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Integrating national Red Lists for prioritising conservation actions for European butterflies

DOI:10.1007/s10841-019-00127-z
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Dirk Maes at Research Institute for Nature and Forest
Dirk Maes
Rudi Verovnik at University of Ljubljana
Rudi Verovnik
Martin Wiemers at Senckenberg Research Institute
Martin Wiemers
Dimitri Brosens at Research Institute for Nature and Forest
Dimitri Brosens
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Abstract and Figures

Red Lists are very valuable tools in nature conservation at global, continental and (sub-) national scales. In an attempt to prioritise conservation actions for European butterflies, we compiled a database with species lists and Red Lists of all European countries, including the Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands). In total, we compiled national species lists for 42 countries and national Red Lists for 34 of these. The most species-rich countries in Europe are Italy, Russia and France with more than 250 species each. Endemic species are mainly found on the Macaronesian archipelagos and on the Mediterranean islands. By attributing numerical values proportionate to the threat statuses in the different national Red List categories, we calculated a mean Red List value for every country (cRLV) and a weighted Red List value for every species (wsRLV) using the square root of the country’s area as a weighting factor. Countries with the highest cRLV were industrialised (NW) European countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Denmark, whereas large Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy had the lowest cRLV. Species for which a Red List assessment was available in at least two European countries and with a relatively high wsRLV (≥ 50) are Colias myrmidone, Pseudochazara orestes, Tomares nogelii, Colias chrysotheme and Coenonympha oedippus. We compared these wsRLVs with the species statuses on the European Red List to identify possible mismatches. We discuss how this complementary method can help to prioritise butterfly conservation on the continental and/or the (sub-)national scale.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
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Journal of Insect Conservation (2019) 23:301–330
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00127-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
Integrating national Red Lists forprioritising conservation actions
forEuropean butterflies
DirkMaes1,2 · RudiVerovnik2,3· MartinWiemers2,4 · DimitriBrosens5,6 · StoyanBeshkov7· SimonaBonelli8 ·
JaroslawBuszko9· LisetteCantú‑Salazar10· Louis‑FrancisCassar11 · SueCollins2· VladDincă12 · MilanDjuric13·
GoranDušej14· HallvardElven15· FilipFraneta16· PatriciaGarcia‑Pereira17 · YuriiGeryak18· PhilippeGoart19·
ÁdámGór20· UlrichHiermann21· HelmutHöttinger22· PeterHuemer23 · PredragJakšić24· EddieJohn25·
HenrikKalivoda26· VassilikiKati27 · PaulKirkland2,28· BenjaminKomac29· ÁdámKőrösi30,31 · AnatolijKulak32 ·
MikkoKuussaari33 · LionelL’Hoste10· SuvadLelo34· XavierMestdagh10· NikolaMicevski35· IvaMihoci36·
SergiuMihut37· YerayMonasterio‑León38 · DmitryV.Morgun39· MiguelL.Munguira2,40 · TomásMurray41 ·
PerStadelNielsen42· ErlingÓlafsson43 · ErkiÕunap44· LazarosN.Pamperis45· AloisPavlíčko46·
LarsB.Pettersson2,47 · SerhiyPopov48· MilošPopović24 · JuhaPöyry33 · MikePrentice2,49· LienReyserhove5 ·
NilsRyrholm50· MartinaŠašić2,36 · NikolaySavenkov51· JosefSettele2,4,52 · MarcinSielezniew53 ·
SergeySinev54 · ConstantiStefanescu55 · GiedriusŠvitra56· ToomasTammaru44 · AnuTiitsaar44·
ElliTzirkalli25,27 · OlgaTzortzakaki57 · ChrisA.M.vanSwaay2,58 · ArneLykkeViborg42· IrmaWynho2,58 ·
KonstantinaZografou59 · MartinS.Warren2
Received: 11 July 2018 / Accepted: 7 January 2019 / Published online: 22 January 2019
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
Red Lists are very valuable tools in nature conservation at global, continental and (sub-) national scales. In an attempt to pri-
oritise conservation actions for European butterflies, we compiled a database with species lists and Red Lists of all European
countries, including the Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands). In total, we compiled national
species lists for 42 countries and national Red Lists for 34 of these. The most species-rich countries in Europe are Italy, Rus-
sia and France with more than 250 species each. Endemic species are mainly found on the Macaronesian archipelagos and
on the Mediterranean islands. By attributing numerical values proportionate to the threat statuses in the different national
Red List categories, we calculated a mean Red List value for every country (cRLV) and a weighted Red List value for every
species (wsRLV) using the square root of the country’s area as a weighting factor. Countries with the highest cRLV were
industrialised (NW) European countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Denmark, whereas large
Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy had the lowest cRLV. Species for which a Red List assessment was available
in at least two European countries and with a relatively high wsRLV (≥ 50) are Colias myrmidone, Pseudochazara orestes,
Tomares nogelii, Colias chrysotheme and Coenonympha oedippus. We compared these wsRLVs with the species statuses on
the European Red List to identify possible mismatches. We discuss how this complementary method can help to prioritise
butterfly conservation on the continental and/or the (sub-)national scale.
