Woodland and grassland mosaic from a butterfly perspective: Habitat use by Erebia aethiops (Lepidoptera: Satyridae)

Published source details Slamova I., Klecka J. & Konvicka M. (2013) Woodland and grassland mosaic from a butterfly perspective: Habitat use by Erebia aethiops (Lepidoptera: Satyridae). Insect Conservation and Diversity, 6, 243-254.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Reduce cutting frequency on grassland Action Link
	Cease mowing on grassland to allow early succession Action Link
	Maintain species-rich, semi-natural grassland Action Link
	Cease grazing on grassland to allow early succession Action Link

Reduce cutting frequency on grassland

A replicated, site comparison study in 2007 in a grassland and woodland reserve in the Czech Republic (Slamova et al. 2013) found that occasionally mown grasslands had a higher abundance of Scotch argus Erebia aethiops than intensively mown grasslands. On occasionally mown grasslands, the abundance of Scotch argus males (9 individuals/ha) and females (5 individuals/ha) was higher than on intensively mown grasslands (males: 3; females: 2 individuals/ha). However, the abundance of Scotch argus males (19 individuals/ha) and females (13 individuals/ha) was highest on temporarily abandoned grasslands, and similar on grazed grasslands (males: 7; females: 4 individuals/ha) to occasionally mown grasslands. Within a 55-ha reserve, 27 grasslands (128–6,072 m²) were managed by either occasional mowing, intensive mowing, or sheep and goat grazing, or were temporarily abandoned. On 33 days from July–August 2007, butterflies were caught, individually marked, and recaptured at each site.

(Summarised by: Andew Bladon)
Cease mowing on grassland to allow early succession

A replicated, site comparison study in 2007 in a grassland and woodland reserve in the Czech Republic (Slamova et al. 2013) found that temporarily abandoned grasslands had a higher abundance of Scotch argus Erebia aethiops than grasslands managed by mowing. On temporarily abandoned grasslands, the abundance of Scotch argus males (19 individuals/ha) and females (13 individuals/ha) was higher than on occasionally mown (males: 9; females: 5 individuals/ha) or intensively mown (males: 3; females: 2 individuals/ha) grasslands. The abundance of Scotch argus was also lower on grazed (males: 7; females: 4 individuals/ha) grasslands. Within a 55-ha reserve, 27 grasslands (128–6,072 m²) were either temporarily abandoned, or managed by occasional mowing, intensive mowing, or sheep and goat grazing. On 33 days from July–August 2007, butterflies were caught, individually marked, and recaptured at each site.

(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)
Maintain species-rich, semi-natural grassland

A replicated, site comparison study in 2007 in a grassland and woodland reserve in the Czech Republic (Slamova et al. 2013) found that grasslands managed by occasional mowing had a similar abundance of Scotch argus Erebia aethiops to grasslands managed by sheep and goat grazing. On occasionally mown grasslands, the abundance of Scotch argus males (9 individuals/ha) and females (5 individuals/ha) was similar to grazed grasslands (males: 7; females: 4 individuals/ha). However, the abundance of Scotch argus males (19 individuals/ha) and females (13 individuals/ha) was highest on temporarily abandoned grasslands, and lowest on intensively mown grasslands (males: 3; females: 2 individuals/ha). Within a 55-ha reserve, 27 grasslands (128–6,072 m²) were managed by either occasional mowing, sheep and goat grazing or intensive mowing, or were temporarily abandoned. On 33 days from July–August 2007, butterflies were caught, individually marked, and recaptured at each site.

(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)
Cease grazing on grassland to allow early succession

A replicated, site comparison study in 2007 in a grassland and woodland reserve in the Czech Republic (Slamova et al. 2013) found that temporarily abandoned grasslands had a higher abundance of Scotch argus Erebia aethiops than grasslands managed by sheep and goat grazing. On temporarily abandoned grasslands, the abundance of Scotch argus males (19 individuals/ha) and females (13 individuals/ha) was higher than on grazed grasslands (males: 7; females: 4 individuals/ha). The abundance of Scotch argus was also lower on occasionally mown (males: 9; females: 5 individuals/ha) and intensively mown (males: 3; females: 2 individuals/ha) grasslands. Within a 55-ha reserve, 27 grasslands (128–6,072 m²) were either temporarily abandoned, or managed by sheep and goat grazing, occasional mowing or intensive mowing. On 33 days from July–August 2007, butterflies were caught, individually marked, and recaptured at each site.

(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)