TY - JOUR
T1 - Local- And landscape-level variables related to Poweshiek skipperling presence in Michigan prairie fens
AU - Pogue, Clint D.
AU - Monfils, Michael J.
AU - Cuthrell, David L.
AU - Hackett, Rachel A.
AU - Zionce, Riley A.
AU - Monfils, Anna K.
N1 - Funding Information:
The funding for this project was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Program, Central Michigan University Biology Department, Sigma Xi, and Prairie Biotics Research, Inc. We thank Michael Belitz, who reviewed this heavily to make sure all comments were compatible with ongoing and in-prep efforts. We also thank The Nature Conservancy for supporting field researchers through housing and review of methodologies. Funding also came from the National Science Foundation award DBI-1730526 to develop educational materials for biodiversity data literacy (https://www.biodiversityliteracy.com/ poweshiek-skipperling). Additionally, we express deep gratitude to the Associate Editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. We also thank the landowners, including the Michigan Nature Association, Oakland County, Springfield Township, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and private landowners for allowing us access to their properties for survey activities. Finally, we are grateful to the members of the Partnership for Poweshiek Skipperling Conservation for their continued long-term dedication to this species. This paper is Contribution No. 129 of the Central Michigan University Institute for Great Lakes Research.
Publisher Copyright:
© Citation of the source, as given above, is requested.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - The Poweshiek skipperling Oarisma poweshiek, Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae is a historically common prairie butterfly with a range extending throughout prairie systems of the upper midwestern United States and southern Manitoba, Canada. Rapid, range-wide declines have reduced the number of verified Poweshiek skipperling locations to one in Manitoba prairie, one in Wisconsin prairie, and four in prairie fens in Michigan. Our objective was to investigate parameter suites with the potential to be biologically relevant to Poweshiek skipperling occupancy with the goal of informing conservation efforts. At 18 prairie fens categorized as occupied (n ¼ 9) or unoccupied (n ¼ 9), we collected information on plant biodiversity, water chemistry, soil chemistry, site geometry, and surrounding current and historical land cover at three spatial scales. To address the complexity of these systems, we used multiresponse permutation procedures and nonmetric multidimensional scaling to explore associations between variable groups thought to be relevant to Poweshiek skipperling (conditions for suspected larval host plants, system integrity, and agricultural influence) and occupancy categories. We used indicator species analysis to understand the relationships between plant biodiversity and Poweshiek skipperling occupancy at whole- and intrafen scales. Multiresponse permutation procedures analysis suggested that conditions for suspected larval host plants differed between occupied and unoccupied prairie fens. At the whole-fen scale, we identified 14 plant species associated with Poweshiek-occupied sites, including two purported larval host plants, Muhlenbergia richardsonis and Schizachyrium scoparium. At the intrafen scale, we identified 52 species associated with unoccupied Poweshiek sites, including many weedy species and those tolerant of inundated conditions. Our results can inform the evaluation of potentially suitable habitat for introduction and reintroduction efforts.
AB - The Poweshiek skipperling Oarisma poweshiek, Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae is a historically common prairie butterfly with a range extending throughout prairie systems of the upper midwestern United States and southern Manitoba, Canada. Rapid, range-wide declines have reduced the number of verified Poweshiek skipperling locations to one in Manitoba prairie, one in Wisconsin prairie, and four in prairie fens in Michigan. Our objective was to investigate parameter suites with the potential to be biologically relevant to Poweshiek skipperling occupancy with the goal of informing conservation efforts. At 18 prairie fens categorized as occupied (n ¼ 9) or unoccupied (n ¼ 9), we collected information on plant biodiversity, water chemistry, soil chemistry, site geometry, and surrounding current and historical land cover at three spatial scales. To address the complexity of these systems, we used multiresponse permutation procedures and nonmetric multidimensional scaling to explore associations between variable groups thought to be relevant to Poweshiek skipperling (conditions for suspected larval host plants, system integrity, and agricultural influence) and occupancy categories. We used indicator species analysis to understand the relationships between plant biodiversity and Poweshiek skipperling occupancy at whole- and intrafen scales. Multiresponse permutation procedures analysis suggested that conditions for suspected larval host plants differed between occupied and unoccupied prairie fens. At the whole-fen scale, we identified 14 plant species associated with Poweshiek-occupied sites, including two purported larval host plants, Muhlenbergia richardsonis and Schizachyrium scoparium. At the intrafen scale, we identified 52 species associated with unoccupied Poweshiek sites, including many weedy species and those tolerant of inundated conditions. Our results can inform the evaluation of potentially suitable habitat for introduction and reintroduction efforts.
KW - Butterfly
KW - Endangered species
KW - Habitat
KW - Lepidoptera
KW - Poweshiek skipperling
KW - Prairie fens
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077084741&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3996/122018-JFWM-117
DO - 10.3996/122018-JFWM-117
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077084741
SN - 1944-687X
VL - 10
SP - 375
EP - 390
JO - Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management
JF - Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management
IS - 2
ER -
