocontrasting
modelingtechniques:theGLM‐basedresourceselectionfunction,andRandom
Forests,whichisanonparametricbootstrappedregressiontreeanalysisrootedina
machine‐learningalgorithm.Ithenground‐validatedthesemodelsbyconducting
searchesfornewbutterflylocalitieswithintheknownrange.ThroughtheseeffortsI
increasedthenumberofknowncoloniesinSaskatchewanfrom37to88inonly
threeweeksofsearcheffort.InChapterIIIIinvestigatedthemicrohabitat
characteristicsthatwereassociatedwiththepresence/absenceofthebutterfly.In
thatstudyIdemonstratedthatmicrohabitatattributesarerelatedtoA.mormo
occupancy.Morespecifically,butterfliesselectedhabitatwithhigher%hostplant
cover,higher%baregroundcover,asteeperslope,asouth‐westerlyaspect,lower
soilnitrogen,andhighersoilpH.
A2012paperpublishedinTheCanadianFieldNaturalistandincludedinthisthesisas
ChapterIVreportsthefirstobservationsoftheovipositionbehaviorofA.mormoin
Canada,presentingnewinformationspecifictothespecies’northernrange(Wicketal.
2012).Thispaperdemonstratedthatthebutterflyovipositsdirectlyonsoilandrocks,not
justonthehostplant,Eriogonumpauciflorum,aswaspreviouslythoughtfromstudiesof
thespecieselsewhere.InthisfinalchapterIfurtherdiscussseveraltopicstouchedonin
thebodyofthethesis,includingthebutterfly’sconservationstatusinCanada,grazingand
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itsrelationshiptothebutterfly,andthepotentialinteractionofA.mormowithexotic
species.Finally,Ioutlinepotentialfuturedirectionsforworkonthisspeciesinits
northernperipheralpopulations.
ConservationstatusofApodemiamormo
Butterfliescontinuetobeacrucialconservationtarget,notjustfortheirkeyroleinfood
websoraspollinatorsinmanyterrestrialecosystems,butalsobecausewecanusethem
asmodelspeciestoeffectivelyanswerecologicalandevolutionaryquestions.Asmany
havepointedout,(e.g.,Newetal.1995)habitatsecuritymustcontinuetobethemain
generalstrategyforbutterflyconservation,andthecaseofA.mormoisnoexceptionto
thisprinciple.AsIreflectonthestudiesIconductedaspartofmyMaster’sthesisatthe
UniversityofAlberta,itismyopinionthattheconservationstatusofA.mormoin
Saskatchewanisaccurate,andthatthecontinuedpersistenceofthebutterflywillbe
assuredgivencertaincircumstances.Primarily,landmanagersofGNPmustcontinuetobe
mindfulofthebutterfly’spresenceanditshabitatrequirements.Trails,campgrounds,and
touristfacilitiesshouldnotbeplacedinareaswherethehostplant,Eriogonum
pauciflorum,occurs,evenifthebutterflydoesnotcurrentlyoccupythishabitat.
Fortunately,thehostplant,E.pauciflorum,occursinbadlandshabitat,whichisnotoften
usedforotherpurposessuchasrecreationoragriculture.
PermanentprotectionofGNPiskeytothecontinuedsurvivalofA.mormoinCanada.The
“mountainpopulation”ofA.mormoinBritishColumbiaisnotlocatedinaprotectedarea,
andisthuscorrectlylistedas“endangered.”Unfortunately,thethirdlocationinCanada
thathousesA.mormoisintheValMarieCommunityPasture,partofthePrairieFarm
RehabilitationAdministration,whichhassincebeenintegratedintotheAgri‐Environment
ServicesBranch.Canada’scommunitypastureprogramhasrecentlybeendissolvedand
thefutureofthisland,andthewildlifethatusesit,remainuncertain.
Inadequateknowledgeofthisbutterfly’secologyandhabitatrequirementsinitsnorthern
rangehasimpededcriticalhabitatdesignationfortheprairiepopulationinsouthern
Saskatchewan.Priortothisstudy,habitatrequirementsfortheprairiepopulationwere
unclearandtheRecoveryStrategyforthespeciesstressedtheimportanceofdefiningsuch
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habitatforthelong‐termpersistenceofA.mormo’sprairiepopulation(Prussetal.2008).
TheinformationIgatheredaspartofthisthesishasalreadybeencontributedtotheSouth
oftheDividemulti‐speciesactionplanforsouthwestSaskatchewan.Inthefollowing
sectionsIdiscusstwokeyinteractionsthatmayimpactthecontinuedpersistenceofA.
mormoinSaskatchewan:grazingandinvasivespecies.
