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Isolated Asian steppe element in the Balkans: habitats of Proterebia afra (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) and associated butterfly communities

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Abstract

A characteristic butterfly of Asian steppes, Proterebia afra (Fabricius 1787), was studied in its two relic areas of occurrence within the Balkans—the Askion Mts (a single mountain massif in NW Greece) and Dalmatia (karstic inland S Croatia)—together with co-occurring butterfly communities during its early spring adult flight period. P. afra adults tolerate harsh continental conditions prevailing at its localities during its flight. Local densities were higher in the Askion Mts (up to 100 individuals per 50 m walk) than in Dalmatia (up to 30 individuals per 50 m). Within both areas of occurrence, it inhabits dry grasslands subject to intermediate grazing pressure that retains enough dry grass litter but still suppresses shrubs and trees. Hotter slopes are preferred in more northerly Dalmatia than in the more southerly Askion Mts. More co-occurring butterfly species and more Mediterranean species were recorded in the Askion Mts (69 vs 63; 23 vs 12), but more butterfly individuals and higher species’ richness per transect were observed in Dalmatia. In ordination analyses, the main gradients organising the grassland butterfly communities distinguished between grassy plains and rocky slopes containing more woody plants. Given the distribution extents, local densities and present land use conditions, the Balkan P. afra is not currently endangered, but this may swiftly change with grazing abandonment, especially in Dalmatia, and some conservation actions should be considered in the near future.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by The Explorers Club Exploration Fund, FAN(B), the University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice (04-168/2013/P and 152/2016/P), and by the Czech Science Foundation (GACR 14-33733S). We would like to thank the Greek Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (research permit No. 170916/1344), Croatian Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection (517-07-1-1-1-15-5) and our friends and colleagues who offered their assistance: Z. Faltýnek Fric, Z. Kolev, M. Krausová, R. Kučmerčík, R. Verovnik and M. Zapletal.

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  1. Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 1760, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

    Alena Bartoňová, Vojtěch Kolář, Jana Marešová, Jana Šlancarová & Martin Konvička

  2. Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre CAS, Branisovska 31, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

    Alena Bartoňová, Vojtěch Kolář, Jana Marešová, Jana Šlancarová & Martin Konvička

  3. Faculty of Agriculture, Studentska 1668, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

    Vojtěch Kolář & Pavel Sucháček

  4. Croatian Natural History Museum, Demetrova 1, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Martina Šašić

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Bartoňová, A., Kolář, V., Marešová, J. et al. Isolated Asian steppe element in the Balkans: habitats of Proterebia afra (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) and associated butterfly communities. J Insect Conserv 21, 559–571 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-017-9995-x

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