Keywords Policy· Management· Threatened species· Habitats directive· IUCN· Biogeography· Lepidoptera
Introduction
Red Lists provide information on the extinction risk of spe-
cies in a given region (IUCN 2013) and have become well-
established tools in nature conservation (e.g. Keller and
Bollmann 2004; Butchart etal. 2005; Rodrigues etal. 2006;
Fitzpatrick etal. 2007). Regional IUCN criteria (Gärdenfors
etal. 2001; IUCN 2012) are increasingly used at the (sub-)
* Dirk Maes
dirk.maes@inbo.be
Extended author information available on the last page of the article
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Prima carte roșie pentru lepidopterele diurne din Europa a fost publicată de Van Swaay & Warren (1999), urmată de lista roșie pentru Europa (Van Swaay et al. 2010). Recent a apărut o sinteză referitoare la situația listelor roșii naționale din Europa și relevanța acestora (Maes et al. 2019). ...
... The first red book of European butterflies was published by Van Swaay & Warren (1999), followed by the red list for Europe (Van Swaay et al. 2010). Recently, a synthesis of the national red lists and their relevance in Europe has been published (Maes et al. 2019). ...
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... Even in the Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) in which nearly every species has been assessed through IUCN, over 25 % are rated 'Data Deficient' and require complex integration of data sources for reliable global assessment (Sandall et al., 2022;Rocha-Ortega et al., 2023). Regional status assessments inherently deal with fewer species and have greater spatial-environmental context allowing potentially better accuracy (IUCN, 2012;Maes et al., 2019). Moreover, a species assessed as 'Least Concern' globally can be of greater concern regionally, unless of course it is endemic to that region. ...
... Consequently, smaller range generally corresponds to greater local and regional extinction risk (Rocha-Ortega et al., 2020;Suhonen et al., 2022). As ranges manifest from a host of other traits and population factors (Gaston, 2003;Angert et al., 2011), a targeted rangebased approach may by itself determine or augment regional priority listings, especially when range-based extinction risk is estimated at scales larger than the regional jurisdiction (analogous to downscaling global Red Lists; IUCN, 2012;Maes et al., 2019). ...
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Extinction risk assessments are challenged by population data deficiencies, especially at large scales and for diverse taxa like insects. We generally have a better handle on insect distributions than on their population sizes and trends. As a composite expression of other traits and population factors, geographic range size may compensate for lagging population data and extend regional status coverage to more insect species over more jurisdictional area, at least within the relatively accessible and charismatic taxa. We tested this using a range-based index of regional extinction risk and two “incomplete” regional status assessments for North American dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata). The range index revealed signatures for generalizing High-concern and Low-concern status throughout the regional jurisdictions and Odonata species pools. Using the High-concern signature, we identified 38 regional priority candidates that currently lack regional concern status in the Midwest United States, and 15 candidates in central Canada where regional status was never assessed. Our robust range index covered almost 10 % of the world's described Odonata species and could be adapted to other regional jurisdictions and insect groups supported by strong community science. Range size alone may offer a workable approach for estimating regional extinction risk and facilitating prioritization of charismatic insects in regions lacking population trend data and IUCN Red Lists.
View
... The Clouded Apollo, despite its wide Eurosiberian range, is considered as near threatened in Europe and listed in Appendix II of the Bern Convention, as well as in Appendix IV of the Habitats' Directive (Van Swaay et al. 2010). In Europe, it is reported from 32 countries and in 28 of them it is considered as a species of conservation concern (Maes et al. 2019). Habitat loss, i.e. the disappearance of traditionally managed flower-rich meadows and pastures accompanied with open deciduous forest or open grasslands, is probably the main threat, as suggested by studies in Finland and Sweden (Kuussaari et al. 2015;Johansson et al. 2017). ...