Grazing
LivestockareubiquitousthroughoutwesternNorthAmerica.Althoughpresenceof
livestockcanbeeffectivelyintegratedwithhabitatmanagementandusedasa
managementtool,evenforbutterflycommunities,applicationstendtobelimited
(Severson1990;Cushman2009).Livestockareheavier,moreabundant,andmore
concentratedthannativemammalsandmoreover,tramplingbylivestockcancompact
soil,reducingitscapacityforwaterinfiltration.OnestudyonSmith’sbluebutterfly
(Euphilotesenoptessmithi)investigatedtheuseofgrazingtohelprestorenative
communitiesthathadbeeninvadedbyEurasianexotics(Cushman2009).WhileCushman
foundthatgrazingreducedtheoverallcoverofexoticgrasses,itincreasedthecoverof
exoticforbs.Further,Eriogonumparvifolium,whichisarelativeofthehostplantofA.
mormo,wasreducedbothinsizeandvolumebygrazing(Cushman2009).Grazing
practices,alongwithindustryandrecreation,aretoblamefortheextensivehabitatlossof
thedunehabitatneededbytheendangeredApodemiamormolangeiinCalifornia(USFWS
2001).
ThestudyareaofmyinvestigationconsistedofGrasslandsNationalPark(GNP),whichis
comprisedofaWestBlockandEastBlock,aswellastheValMarieCommunityPasture
(VMCP).TheVMCPisgrazedbyatarateofonecowper35hectares(T.Dyckpers.com.
2012).TheWestBlockofGNPisgrazedbyonebisonper55ha(W.Olsonpers.com.2012)
andtheEastBlockisungrazed,exceptforasmallexperimentalareathatdoesnotinclude
A.mormohabitat.ThespeciesdistributionmodelsIdevelopedinChapterIIcorrectly
predicted19%,73%and85%ofbutterflypresenceintheVMCP,theWestBlockofGNP
andtheEastBlock,respectively.
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IsuspectthatdifferencesinaccuracyofthepredictivemodelsbetweentheVMCPandGNP
maybeinpartexplainedbydifferencesingrazingtype(cattle,bison,orungrazed).My
resultssuggestedthatcattlegrazingisassociatedwithreducedabilityofeithermodeling
approachtocorrectlypredictbutterflypresenceinbadlandshabitatandraisesthe
possibilitythatcattlegrazingoritsintensityisanegativefactorintheconservationofA.
mormo.
ManyofthesitesintheVMCPthatwerepredictedtohavebutterflieshadabundanthost
planthabitat,butnobutterflies,evenduringthepeakoftheflightseason.Thismaybedue
tothefactthattherequirementsofmanyinsectspeciesaredeterminedbylarvae,not
adultsovipositingfemalesofA.mormoplaceeggsdirectlyonsoilorrocks,notonthehost
plant,aswaspreviouslythought(Thomasetal.1992;Wicketal.2012).Onehypothesisis
thatcattlegrazingdiminishesthequalityofeggandlarvalhabitatsbycompactingsoil,and
thereforeovipositingfemalebutterfliesmightavoidhabitatsthathavebeendegradedby
grazing.
ThefederalgovernmentiscurrentlydivestingthePrairieFarmRehabilitation
Administration(PFRA)communitypastures(suchastheVMCP)fromfederaltoprovincial
control,aprocessthatbeganin2012.ThePFRAhasbeenheraldedbysomeasoneof
Canada’sgreatestsuccessstories,asitscreationin1935helpedquelltheeffectoftheDust
Bowl(Monk2012).Nowhereisthelossofthisprogramfeltmorestronglythanin
southernSaskatchewan–62outoftheprogram’s80communitypasturesarelocatedin
Saskatchewan,covering720,340hectares,andtheyhavebeenmanagedbythefederal
governmentforecologicalpurposesfor65years(Herriot2012;Wark2012).Theeffectsof
thedissolutionofthisprogramarealreadybeingseeninlossofjobsinSaskatchewan,
wheresomeschooldistrictsareaquarter‐filledwithchildrenofPFRAemployees(Monk
2012).Itcurrentlyremainsuncertainastowhatwillhappentotheselargetractsofland,
muchofwhichcontainsthreatenedandendangeredspecies,inadditiontoseveral
coloniesofA.mormo.
