Recovery of indigenous butterfly community following control of invasive alien plants in a tropical island's wet forests
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Published source details
Florens F.B.V., Mauremootoo J.R., Fowler S.V., Winder L. & Baider C. (2010) Recovery of indigenous butterfly community following control of invasive alien plants in a tropical island's wet forests. Biodiversity and Conservation, 19, 3835-3848.
Published source details Florens F.B.V., Mauremootoo J.R., Fowler S.V., Winder L. & Baider C. (2010) Recovery of indigenous butterfly community following control of invasive alien plants in a tropical island's wet forests. Biodiversity and Conservation, 19, 3835-3848.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Remove or control non-native or problematic plants Action Link |
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Remove, control or exclude vertebrate herbivores Action Link |
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Remove or control non-native or problematic plants
A replicated, paired, site comparison study in 1998 in eight lowland forest sites in Mauritius (Florens et al. 2010) found that areas where invasive plants had been removed, together with fencing to exclude non-native pigs and deer, had a higher abundance and species richness of butterflies than sites where invasive species control had not been conducted. In sites where invasive plants had been removed and exclusion fencing installed, both the abundance (5.9 individuals/100 m) and species richness (9 species) of native butterflies was higher than in sites where no weed removal or fence installation had been conducted (abundance: 0.3 individuals/100 m; richness: 3 species). From 1986–1996, eight Conservation Management Areas (0.4–6.0 ha) were fenced to try to exclude non-native pigs and deer, and were regularly hand-weeded (1–3 times/year) to remove invasive plants, primarily strawberry guava Psidium cattleianum, rose apple Syzygium jambos, Ossaea marginata and Christmas berry Ardisia crenata. From April–June 1998, butterflies were surveyed on point counts along four to six 100-m transects in each weeded plot and in adjacent, non-weeded plots with an equivalent number of native canopy trees.
(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)
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Remove, control or exclude vertebrate herbivores
A replicated, paired, site comparison study in 1998 in eight lowland forest sites in Mauritius (Florens et al. 2010) found that areas which were fenced to exclude non-native pigs and deer, together with removal of non-native plants, had a higher abundance and species richness of butterflies than unfenced sites where invasive species control had not been conducted. In fenced sites where invasive plants had been removed, both the abundance (5.9 individuals/100 m) and species richness (9 species) of native butterflies was higher than in unfenced sites where no weed removal had been conducted (abundance: 0.3 individuals/100 m; richness: 3 species). From 1986–1996, eight Conservation Management Areas (0.4–6.0 ha) were fenced to exclude non-native pigs and deer, and were regularly hand-weeded (1–3 times/year) to remove invasive plants, primarily strawberry guava Psidium cattleianum, rose apple Syzygium jambos, Ossaea marginata and Christmas berry Ardisia crenata. From April–June 1998, butterflies were surveyed on point counts along four to six 100-m transects in each weeded plot and in adjacent, non-weeded plots with an equivalent number of native canopy trees.
(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)
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