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Delayed population explosion of an introduced butterfly

  1. CAROL L. BOGGS1,2,
  2. CHERYL E. HOLDREN1,†,
  3. IPEK G. KULAHCI1,2,‡,
  4. TIMOTHY C. BONEBRAKE1,2,
  5. BRIAN D. INOUYE1,§,
  6. JOHN P. FAY2,3,
  7. ANN MCMILLAN2,
  8. ERNEST H. WILLIAMS4,
  9. PAUL R. EHRLICH1,2

Article first published online: 31 MAR 2006

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01067.x

Issue

Journal of Animal Ecology

Journal of Animal Ecology

Volume 75, Issue 2, pages 466–475, March 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

BOGGS, C. L., HOLDREN, C. E., KULAHCI, I. G., BONEBRAKE, T. C., INOUYE, B. D., FAY, J. P., MCMILLAN, A., WILLIAMS, E. H. and EHRLICH, P. R. (2006), Delayed population explosion of an introduced butterfly. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75: 466–475. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01067.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, USA;

  2. 2

    Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;

  3. 3

    Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; and

  4. 4

    Department of Biology, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, USA

  1. †

    Current address: 11 Old Colony Place, Falmouth, MA, USA.

  2. ‡

    Current address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.

  3. §

    Current address: Biological Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.

* Carol L. Boggs, Department of Biological Sciences, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA. E-mail: cboggs@stanford.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 31 MAR 2006
  2. Article first published online: 31 MAR 2006
  3. Received 26 April 2005; accepted 7 December 2005

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Keywords:

  • dispersal;
  • Euphydryas;
  • invasion dynamics;
  • Nymphalidae;
  • population structure

Summary

  • 1
    The causes of lagged population and geographical range expansions after species introductions are poorly understood, and there are relatively few detailed case studies.
  • 2
    We document the 29-year history of population dynamics and structure for a population of Euphydryas gillettii Barnes that was introduced to the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA in 1977.
  • 3
    The population size remained low (< 200 individuals) and confined to a single habitat patch (∼2·25 ha) to 1998. These values are similar to those of many other populations within the natural geographical range of the species.
  • 4
    However, by 2002 the population increased dramatically to > 3000 individuals and covered ∼70 ha, nearly all to the south of the original site. The direction of population expansion was the same as that of predominant winds.
  • 5
    By 2004, the butterfly's local distribution had retracted mainly to three habitat patches. It thus exhibited a ‘surge/contraction’ form of population growth. Searches within 15 km of the original site yielded no other new populations.
  • 6
    In 2005, butterfly numbers crashed, but all three habitat patches remained occupied. The populations within each patch did not decrease in the same proportions, suggesting independent dynamics that are characteristic of metapopulations.
  • 7
    We postulate that this behaviour results, in this species, in establishment of satellite populations and, given appropriate habitat structure, may result in lagged or punctuated expansions of introduced populations.
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