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- Title
Plains to peaks: an analysis of the relationship between Colorado butterfly communities and altitude.
- Authors
JAMES, ANNA O.; HOKAMP, KATHRYN; GARCÍA-HELLMUTH, CHRIS; READING, RICHARD P.
- Abstract
We compared butterfly communities of the Plains, Foothills, and Montane Zones of the Colorado Front Range and examined 3 groups of butterflies—blues (Polyommatinae species), fritillaries (Speyeria and Boloria spp.), and painted ladies (species Vanessa cardui)—for altitude shifts between 2014 and 2020. We conducted these analyses using data collected by volunteer butterfly monitors from the Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network, a group organized and run by Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado. Monitors walked designated routes and counted all butterflies they saw, identifying each to the lowest possible taxonomic group they could. We sorted routes into the 3 altitude zones, organized data by family, species, and group (blues/fritillaries), and standardized data by time spent monitoring. We used ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis tests to compare the altitude zones and examine the data for altitude shifts. Finally, we calculated relative abundance (number of individuals captured each session), species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson’s diversity index, and 2 evenness indices for a smaller subset of the data. We found that the Plains Zone differed significantly from the Foothills and Montane Zones in terms of family and species composition. We also found that species richness and diversity peaked in the Foothills Zone. We found no evidence for altitude shifts among the 3 butterfly groups studied but did observe a significant increase in painted ladies from 2016 to 2017 in all zones. We concluded that the 3 altitude zones have differing butterfly communities and that the Foothills Zone should be a priority for conservation efforts along the Colorado Front Range..
- Publication
Western North American Naturalist, 2023, Vol 83, Issue 1, p114
- ISSN
1527-0904
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3398/064.083.0108