Exoticspecies
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Otherstudieshavefoundthatnon‐hostplants,especiallyEurasianexotics,canindirectly
affectbutterflydistributionthroughcompetitiveexclusionofhostplants(Proctor&
Woodwell1975;Murphy&Ehrlich1988;Murphy&Weiss1988;Mattonietal.1997;
Osborne&Redak2000).InarecentreportonthestatusofA.mormolangei,invasive
plantswerelistedasoneoftheprimarythreats.ThehostplantofA.mormolangei,
Eriogonumparviifolium,likeE.pauciflorum,reliesonnaturaldisturbance.InthecaseofE.
parviifoliumtheconstanterosion,reformationanddestabilizationofthesanddunesin
Californiaisneededforittothrive.TheinvasivespeciesdocumentedintheAntioch
Dunes,whereA.mormolanegiresides,stabilizethesanddunesystem,eliminatingthe
disturbanceregimeonwhichE.parviifoliumrelies.
TheonlyexoticspeciesthatIdocumentedincoexistencewithA.mormo’shostplantinthis
studywasyellowsweetclover(Melilotusofficinalis).However,theoccurrenceofthis
speciesinhostplanthabitatispresentlylowatanaveragecoveroflessthan1%inhabitat
occupiedbythebutterfly.AlthoughthedegreeofinvasionofM.officinalisinE.pauciflorum
habitatwasmarginal,thereisreasonforlandmanagerstobecautiousofthisexotic
species.InGNPtherearesubstantialtractsoflandthathavebeenengulfedbythisplant,
someofthemborderingsmallE.pauciflorumhabitatpatches.ManyoftheseE.pauciflorum
patcheshavethepotentialtobeusedassteppingstonehabitatbyindividualbutterfliesas
theymovefromonecolonytoanother,movementsthatarelikelytobecriticalinthe
maintenanceofametapopulationofA.mormoinGNP.
Futuredirections
Althoughtheworkpresentedinthisthesishasmadesubstantialstridesinadvancing
understandingoftheecologyofnorthernperipheralpopulationsofA.mormo,likemost
research,italsohighlightstheneedforadditionalinvestigation.Althoughworkonother
populationsrevealsthatcaterpillarsaretypicallysolitaryforagersanduselitteratthe
baseofhostplantsasshelter,littleisknownaboutcaterpillarforagingandmovementin
thenorthernpopulation(Petersonetal.2010).Thus,futureworktobetterunderstandthe
movementanddispersalofthecaterpillarwouldbevaluable.InourpaperintheCanadian
FieldNaturalistwedocumentedthatA.mormoexhibitsdivergentovipositionchoicein
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northernpopulationsandthusotherlifehistorymodificationsmayexist(ChapterIVof
thisthesis;Wicketal.2012).Thisnewknowledgeofthebutterflyinitsnorthernrange
leadsonetoaskhowelsethisbutterflymayhavechangeditslifehistorystrategytoadapt
tothefrigid,blusterywintersandhot,drysummersinsouthernSaskatchewan?
Myspeciesdistributionmodelsandassociatedmaps(ChapterII)successfullypredicted
locationsofmanynewcoloniesofA.mormoinGNPandtheVMCP.Datausedtodevelop
thesemodelsarewidelyavailableasdigitalelevationmodels(DEMs)andSPOTsatellite
imagery,bothofwhichhavecoveragethatextendsacrosstheentiretyofthebutterfly’s
knownandpotentialnorthernrange.Ichosetouseonlythesedatatoenhancepotential
transferabilityofthesemodelstootherareaswherethebutterflyisnotknowntooccur,
suchasthoseintheotherprairieregionsinsouthernSaskatchewan,Manitoba,orAlberta.
PrevioussearchesinAlbertahavenotyieldedA.mormo(Anweiler2007),however,with
thehelpofmymodels,areasworthyoffocuscouldbeidentifiedandspecificsitescouldbe
searched.Inthefuture,Iwouldrecommendthatmodelparameterizationincludesoils
data,asIshowedthatsoilsalinityandacidityarerelatedtobutterflypresenceonhost
planthabitatatthemicrohabitatlevelinChapterIII,andsuchdataarecommonly
available.
Itwasnotwithinthescopeofmystudiestoinvestigaterelationshipsbetweenplant
chemistryandhostplantselectionorlarvalsurvival.However,investigationofthis
relationshipmayhelpanswerthequestionofwhythebutterflyoccupiessomehostplants
andnotothers.Butterflyovipositionchoiceandlarvalfeedinghavebeendirectlylinkedto
plantquality,particularlyintermsofprimaryandsecondarychemistry(Carter&Feeney
1999).
