Geographical Distributions,Environmental Niches And Conservation In The Rare Butterflies Of Luehdorfia Spp

The decline of biodiversity is one of the major environmental problems throughout the world today.The loss and fragmentation of habitats are important divers for this decline.One of the effective ways to mitigate the extinction of species and the loss of biodiversity is to study the needs(resources,habitats,etc.)of more species and their conservation status,adjust the current protection plan,and promote the implementation of adaptive conservation management.Compared with large animals,there are less researches on protection needs of small species(e.g.butterflies),and a considerable number of rare species are still in unknown state(Data Infficient).In this study,it took the rare Asian endemic butterfly genus of Luehdorfia as research objects.It collected spatial occurrence localities in butterfly species(L.chinensis,L.japonica,L.taibai and L.puziloi)and their hostplants(Asarum spp.and Saruma spp.).Under species isolation,niche,resource-habitat theories or concepts,it aimed to illustrate taxonomic controversy at species level,distributions and changes through the present to future environmental scenarios,as well as niche and habitat requirements.By using occurrence data,individual occurrence data from field surveys,as well as bio-climate data(from current to some future scenarios),the prediction models were built by Max Ent and predicted the distributions of butterflies and hostplants in a given study area.In the field case study,the transect,sample and on-site observation methods were used to investigate population biology of butterfly(as a case)and its habitat needs as well as related key factors.The main conclusions are now described as follows:(1)Relationships between Species/Subspecies in Luehdorfia Based on Geography and Host-plant IsolationsThis study,based on the complete collection of occurrence data(including host plants),attempted to display the isolations of host,geography(or topography)and illustrated the species-to-species relationships in Luehdorfia spp.Results showed that:(1)L.bosniackii was a fake species name as no records available;(2)In geography,L.chinensis zone contained L.taibai and L.choui and gathered into one branch,while L.puziloi and L.japonicad gathered into another by intersection.However,from the perspective of topographic and host isolation,it was found that L.taibai may differentiate(from the ancestor)into one branch earliest,while others were intricately complex;(3)The sub-speciation of Luehdorfia spp may be driven by two forces,the local-host-adaptation(isolation between old and new hosts)and geography/terrain isolation.(2)Habitat Requirements of Luehdorfia chinensisThrough the sample method in the habitat of the Chinese tiger swallowtail,the route survey method,and the field observation observation records,the conclusion is drawn: in the Taohongling area,the Luehdorfia chinensis occurs one generation a year,and begins to emerge in mid-March,the host plant For Asarum forbesii.Most of its habitat environment is the secondary area dominated by shrubs and grasses.The spawning basically chooses the northern slope,which is above 450 m above sea level,and has rich host resources.The mortality rate at the young age is very high,and the most important influencing factors are the predation of natural enemies and the spread of escape due to insufficient food.(3)Protection Status of Luehdorfia chinensis in Taolongling Sika Deer Nature ReserveThe butterfly(eggs,larvae and adults)and its specializing hostplant of Asarum forbesii were recorded along transects or in on-site observations,and using a1km×1km grid as statistical unit.Diffusion coefficients(BI)showed that both the butterfly and hostplants were clustered in distributions,and the resource amount(individual richness)of the hostplant influenced the butterfly greatly.From the distribution model,it predicted that 83.02% of the THL were suitable for the hostplant in growth,but the high-suitable area only accounted for 12.74%.The contributed variables were bio1(annual mean temperature),bio4(seasonal change in temperature),bio15(seasonal change in precipitation),aspect,slope,and elevation,among them,the bio4,bio1 and aspect contributed the most.We presupposed four states(long-term stable,stable,unstable,and absent)at butterfly population level,and also preset the minimum population sizes correspondingly,which was converted into the minimum requirement of hostplant resource.Therefore,according to these minimum criteria,the "hostplant-habitat" hotspot distribution was predicted with the Poisson model constructed with bio1 and aspect(from the above six variables).It predicted that the high-hotspot area only accounted for 0.47% of the THL,and the moderate-hotspots accounting for 9.44%.It was found that the two remained local populations(MYW and THS)of the rare butterfly were located in high-hotspots,which were protected completely by the core zones of the sika deer reserve currently.However,there were45.02% of the moderate-hotspots outside the buffer zone,showing a significant protection gap in the butterfly.(4)Distribution predictions and changes from current to future climate scenarioBased on the current climate and future climate scenarios,the distribution of the four tiger swallowtail butterflies is predicted using the Maxent model.The results show that under different climate scenarios,the potential suitable area of the butterflies is different.In the current climate,the suitable area of Luehdorfia chinensis is 10.89%,and most of them are located in China.The distribution range of T Luehdorfia taibai is the narrowest and less than 1% of the whole;except for Luehdorfia japonica,the other three tiger The suitable area of the butterfly is decreasing under different scenarios in the future,the Luehdorfia chinensis has the largest reduction,directly dropping to less than 1%;and the suitable area of the Japanese tiger swallowtail butterfly will increase under each climate scenario in the future,And there is a tendency to move towards the Korean peninsula of China International;although the area of Luehdorfia puziloi is decreasing,its distribution is moving towards Russia in the north.