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View
... The ecology, distribution and demographic trends of butterflies are some of the best known among insects (Boggs et al., 2003;Thomas, 2005). Especially in Europe and North America, the traditional monitoring and inventorying programmes (e.g., New, 2009;Roy et al., 2015;Sanderson et al., 2021;Schultz et al., 2017;Thorne et al., 2006;Vantieghem et al., 2017) have allowed conservation biologists to investigate whether butterfly populations are declining, interconnected with other populations and susceptible to environmental changes (Halsch et al., 2021;Maes et al., 2019;Warren et al., 2021). ...
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View
... The focal species of the present study was the scarce large blue, Phengaris teleius (Bergsträsser, 1779), which shares all the above-mentioned characteristics as its wet meadow habitats have been rapidly shrinking across Europe in recent decades. The species is assessed as vulnerable in Europe [40], threatened in many countries and endangered in Serbia [41]. Its protection is based on the Habitats Directive within the European Union and the Bern Convention in other countries signing this international agreement. ...
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View
... The knowledge about arthropod biodiversity and the arthropod community in the PNM is very limited. Most of the studies in the area are focused on Orthoptera, Lepidoptera and Odonata (the preferred groups among conservationists) or on the arthropod community in chestnut orchards (due to their regional economic importance) [15][16][17][18]. As far as we know, studies about plant-arthropod interactions in the area do not exist. ...
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... It has been reported as threatened in 39 European countries and is already extinct in one European country, being credited with an overall decrease trend of 20-50% in Europe, despite data-quality poor or trend unknown in more than 50% of the range (van Swaay and Warren 1999). Also, in spite of being regarded as least concern in most of Europe (van Swaay et al. 2010;Maes et al. 2019), this butterfly is listed on the Annexes II of the Habitats Directive of the European Union, no more than 16 LIFE projects targeted towards either this species or its habitats have been developed (van Swaay et al. 2010) and a total number of 1381 Natura2000 sites have been designated up to now for the conservation of this species. ...
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Full-text available
  • Jun 2018
Three new butterfly species were recorded for Albania during two recent surveys: Pyrgus andromedae (Wallengren, 1853), Colias caucasica (Staudinger, 1871) and Leptidea juvernica Williams, 1946. Also Boloria titania (Esper, 1793) is new for the current Albanian territory that had previously been described by Rebel from the historical, larger Albania but situated now in Kosovo. Two data deficient species from the last checklist are confirmed: Carterocephalus palaemon (Pallas, 1771) and Hipparchia semele (Linnaeus, 1758). The status of six species is changed from present to data deficient or potential presence because of lacking recent evidence: Pontia chloridice (Hübner, 1813), Satyrium pruni (Linnaeus, 1758), Neptis rivularis (Scopoli, 1763), Euphydryas maturna (Linnaeus, 1758), Coenonympha glycerion (Borkhausen, 1788) and Kirinia climene (Esper, 1783). The geographical distribution for Pseudochazara tisiphone Brown, 1980 is significantly expanded to central Albania. Dot distribution maps are provided for all Albanian butterfly species. In addition to the new data, the available literature is screened, resulting in a mandatory update of the checklist for the Albanian butterflies: 196 species with recent evidence, 4 are data deficient and at least 9 have the potential to be discovered with future surveys. Përmbledhje. 3 lloje të reja fluturash për Shqipërinë janë përcaktuar nga analiza e materialeve të koleksionuara gjatë dy hetimeve shkencore të realizuara së fundmi: Pyrgus andromedae (Wallengren, 1853), Colias caucasica (Staudinger, 1871) dhe Leptidea juvernica Williams, 1946. Gjithashtu edhe Boloria titania (Esper, 1793) është tashmë një lloj i ri për territorin e Shqipërisë pasi më parë ky lloj është raportuar nga Rebel në zonën që sot ndodhet në Republikën e Kosovës. Dy lloje të pakonfirmuara në listën e fundit të paraqitur për fluturat e Shqipërisë: Carterocephalus palaemon (Pallas, 1771) dhe Hipparchia semele (Linnaeus, 1758), konfirmohen nga ky studim. Statusi i 6 llojeve të klasifikuara më parë si lloje të mundshme për territorin e Shqipërisë ose si lloje me të dhëna jo të plota (Pontia chloridice (Hübner, 1813), Satyrium pruni (Linnaeus, 1758), Neptis rivularis (Scopoli, 1763), Euphydryas maturna (Linnaeus, 1758), Coenonympha glycerion (Borkhausen, 1788) dhe Kirinia climene (Esper, 1783)) bazuar në të dhënat e këtij studimi tashmë ka ndryshuar. Zona e përhapjes së Pseudochazara tisiphone Brown, 1980, është shtrirë në mënyrë të