Life history of the Glanville fritillary butterfly in fragmented versus continuous landscapes

Habitat loss and fragmentation threaten the long-term viability of innumerable species of plants and animals. At the same time, habitat fragmentation may impose strong natural selection and lead to evolution of life histories with possible consequences for demographic dynamics. The Baltic populations of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) inhabit regions with highly fragmented habitat (networks of small dry meadows) as well as regions with extensive continuous habitat (calcareous alvar grasslands). Here, we report the results of common garden studies on butterflies originating from two highly fragmented landscapes (FL) in Finland and Sweden and from two continuous landscapes (CL) in Sweden and Estonia, conducted in a large outdoor cage (32 by 26 m) and in the laboratory. We investigated a comprehensive set of 51 life-history traits, including measures of larval growth and development, flight performance, and adult reproductive behavior. Seventeen of the 51 traits showed...生境丧失与片段化正威胁着无数动植物物种的长期生存能力。与此同时，生境片段化可能施加强烈的自然选择压力，并推动生活史演化，进而对种群动态产生潜在影响。格纹蛱蝶（Melitaea cinxia）的波罗的海种群，既栖息于高度片段化的生境区域（小型干燥草甸群落），也分布于大面积连续生境区域（钙质阿尔瓦草原）。本研究报道了同质园实验（common garden）的相关结果：实验所用蝴蝶分别采自芬兰与瑞典的两处高度片段化景观（FL），以及瑞典与爱沙尼亚的两处连续景观（CL），实验分别在大型室外笼舍（32×26米）与实验室中开展。我们全面测定了51项生活史性状，涵盖幼虫生长发育情况、飞行能力以及成虫繁殖行为等指标。51个性状中有17个表现出……