Ol. Sutcliffe et Cd. Thomas, OPEN CORRIDORS APPEAR TO FACILITATE DISPERSAL BY RINGLET BUTTERFLIES (APHANTOPUS-HYPERANTUS) BETWEEN WOODLAND CLEARINGS, Conservation biology, 10(5), 1996, pp. 1359-1365
We studied the ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus) in an area of
woodland in eastern England. A. hyperantus occurs in open fields, rid
es (grassy tracks), and glades within the woodland. Mark-recapture met
hods showed that exchange rates of adult A. hyperantus between fields
and glades can be predicted better by distance-via-rides than by direc
t distance. Behavioral observations showed that A. hyperantus readily
moved from glades into rides but rarely moved from glades into dense w
oodland. The rides are likely to be corridors that act as conduits bet
ween fields and glades. In the A. hyperantus system, connectivity coul
d reduce local extinctions and increase rates of recolonization in the
event of local extinction.