Effects of herbivory by a translocated butterfly on plant size and seed set of Lonicera involucrata

Assisted migration consists of the introduction of a species to previously inhabited areas or to new suitable regions. Such introductions have been touted as a viable tool for conserving earth's biodiversity. However, both the likely success of assisted migrations and the impacts on local communities are hotly debated. Empirical data on the local impacts of assisted migration are particularly lacking. We examined the short and long time-scale effects of herbivory on Lonicera involucrata (Richards) Banks ex. Spreng (Caprifoliaceae) after an introduction of Euphydryas gillettii Barnes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Melitaeini) to Gunnison County, Colorado via an assisted migration in 1977. The plant is the primary larval hostplant for the butterfly. We quantified plant seed production, plant survival, and population stage structure in two sets of observational experiments. We found that herbivory by E. gillettii increased L. involucrata reproduction on an annual time scale, independent of pla..., Euphydryas gillettii was introduced to a 1.75 ha site at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gunnison County, Colorado USA (38°57′5” N, 106°59′6” W, 2912 m asl) in 1977 from Granite Creek, Wyoming USA (43°41’42” N, 110° 26’55” W, 2130 m asl) (Holdren & Ehrlich, 1981). The introduction site is south of the native range. 
The short-term effects of E. gillettii herbivory on L. involucrata were studies at the original butterfly introduction site (“Main”) at RMBL (Holdren and Ehrlich 1981) and a 0.75ha site (“Avalanche”), located 0.6 km southeast of Main. Avalanche was naturally colonized by the butterfly in 2002 (Boggs et al., 2006). We marked 78 L. involucrata individuals in Main and 9 plants in Avalanche with forestry flagging and aluminum metal tags. For each plant, we recorded the number of E. gillettii larval webs present in early September 2004 as the larvae were entering diapause, along with evidence of herbivory by animals other than E. gillettii. In 2004, we reco..., , # Effects of herbivory by a translocated butterfly on plant size and seed set of Lonicera involucrata

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sn02v6xdb](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sn02v6xdb)

There are two files. The first contains the 2004/2005 data, and the second contains the 2011 data. Data from the 2004/5 set were used to evaluate the short-term effects of the presence of the introduced butterfly *Euphydryas gillettii* on the reproduction of its larval hostplant *Lonicera involucrata*. Data from the 2011 set included sites with and without the butterfly and were used to evaluate the long-term effects of the butterfly on plant population size structure.

Data included in the 2004/2005 set include: plant identification #, # seeds produced in 2004 and 2005, plant volume in 2004 and 2005, total live meristems, sun exposure, presence of spruce, soil moisture, and # of larval webs in 2004

Data included in the 2011 set include butterfly presence/absence, site, subsite, plant identification ...