Microclimatic buffering and resource‐based habitat in a glacial relict butterfly: significance for conservation under climate change

Published source details Turlure C., Choutt J., Baguette M. & Van Dyck H. (2010) Microclimatic buffering and resource‐based habitat in a glacial relict butterfly: significance for conservation under climate change. Global Change Biology, 16, 1883-1893.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Rear declining species in captivity Action Link

Rear declining species in captivity

A replicated, controlled study (years not given) in a laboratory in Belgium (Turlure et al 2010) found that cranberry fritillary Boloria aquilonaris caterpillars reared at 20 °C had higher survival to pupation than those reared at 25 °C, but there was no effect on survival of the amount of sphagnum moss Sphagnum spp. that caterpillars were reared with. Ninety percent of 68 cranberry fritillary caterpillars kept at 20 °C survived to become pupae, compared to 65% of 68 kept at 25 °C. However, the number of pieces of sphagnum moss that caterpillars were kept with did not significantly affect survival (1 piece = 70–94% survival, 6 pieces = 60–85%). One-hundred-and-thirty-six first, second and third instar wild-collected caterpillars were kept individually in petri dishes with small cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccus leaves. All caterpillars were kept at 10 °C at night, but half were kept at 20 °C during the day, and half at 25 °C. Within each temperature regime, half were kept with one piece of sphagnum moss and half with six pieces. This was primarily done to manipulate humidity, since the enclosures with one piece of sphagnum moss were less humid than those with six pieces. Every two days the petri dishes were cleaned and small cranberry leaves and sphagnum moss pieces were replaced. Survival to pupation was recorded.

(Summarised by: Eleanor Bladon)