Functional conservation units for the endangered butterfly Maculinea alcon in Belgium (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Maes, Dirk;Vanreusel, Wouter;Talloen, Willem;Van Dyck, Hans
(2004) Biological Conservation — Vol. 120, n° 2, p. 229-241 (2004)

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Authors
  • Maes, DirkInstitute of Nature conservation Brussels
    Author
  • Vanreusel, WouterUniversity of Antwerp
    Author
  • Talloen, WillemUniversity of Antwerp
    Author
  • Van Dyck, HansUniversity of Antwerp
    Author
Abstract
To organize and prioritise species-specific conservation efforts, we delineate `functional conservation units' for the threatened Alcon Blue butterfly Maculinea alcon in Belgium. We used detailed distribution data on the butterfly, its host plant and its habitat, present-day population sizes and its mobility and colonization capacity to determine functional conservation units (FCUs) on different spatial scales: FCU-1, i.e., the 12 presently occupied habitat patches plus the area within a range of 500 m surrounding them (the maximum local movement distance, based on mark-release-recapture data), FCU-2, i.e., the areas within a range of 2 km around the occupied habitat patches (the maximum observed colonization capacity) and FCU-3, i.e., potential re-introduction sites (sites where M. alcon went extinct recently). We suggest different management and planning measures for each type of functional conservation unit and discuss translocation and re-introduction as `intensive care' conservation measures for this threatened and sedentary species.
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Citations

Maes, D., Vanreusel, W., Talloen, W., & Van Dyck, H. (2004). Functional conservation units for the endangered butterfly Maculinea alcon in Belgium (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Biological Conservation, 120(2), 229-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2004.02.018 (Original work published 2004)