High abundances of species in protected areas in parts of their geographic distributions colonized during a recent period of climatic change
-
Published source details
Gillingham P.K., Alison J., Roy D.B., Fox R. & Thomas C.D. (2015) High abundances of species in protected areas in parts of their geographic distributions colonized during a recent period of climatic change. Conservation Letters, 8, 97-106.
Published source details Gillingham P.K., Alison J., Roy D.B., Fox R. & Thomas C.D. (2015) High abundances of species in protected areas in parts of their geographic distributions colonized during a recent period of climatic change. Conservation Letters, 8, 97-106.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
| Action | Category | |
|---|---|---|
|
Legally protect habitat Action Link |
 |
-
Legally protect habitat
A replicated, site comparison study in 1995–2010 across the UK (Gillingham et al 2015) found that areas legally protected as Sites of Special Scientific Interest had a higher abundance of 53% of butterfly species than areas without legal protection. Thirty out of 57 species of butterfly were more abundant in protected areas than at unprotected sites. No species were significantly less abundant in protected areas than at unprotected sites. See paper for individual species results. Protected areas were defined as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, representing IUCN category IV protection for target species or habitats. From 1995–2010, butterflies were recorded by volunteers on a national recording scheme (“Butterflies for the New Millennium”). Only records with abundance information, recorded at 100 × 100-m resolution or finer, were included. Records were counted as inside a protected area if any part of the 100 × 100 m square was within a protected area.
(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)
)_2023.JPG)
