title: Plant quality and local adaptation undermine relocation in a bog specialist butterfly.
abstract: The butterfly Boloria aquilonaris is a specialist of oligotrophic ecosystems. Population viability analysis predicted the species to be stable in Belgium and to collapse in the Netherlands with reduced host plant quality expected to drive species decline in the latter. We tested this hypothesis by rearing B. aquilonaris caterpillars from Belgian and Dutch sites on host plants (the cranberry, Vaccinium oxycoccos). Dutch plant quality was lower than Belgian one conferring lower caterpillar growth rate and survival. Reintroduction and/or supplementation may be necessary to ensure the viability of the species in the Netherlands, but some traits may have been selected solely in Dutch caterpillars to cope with gradual changes in host plant quality. To test this hypothesis, the performance of Belgian and Dutch caterpillars fed with plants from both countries were compared. Dutch caterpillars performed well on both plant qualities, whereas Belgian caterpillars could not switch to lower quality plants. This can be considered as an environmentally induced plastic response of caterpillars and/or a local adaptation to plant quality, which precludes the use of Belgian individuals as a unique solution for strengthening Dutch populations. More generally, these results stress that the relevance of local adaptation in selecting source populations for relocation may be as important as restoring habitat quality.
authors: Earth and Life Institute, Universite catholique de Louvain - Biodiversity Research Centre Place Croix du Sud, 4, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium ; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) - Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversité, Avenue du Petit Château 1, 91800 Brunoy France.
authors: Camille
authors: C
authors: Turlure
authors: Viktoriia
authors: V
authors: Radchuk
authors: Michel
authors: M
authors: Baguette
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Meijrink
authors: Arnold
authors: A
authors: den Burg
authors: Michiel Wallis
authors: MW
authors: Vries
authors: Gert-Jan
authors: GJ
authors: Duinen
keywords: Applied ecology; conservation; evolutionary ecology; insect-plant interactions; local adaptation; relocation