butterflies decline after early snowmelt
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Butterflies decline after early snowmelt

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Butterflies decline after early snowmelt

Washington - Arabstoday

The number of Mormon fritillary butterflies in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is on the decline due to earlier spring weather, say researchers. The region’s early snowmelt is driving down the population of the butterflies by reducing their favored nectar supply and killing off caterpillars that die during early-season frosts. Stanford University researchers found that early snowmelt for two consecutive years explained more than four-fifths of the observed variation in population growth rate, according to a study recently published in the journal Ecology Letters. “We already can predict that this coming summer will be difficult for the butterflies, because the very low snowpack in the mountains this winter makes it likely that there will an early snowmelt and significant frost damage,” says biology professor Carol Boggs, lead author of the study. Boggs says the blow to the butterfly population can be explained by looking at the insect’s lifecycle and the factors determining egg production. “This suggests that predicting effects of climate change on organisms’ population sizes will be difficult in some cases due to lack of knowledge of the species’ biology,” Boggs says. Butterflies lay eggs and then die in the first summer. The eggs become caterpillars that overwinter without eating and develop into adults in the second summer. Laboratory experiments showed that the amount of nectar a female eats determines the number of eggs she will lay, suggesting that flower availability per female might be important to changes in population size. To test this hypothesis, researchers at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Crested Butte, Colorado, collected long-term data on the Mormon fritillary, or Speyeria mormonia, a common North American butterfly. The data revealed multiple effects of a single weather event—snowmelt—on the size of the butterfly population. Early snowmelt in the first year reduced the availability of the insect’s preferred flower species, because the flowers budded too soon and were killed by early-season frosts. Fewer flowers meant reduced nectar availability for each butterfly, which adversely affected the overall population growth rate. Early snowmelt in the second year of the butterfly’s lifecycle worsened the impact, probably because a number of caterpillars died during early-season frosts, according to the researchers. “It is very unusual for research to uncover such a simple mechanism that can explain almost all of the variation in growth rate of an insect population,” says David Inouye, professor of biology at the University of Maryland and co-author of the study. “Earlier studies have shown that a single climate variable can have multiple effects on an organism’s population growth,” adds Boggs, the Bing Director of the Program in Human Biology at Stanford. “However, this was not previously recognized for species such as butterflies that live for only one year. ” Inouye says long-term studies are important to understanding the “ecology of place” and the effects of weather and possible climate change on population numbers. “Research of this nature is critical to assessing the broader effects of weather on an ever-changing Earth,” he says. The National Science Foundation and Stanford’s Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education provided primary funding for the study.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

butterflies decline after early snowmelt butterflies decline after early snowmelt

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

butterflies decline after early snowmelt butterflies decline after early snowmelt

 



GMT 05:57 2017 Tuesday ,29 August

Indonesia explores new, alternative tourism markets

GMT 12:19 2016 Thursday ,08 December

Kirk Douglas at 100, still in love

GMT 17:27 2017 Thursday ,05 October

Major Bowie exhibition to close in New York

GMT 00:13 2016 Friday ,10 June

After 11-month peak, oil prices take a breather

GMT 05:31 2017 Sunday ,05 November

Mexico makes 'major' 1.5-bn barrel oil find

GMT 04:11 2017 Thursday ,20 April

And the world’s ‘most beautiful woman’ is

GMT 11:40 2017 Thursday ,27 April

UN eyes new Yemen talks by end of May

GMT 05:19 2016 Saturday ,31 December

UAE tightens security for New Year celebrations

GMT 18:27 2017 Wednesday ,15 February

India should give Kashmiris right to self-determination

GMT 04:26 2017 Saturday ,26 August

Hany refuses $30000 offer to sing in Damascus

GMT 12:52 2017 Monday ,06 March

Air pollution linked to 600,000 deaths

GMT 01:14 2017 Friday ,17 November

Yemeni official says diabetics increased in Yemen
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday