Apply ecological compensation for developments

Overall effectiveness category Awaiting assessment
Number of studies: 1
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Background information and definitions

Development projects destroy or disturb natural habitats, displacing animals living there. Ecological compensation for developments aims to create new habitat, or improve the condition of existing habitat, outside of the development area, to replace that which is lost (Kleintjes et al. 2003). This intervention tests whether these compensation areas are effective for butterflies and moths.

^{Kleintjes P.K., Sporrong J.M., Raebel C.A. & Thon S.F. (2003) Habitat type conservation and restoration for the Karner blue butterfly: a case study from Wisconsin. Ecological Restoration, 21, 107–115.}

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects of on butterflies and moths of applying ecological compensation for developments. This study was in the USA.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

BEHAVIOUR (1 STUDY)

Use (1 study): A site comparison study in the USA reported that an area of lupines transplanted from a development site was used by a similar number of Karner blue butterflies to an area with no transplanted lupines.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A site comparison study in 1997–2001 in a shrubland in Wisconsin, USA (Kleintjes et al. 2003) reported that an area containing lupine Lupinus perennis transplanted from a development site was used by a similar number of Karner blue butterflies Lycaeides melissa samuelis as an area with no transplanted lupines. Results were not tested for statistical significance. One–four years after restoration, 4–8 Karner blue butterflies/year were recorded in an area with transplanted lupines, compared to 1–8 butterflies/year in an area without transplanted lupines. In June 1997, seventy-five plugs of lupine (0.76-m diameter, 1.2-m-deep) were removed from a construction area and planted in a 5 × 15 grid covering a 324-m² area cleared of young pine trees. In November 1997, the surrounding 641 m² was hand-seeded with a dry sand prairie seed mix (40% grasses, 50% non-woody broadleaved plants (forbs), 10% scarified lupine seed) at 22.6 lbs/ha. An adjacent 0.8-ha area, where the topsoil had been temporarily removed, was seeded with the same mix. In October 1999–2001, two 0.2-ha patches in each of the transplanted and seeded areas were cut to a height of 16 cm each year. From 1998–2001, Karner blue butterflies were surveyed 5–6 times/year (covering both flight periods) on a 103-m transect through the transplanted and seeded area, and a 570-m transect through the seeded non-transplanted area. The highest number of butterflies counted on a single date in each flight period at each site was used as the abundance for that year.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Kleintjes P.K., Sporrong J.M., Raebel C.A. & Thon S.F. (2003) Habitat type conservation and restoration for the Karner blue butterfly: A case study from Wisconsin. Ecological Restoration, 21, 107-115.

Please cite as:

Bladon A.J., Smith R.K. & Sutherland W.J. (2022) Butterfly and Moth Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for butterflies and moths. Conservation Evidence Series Synopsis. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

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This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Butterfly and Moth Conservation

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