Julia N. Auckland

Bio: Julia N. Auckland is an academic researcher from Iowa State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Parnassius clodius & Allee effect. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 127 citations.

Survival, movement, and resource use of the butterfly Parnassius clodius

Abstract: . 1. A mark–recapture study was conducted on the American Apollo butterfly Parnassius clodius Menetries during three field seasons (1998–2000) to examine its movement patterns over the course of a season within a sagebrush meadow in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, U.S.A. The study examined how resources affected butterfly distribution patterns and used mark–recapture data to gain insight into movement differences between sexes and over time. 2. The average straight-line movement of P. clodius was 202 m day−1, adjusted for sampling effort at different distances. Movement estimates in all 3 years were highly correlated with the average distance between plots sampled. 3. Butterfly abundance was correlated positively with per cent cover of its host plant Dicentra uniflora, but this relationship decreased in importance during the peak of the flight period when individuals may be more interested in finding mates. There was a weak, positive correlation between butterfly abundance and the abundance of its primary nectar source, Eriogonum umbellatum in 1999, but no relationship in 2000. 4. Survival, recapture, and transition probabilities were estimated using open population, capture–recapture models. Survival and recapture probability decreased over the course of each season, while the probability of moving between plots increased. Recapture probability was significantly lower for females than for males among all 3 years, but there was no difference between the sexes in survival rate.

Reproductive asynchrony in natural butterfly populations and its consequences for female matelessness

Abstract: Summary 1. Reproductive asynchrony, where individuals in a population are short-lived relative to the population-level reproductive period, has been identified recently as a theoretical mechanism of the Allee effect that could operate in diverse plant and insect species. The degree to which this effect impinges on the growth potential of natural populations is not yet well understood. 2. Building on previous models of reproductive timing, we develop a general framework that allows a detailed, quantitative examination of the reproductive potential lost to asynchrony in small natural populations. 3. Our framework includes a range of biologically plausible submodels that allow details of mating biology of different species to be incorporated into the basic reproductive timing model. 4. We tailor the parameter estimation methods of the full model (basic model plus mating biology submodels) to take full advantage of data from detailed field studies of two species of Parnassius butterflies whose mating status may be assessed easily in the field. 5. We demonstrate that for both species, a substantial portion of the female population (6·5‐ 18·6%) is expected to die unmated. These analyses provide the first direct, quantitative evidence of female reproductive failure due to asynchrony in small natural populations, and suggest that reproductive asynchrony exerts a strong and largely unappreciated influence on the population dynamics of these butterflies and other species with similarly asynchronous reproductive phenology.

Estimation of Demographic Parameters from Live‐Encounter Data: a Summary Review

Abstract: Estimation of demographic parameters is central to research questions in wildlife management, conservation, and evolutionary ecology. I review the 7 major classes of mark–recapture models that investigators can use to estimate apparent survival and other parameters from live-encounter data. Return rates are the product of 4 probabilities: true survival (S), site fidelity (F), site propensity (δ), and true detection (p*). Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) models improve upon return rates by separating apparent survival (ϕ = S × F) from the probability of encounter (p = δ × p*). The main drawback to mark–recapture models based on live-encounter data is that the complement of apparent survival (1 − ϕ) includes losses to mortality and to permanent emigration, and these 2 ecological processes are difficult to disentangle. Advanced mark–recapture models require additional sampling effort but estimate apparent survival with greater precision and less bias, and they also offer estimates of other useful demograph...

Habitats and Resources: The Need for a Resource-based Definition to Conserve Butterflies

Abstract: Current definitions of habitat are closely allied to the concept of patch and matrix. This concept is, for instance, central to the prevailing metapopulation models of population dynamics. But, butterfly population dynamics, mobility and spatial structure can only properly be understood in the context of a resource-based definition of habitats. In criticising current definitions of habitat, we illustrate how habitat is best understood in terms of resource distributions. These transcend vegetation-based definitions of habitat and lie at the root of life history strategies, the vulnerability of butterflies to environmental changes and extinction, and govern conservation status. We emphasise the need for a resource-use database and demonstrate the shortcomings of current data for conserving butterflies; patch based definitions of habitats are inappropriate for some species and for others do not provide a universal panacea, inadequately explaining spatial occurrence when scaled over space and time. A resource-based habitat definition challenges the bipolar, patch vs. matrix view of landscape; the alternative is to view landscape as a continuum of overlapping resource distributions. We urge greater attention to the details of butterfly behaviour and resource use as the keys to understanding how landscape is exploited and therefore to successful conservation at the landscape scale.