dukshme edhe në Shqipërinë e mesme. Në këtë punim paraqiten hartat e shpërndarjes të të gjitha llojeve të fluturave të Shqipërisë. Bashkangjitur të dhënave të reja të këtij studimi është paraqitur dhe një analizë e hollësishme e të dhënave të literaturës, që jep si produkt listën e përditësuar të të gjithë fluturave të Shqipërisë. Bazuar në të dhënat e këtij studimi të kryer së fundmi, 196 lloje fluturash referohen për territorin e Shqipërisë, 4 lloje kanë mungesë të dhënash dhe të paktën 9 lloje kanë mundësi të gjenden në studime të ardhshme. Samenvatting. Gedurende twee recente onderzoeken werden drie soorten dagvlinders ontdekt die nieuw zijn voor Albanië: Pyrgus andromedae (Wallengren, 1853), Colias caucasica (Staudinger, 1871) en Leptidea juvernica Williams, 1946. Ook Boloria titania (Esper, 1793) is nieuw voor het huidige Albanese grondgebied maar werd eerder beschreven uit het voormalige, grotere Albanië dat nu deel uitmaakt van Kosovo. Twee data deficiënte soorten van de laatste checklist worden bevestigd: Carterocephalus palaemon (Pallas, 1771) en Hipparchia semele (Linnaeus, 1758). Door het ontbreken van recente evidentie wordt de status van zes soorten veranderd tot data deficiënt of potentieel aanwezig: Pontia chloridice (Hübner, 1813), Satyrium pruni (Linnaeus, 1758), Neptis rivularis (Scopoli, 1763), Euphydryas maturna (Linnaeus, 1758), Coenonympha glycerion (Borkhausen, 1788) en Kirinia climene (Esper, 1783). De geografische verspreiding van Pseudochazara tisiphone Brown, 1980 wordt significant uitgebreid tot centraal Albanië. Er zijn punt-verspreidingskaarten voorzien voor alle Albanese dagvlindersoorten. Naast de nieuwe gegevens wordt de beschikbare literatuur gescreend wat resulteert in een noodzakelijke update van de checklist voor de Albanese dagvlinders. 196 soorten met recent bewijsmateriaal worden in de nieuwe checklist opgenomen, 4 soorten zijn data deficiënt en ten minste 9 andere taxa kunnen bij toekomstig onderzoek worden gevonden.
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Revised checklist of the butterflies of Serbia (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)
Article
  • Apr 2018
With studies spanning almost two centuries, butterflies are one of the best known insect groups in Serbia. However, there are still several inconsistencies regarding the number and selection of species included in national checklists published in the last decades. In order to overcome the confusing situation we provide a taxonomically up-to-date checklist of the butterflies for the country, including Kosovo, based on a comprehensive survey of the literature, inspection of available museum collections and from intensive field surveys over the last twenty years. Our aim is also to resolve some long standing problems with species potentially occurring in the country. For this purpose genitalia dissections and DNA barcoding have been used for identification where necessary. The annotated checklist includes 199 species of which Carcharodus orien-talis is new for the country and the recently discovered white Anthocharis damone is listed for the first time. We also provide conclusive evidence of the presence of Melitaea ornata in Serbia. Among species listed in the previous species lists we excluded eight species due to inconclusive evidence, and provide a detailed explanation for their exclusion. We hope this publication will stimulate further studies of this important bioindicator group of insects and provide the basis for their conservation in the country.
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Conserving rare species can have high opportunity costs for common species
Article
  • Apr 2018
Conservation practitioners face difficult choices in apportioning limited resources between rare species (to ensure their existence) and common species (to ensure their abundance and ecosystem contributions). We quantified the opportunity costs of conserving rare species of migratory fishes in the context of removing dams and retrofitting road culverts across 1,883 tributaries of the North American Great Lakes. Our optimization models show that maximizing total habitat gains across species can be very efficient in terms of benefits achieved per dollar spent, but disproportionately benefits common species. Conservation approaches that target rare species, or that ensure some benefits for every species (i.e., complementarity) enable strategic allocation of resources among species but reduce aggregate habitat gains. Thus, small habitat gains for the rarest species necessarily come at the expense of more than 20 times as much habitat for common ones. These opportunity costs are likely to occur in many ecosystems because range limits and conservation costs often vary widely among species. Given that common species worldwide are declining more rapidly than rare ones within major taxa, our findings provide incentive for triage among multiple worthy conservation targets. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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