Investigating the relationship of habitat, genetic diversity, and occupancy in the locally rare frosted elfin butterfly, Callophrys irus
Dates
Start Date
2021-01-01
End Date
2023-09-30
Summary
The frosted elfin butterfly, Callophrys irus, experienced a range-wide data gap where most populations had not been surveyed in over a decade, and many populations were believed extirpated due to a variety of external pressures (USFWS 2018). In 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in cooperation with American Conservation Experience and with support from States, collected data on a significant portion of the range of C. irus, which extends from Ontario to Florida, and west to Texas and Wisconsin (Albanese et. al. 2007). In response, the Science Support Partnership Request for Proposals has identified a need to analyze these data to look for trends that identify ‘habitat parameters that are important for maintaining frosted [...]
Summary
The frosted elfin butterfly, Callophrys irus, experienced a range-wide data gap where most populations had not been surveyed in over a decade, and many populations were believed extirpated due to a variety of external pressures (USFWS 2018). In 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in cooperation with American Conservation Experience and with support from States, collected data on a significant portion of the range of C. irus, which extends from Ontario to Florida, and west to Texas and Wisconsin (Albanese et. al. 2007). In response, the Science Support Partnership Request for Proposals has identified a need to analyze these data to look for trends that identify ‘habitat parameters that are important for maintaining frosted elfin occupancy’, as well as investigating the role that climate change will play in future occupancy and larvae-host plant synchronization. The status of the C. irus arsace subspecies has also been understudied in recent years, and genetic analysis to confirm the status of the subspecies and location of these populations would further direct management decisions to the most vulnerable portions of the C. irus population.
The questions of viable habitat parameters and the impacts of climate change are further complicated by the little understood dynamic between C. irus and its two host plants, wild yellow indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) and sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis); anecdotal data points to individuals specializing to use only a single species of host plant. Because the phenology of B. tinctoria and L. perennis are successive, host plant availability may be prolonged throughout the growing season if individuals were found to have plasticity between host plants. Genetic analysis will help determine if population level differentiation is occurring between L. perennis and B. tinctoria feeding populations and will inform management decisions aimed at improving habitat. C. irus populations occur on National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) lands, including Interior Region 1 (Long Island NWR Complex) and Interior Region 2 (Carolina Sandhills NWR), so improved guidance on habitat management will benefit conservation actions by the NWR System.
Objectives:
To fully meet the research needs of the management problem, our objectives will be twofold:
Evaluate the current status of the C. i. arsace subspecies using genetic analysis and on-the-ground collection to investigate historical locations and preserved specimens.
Assess site-level environmental data (i.e. vegetation community, weather) and collect genetic samples across a climatic gradient, from Northern Florida to Central New Hampshire, in order to:
Help inform the genetic composition of C. irus, and investigate genetic variation across its’ patchy distribution.
Evaluate the future condition of C. irus using occupancy modeling.