New insights into butterfly–environment relationships using partitioning methods

Abstract: Variation partitioning and hierarchical partitioning are novel statistical approaches that provide deeper understanding of the importance of different explanatory variables for biodiversity patterns than traditional regression methods. Using these methods, the variation in occupancy and abundance of the clouded apollo butterfly (Parnassius mnemosyne L.) was decomposed into independent and joint effects of larval and adult food resources, microclimate and habitat quantity. The independent effect of habitat quantity variables (habitat area and connectivity) captured the largest fraction of the variation in the clouded apollo patterns, but habitat connectivity had a major contribution only for occupancy data. The independent effects of resources and microclimate were higher on butterfly abundance than on occupancy. However, a considerable amount of variation in the butterfly patterns was accounted for by the joint effects of predictors and may thus be causally related to two or all three groups of variables. Abundance of the butterfly in the surroundings of the focal grid cell had a significant effect in all analyses, independently of the effects of other predictors. Our results encourage wider applications of partitioning methods in biodiversity studies.

A meta-analysis of the traits affecting dispersal ability in butterflies: can wingspan be used as a proxy?

Abstract: 1. Dispersal ability of a species is a key ecological characteristic, affecting a range of processes from adaptation, community dynamics and genetic structure, to distribution and range size. It is determined by both intrinsic species traits and extrinsic landscape-related properties. 2. Using butterflies as a model system, the following questions were addressed: (i) given similar extrinsic factors, which intrinsic species trait(s) explain dispersal ability? (ii) can one of these traits be used as a proxy for dispersal ability? (iii) the effect of interactions between the traits, and phylogenetic relatedness, on dispersal ability. 3. Four data sets, using different measures of dispersal, were compiled from published literature. The first data set uses mean dispersal distances from capture-mark-recapture studies, and the other three use mobility indices. Data for six traits that can potentially affect dispersal ability were collected: wingspan, larval host plant specificity, adult habitat specificity, mate location strategy, voltinism and flight period duration. Each data set was subjected to both unifactorial, and multifactorial, phylogenetically controlled analyses. 4. Among the factors considered, wingspan was the most important determinant of dispersal ability, although the predictive powers of regression models were low. Voltinism and flight period duration also affect dispersal ability, especially in case of temperate species. Interactions between the factors did not affect dispersal ability, and phylogenetic relatedness was significant in one data set. 5. While using wingspan as the only proxy for dispersal ability maybe problematic, it is usually the only easily accessible species-specific trait for a large number of species. It can thus be a satisfactory proxy when carefully interpreted, especially for analyses involving many species from all across the world.

Spot the match – wildlife photo-identification using information theory

Abstract: Effective approaches for the management and conservation of wildlife populations require a sound knowledge of population demographics, and this is often only possible through mark-recapture studies. We applied an automated spot-recognition program (I3S) for matching natural markings of wildlife that is based on a novel information-theoretic approach to incorporate matching uncertainty. Using a photo-identification database of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) as an example case, the information criterion (IC) algorithm we developed resulted in a parsimonious ranking of potential matches of individuals in an image library. Automated matches were compared to manual-matching results to test the performance of the software and algorithm. Validation of matched and non-matched images provided a threshold IC weight (approximately 0.2) below which match certainty was not assured. Most images tested were assigned correctly; however, scores for the by-eye comparison were lower than expected, possibly due to the low sample size. The effect of increasing horizontal angle of sharks in images reduced matching likelihood considerably. There was a negative linear relationship between the number of matching spot pairs and matching score, but this relationship disappeared when using the IC algorithm. The software and use of easily applied information-theoretic scores of match parsimony provide a reliable and freely available method for individual identification of wildlife, with wide applications and the potential to improve mark-recapture studies without resorting to invasive marking techniques.