Surveying butterfly populations of prairie restorations in South Louisiana

In this study our objective was to establish baseline abundance numbers of butterflies and to evaluate a monitoring system that can be used by persons with relatively little experience to assess changes in butterfly abundance. Because butterflies that depend on grasslands use flowering plants as nectar sources and a variety of plant species as larval host plants, nectar and pollen resources are described as well. Associated products: Asher, J., Warren, M., Fox, R., Harding, P., Jeffcoate, G., and Jeffcoate, S., 2001, The millennium atlas of butterflies in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 456 p., https://www.worldcat.org/title/millennium-atlas-of-butterflies-in-britain-and-ireland/oclc/45121710. Blair, R.B., 1999, Birds and butterflies along an urban gradient: surrogate taxa for assessing biodiversity? Ecological Applications, v. 9, no. 1, p. 164-170, https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(1999)009[0164:BABAAU]2.0.CO;2. Brown, K.S., 1997, Diversity, disturbance, and sustainable use of neotropical forests: insects as indicators for conservation monitoring: Journal of Insect Conservation, v. 1, no. 1, p. 25-42, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018422807610. Buchmann, S.L., and Nabhan, G.P., 1996, The pollination crisis: The Sciences, v. 36, no. 4, p. 22-27, https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2326-1951.1996.tb03254.x. Cane, J.H., and Tepedino, V.J., 2001, Causes and extent of declines among native North American invertebrate pollinators: detection, evidence, and consequences: Conservation Ecology, v. 5, no. 1, art. 1, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26271794. Fleishman, E., Jonsson, B.G., and Sjogren-Gulve, P., 2000, Focal species modeling for biodiversity conservation: Ecological Bulletins, v. 48, p. 85-99, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20113250. Grossman, D.H., Goodin, K.L., and Reuss, C.L., 1994, Rare plant communities of the conterminous United States: an initial survey: The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, 620 p., https://www.worldcat.org/title/rare-plant-communities-of-the-conterminous-united-states-an-initial-survey/oclc/32340895?referer=&ht=edition. Knopf, F.L., 1994, Avian assemblages on altered grasslands: Studies in Avian Biology, v. 15, p. 247-257, https://sora.unm.edu/139483. Kuhn, E., Feldmann, R., Thomas, J.A., and Settele, J., 2005, Studies on the Ecology and Conservation of Butterflies in Europe, Vol. 1: General Concepts and Case Studies: Pensoft, no. 52-53, https://www.worldcat.org/title/studies-on-the-ecology-and-conservation-of-butterflies-in-europe-volume-1-general-concepts-and-case-studies/oclc/228844669. Parmesan, C., Ryrholm, N., Stefanescu, C., Hill, J.K., Thomas, C.D., Descimon, H., Huntley, B., Kaila, L., Kullberg, J., Tammaru, T., Tennent, W.J., Thomas, J.A., and Warren, M., 1999, Poleward shifts in geographical ranges of butterfly species associated with regional warming: Nature, v. 399, p. 579-583, https://doi.org/10.1038/21181. Pollard, E., and Yates, T.J., 1993, Monitoring Butterflies for Ecology and Conservation: Springer, Netherlands, 274 p., https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9780412402203. Sauer, J.R., Hines, J.E., Fallon, J.E., Pardieck, K.L., Ziolkowski Jr., D.J., and Link, W.A., 2012, The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966-2011, Version 12.13.2011: USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/BBS_Results_and_Analysis_2011.html. Smeins, F.E., Diamond, D.D., and Hanselka, C.W., 1992, Coastal prairie in Coupland, R.T., ed., Natural Grasslands: Introduction and Western Hemisphere: Elsevier, Amsterdam, p. 269-290, https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19930760691. Swengel, S.R., Schlicht, D., Olsen, F., and Swengel, A.B., 2011, Declines of prairie butterflies in the midwestern USA: Journal of Insect Conservation, v. 15, no. 1-2, p. 327-339, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-010-9323-1. Swengel, A., and Swengel, S.R., 1999, Observations on prairie skippers (Oarisma poweshiek, Hesperia dacotae, H. Ottoe, H. leonardus pawnee, and Atrytone arogos iowa) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota during 1988-1997: The Great Lakes Entomologist, v. 32, no. 3, art. 5, p. 267-292, https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol32/iss3/5. Thomas, J.A., 2005, Monitoring change in the abundance and distribution of insects using butterflies and other indicator groups: Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B, v. 360, no. 1454, https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1585.