Distributions of occupied and vacant butterfly habitats in fragmented landscapes

SummaryWe found several rare UK butterflies to be restricted to relatively large and non-isolated habitat patches, while small patches and those that are isolated from population sources remain vacant. These patterns of occurrence are generated by the dynamic processes of local extinction and colonization. Habitat patches act as terrestrial archipelagos in which long-term population persistence, and hence effective long-term conservation, rely on networks of suitable habitats, sufficiently close to allow natural dispersal.

总结 我们发现几种英国珍稀蝴蝶局限于相对较大且非孤立的栖息地斑块，而小斑块以及那些与种群源隔离的斑块则没有蝴蝶栖息。这些分布模式是由局部灭绝和定殖的动态过程所导致的。栖息地斑块就像陆地群岛，其中种群的长期存续以及因此而有效的长期保护依赖于合适栖息地构成的网络，这些栖息地要足够接近以允许自然扩散。