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Deploying Community Scientists to Conduct Nondestructive Genetic Sampling of Rare Butterfly Populations

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Protected areas facilitate species' range expansions.

Chris D Thomas¹, Phillipa K Gillingham, Richard B Bradbury

¹Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom. chris.thomas@york.ac.uk

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|August 16, 2012

Summary

Protected areas (PAs) are crucial for biodiversity conservation, even with climate change. These areas act as vital colonization targets, facilitating species range expansions into new territories.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Conservation Biology
Climate Change Biology

Background:

Climate change challenges the static nature of protected areas (PAs) against dynamic species distributions.
PAs may still support biodiversity by acting as colonization sites for species expanding their ranges.

Purpose of the Study:

To empirically assess the role of PAs as targets for species colonization during recent range expansions.
To determine if PAs disproportionately receive colonizing species compared to their landscape availability.

Main Methods:

Analysis of colonization records for seven bird and butterfly species from intensive surveys.
Examination of colonization data for 256 additional invertebrate species using less-intensive surveys.

Main Results:

Seven bird and butterfly species colonized PAs 4.2 times more frequently than expected.
98% of 256 invertebrate species showed disproportionate association with PAs in newly colonized areas.
Colonization success varied among species, indicating differential reliance on PA habitats.

Conclusions:

Current PAs are important facilitators of species range expansions.
A small proportion of the landscape, specifically PAs, receives a high rate of colonization by expanding species.
PAs remain critical for biodiversity conservation in the face of climate-driven range shifts.