Thus,therearemyriadveinsforfutureworkonA.mormoinitsCanadianrange,anditis
myhopethattheideaspresentedinthisthesiswillpromoteandprovidebaselinedatafor
futureinvestigations.
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Literaturecited
Carter,M.&P.Feeney.1999.Host‐plantchemistryinfluencesovipositionchoiceofthe
spicebushswallowtailbutterfly.JournalofChemicalEcology.25:1999‐2009.
Mattoni,R.,G.F.Pratt,T.R.Longcore,J.F.Emmel,&J.N.George.1997.Theendangered
quinocheckerspotbutterfly,Euphydryasedithaquino(Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae).The
JournalofResearchontheLepidoptera.34:99‐118.
Monk,S.2012.TheDeathofthePFRA:DestroyingCanada’s“GreatestSuccessStory.”
CanadianCowboyMagazine2012:31‐35.
Murphy,D.D.&P.R.Ehrlich.1988.TheconservationbiologyofCalifornia’sremnant
nativegrasslands.InL.F.HuennekeandH.A.Mooney,Grasslandstructureandfunction:
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Murphy,D.D.&S.B.Weiss.1988.Ecologicalstudiesandtheconservationofthebay
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New,T.R.,R.M.Pyle,J.A.Thomas,C.D.Thomas,&P.C.Hammond.1995.Butterfly
ConservationManagement.AnnualReviewofEntomology40:57‐83.
Osborne,K.H.&R.A.Redak.2000.Microhabitatconditionsassociatedwiththe
distributionofpostdiapauselarvaeofEuphydryasedithaquino(Lepidoptera:
Nymphalidae).AnnalsoftheEntomologicalSocietyofAmerica93:110‐114
Peterson,K.,E.Amosa,S.D.Pruss&N.Erbilgin.2010.Firstcaterpillarobservationsofthe
Mormonmetalmark(Apodemiamormo)(Lepidoptera:Riodinidae)butterflyinGrasslands
NationalPark,Saskatchewan,Canada.BlueJay.68:37‐40.
Proctor,J.&S.R.J.Woodwell.1975.Theecologyofserpentinesoils.Advancesin
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SpeciesatRiskAct(SARA).2003.
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Thomas,C.D.,J.A.Thomas&M.S.Warren.1992.Distributionsofoccupiedandvacant
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Wick,A.A.,Jannelle,J.,Pruss,S.&Erbilgin,N.2012.Firstobservationsofoviposition
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Documentscited
COSEWIC.2003.COSEWICassessmentandupdatestatusreportontheMormon
MetalmarkApodemiamormoinCanada.CommitteeontheStatusofEndangeredWildlife
inCanada.Ottawa.vii+22pp.
Cushman,J.H.2009.ImpactofcattlegrazingontheSmith’sBlueButterfly,itshostplant
andthesurroundingplantcommunity.PreparedforTheNatureConservancyandother
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Personalcommunications
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APPENDIXI.
MarkreleaserecaptureoftheMormonmetalmark
Table.Appendix‐1.MarkreleaserecaptureresultsfromAugust2011.G6‐BH1areplots
establishedinGrasslandsNationalPark,VM10‐VM14representplotsestablishedinthe
ValMarieCommunityPasture.Atotalof885butterflieswerecaughtwith142recaptures.
N*HAT
Lower
95%CI
Upper
95%CI SE Ha
N*HAT/
m2
N*HAT
/Ha
G6 1097.49 887.08 1307.90 107.35 2.54 0.04 431.59
G5 534.23 397.17 671.29 69.93 0.18 0.29
2918.0
1
G4 359.94 183.86 536.03 89.84 0.49 0.07 730.54
BH1 417.56 286.12 548.99 67.06 0.82 0.05 510.09
VM1
0 99.14 26.45 171.82 37.08 0.27 0.04 361.38
VM1
2 88.29 48.87 127.72 20.12 0.41 0.02 215.86
VM1
4 56.26 9.68 102.85 23.77 0.32 0.02 177.47
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Table.Appendix‐2.AnexplanationofthetermsshowninTable6‐1.Allresultswerebased
onanalysesfromtheProgramMARK(White2012;www.phidot.org).
TerminTable6‐1 ExplanationofTerm
N*HAT PopulationestimationfromJolly‐SeberMethod
Lower95%CI ConfidentintervalforN*HAT
Upper95%CI ConfidentintervalforN*HAT
SE StandarderrorforN*HAT
Ha Hectareofeachplot
N*HAT/m2 Populationestimation(N*HAT)perm2
N*HAT/Ha Populationestimation(N*HAT)perhectare