Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2012

Title: Citizen scientist data suggest widespread climate driven changes in North American butterfly communities
Primary Author: Greg Breed (Harvard Forest)
Additional Authors: Elizabeth Crone (Tufts University)
Abstract:
Climate warming is expected to change the distribution and abundance of plant and animal species. Range shifts have been detected in a number of European taxa, for which long term government supported survey data are available. In North America, such long-term data are rare. Observations made by â€œcitizen scientistsâ€', however, may be an excellent alternative to systematic surveys. We analyzed species lists from 19,779 trips made by amateur naturalists in Massachusetts between 1992 and 2010 to estimate changes in abundance of all species in the butterfly community. Population trajectories indicate increases of species near their northern range limits, and declines of species near their southern range limits. The results suggest a major, climate-induced, shift of North American butterflies, characterized by northward expansions of warm-adapted and retreat of cold-adapted butterfly species.
Research Category: Biodiversity Studies
Conservation and Management
Ecological Informatics and Modelling

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