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Persistent Identifier
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perma:LIST.ZW9YFO |
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Publication Date
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2026-07-06 |
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Title
| The Interplay of Climate Change, Urbanisation, and Species Traits Shapes European Butterfly Population Trends [* Cross-Reference *] |
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Other Identifier
| https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70204
SCOPUS_ID:105029600496 |
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Author
| Colom, Pau (Universitat de Barcelona, Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio)) - ORCID: 0000-0003-0309-8886
Tejeda, Ashley (Universitat de Barcelona, Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio)) - ORCID: 0000-0001-9231-0193
Bonelli, Simona (Università degli Studi di Torino) - ORCID: 0000-0001-5185-8136
Fontaine, Benoît (Centre d'Écologie et des Sciences de la Conservation) - ORCID: 0000-0002-1017-5643
Kuussaari, Mikko (Suomen Ympäristökeskus) - ORCID: 0000-0003-0264-9316
Maes, Dirk (Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Brussels, Radboud Universiteit) - ORCID: 0000-0002-7947-3788
Mestdagh, Xavier (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology) - ORCID: 0000-0001-7270-8997
Munguira, Miguel L. (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) - ORCID: 0000-0002-1554-4380
Musche, Martin (Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung) - ORCID: 0000-0002-9999-0838
Pettersson, Lars B. (Lunds Universitet) - ORCID: 0000-0001-5745-508X
Roy, David (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, University of Exeter) - ORCID: 0000-0002-5147-0331
Rüdisser, Johannes (Universität Innsbruck) - ORCID: 0000-0001-6498-7068
Šašić, Martina (Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej) - ORCID: 0000-0002-0612-5619
Schmucki, Reto (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) - ORCID: 0000-0003-3064-7553
Stefanescu, Constanti (Natural Sciences Museum of Granollers, Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF-CERCA)) - ORCID: 0000-0001-8952-7869
Titeux, Nicolas (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology) - ORCID: 0000-0002-7719-7417
Settele, Josef (Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung, German Society for the Conservation of Butterflies and Moths (GfS – Gesellschaft für Schmetterlingsschutz), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig) - ORCID: 0000-0002-8624-4983
van Swaay, Chris (Dutch Butterfly Conservation) - ORCID: 0000-0003-0927-2216
Gordillo, Javier (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF-CERCA)) - ORCID: 0000-0001-5389-6160
Melero, Yolanda (Universitat de Barcelona, Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF-CERCA)) - ORCID: 0000-0002-4337-1448 |
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Point of Contact
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Use email button above to contact.
LIST RDS (LIST) |
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Description
| Aim: To examine how butterfly population trends respond to climate change and urbanisation at a continental scale, and whether responses differ between urban and rural environments. Location: 869 sites across 12 European countries, spanning six bioclimatic zones. Time Period: 1976–2021. Major Taxa Studied: Butterflies (Lepidoptera). Methods: We analysed long-term monitoring data from > 8400 populations of 145 species representing a wide range of ecological and life-history traits. Population trends were modelled in relation to climate variables (temperature, precipitation and aridity), urbanisation (built-up surface), and their interactions with urban context (urban vs. rural) and species traits (trophic specialisation, body size, reproductive rate and thermal adaptation). Results: Climate warming and aridification were consistently linked to population declines in both rural and urban contexts, while precipitation effects varied by location and species. Urbanisation alone did not predict trends, but the urban–rural context strongly modulated species' responses to warming, indicating potential synergies between climate change and urbanisation. The stronger impact of warming in urban populations likely reflects elevated baseline temperatures and reduced habitat suitability and connectivity in urban landscapes, limiting thermal buffering. Species with colder thermal niches and lower reproductive rates were most vulnerable to warming, as warming exceeds the thermal optima of cold-adapted species and lower reproductive rates limit their capacity to buffer climate-driven population declines. Under aridification, which can reduce host-plant availability, trophic specialists declined more in urban areas, whereas generalists unexpectedly declined more in rural sites, suggesting context-dependent constraints under increasing water limitation. Main Conclusions: Our findings highlight the complex interplay between climate change, urban context, and species traits in driving population dynamics. Importantly, our results suggest that urbanisation generally amplifies the negative impact of climate change on insect population trends. (2026-02-01)
***This entry has been automatically imported via Infodoc(ASO) CSV by LIST harvest scripts. Please refer to https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70204 for the original and latest version of the dataset and data downloads*** (2026-06-04) |
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Subject
| Earth and Environmental Sciences |
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Keyword
| aridification
climate warming
climatic niche
insect decline
population declines
precipitation trends
reproductive rate
trophic specialisation |
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Funding Information
| Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales |
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Deposit Date
| 2026-02-01 |
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Data Type
| Article |
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Data Source
| Global Ecology and Biogeography; ISSN: 1466822X, eISSN: 14668238, vol. 35, n° 2, 2026 |