D3126: Habitat and resource use in Oregon silverspot butterfly: Analyzing 2021 field data to contribute to conservation planning for a threatened butterfly

Endangered butterfly species face increasing difficulties with habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation. To address these, understanding the habitat and resource use of adult butterflies is fundamental in the planning and development of restoration projects. WSU Vancouver undergraduate Bree Sheffield spent the summer of 2021 assisting Dr. Erica Henry of the WSU Vancouver Conservation Biology Lab in a mark-recapture study of Oregon silverspot butterflies (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) at the Oregon coast. Data relative to population dynamics and habitat use were collected in Avenza maps to record location and a photo of 1 m2 of the vegetation in which each butterfly was caught/seen. Analysis of the over 900 photos of silverspot habitat collected during the study will aid in addressing three focal questions 1) What are the preferred nectar sources for Oregon silverspot butterflies? 2) How does habitat and resource use differ between sexes? And 3) how does resource use change over the season? ImageJ will be used to construct a point intercept method to identify ground coverage and quantify habitat use by sex, nectar preferences, behavioral differences between sexes, and sex distribution. The information derived from the analyses of the 2021 field season will provide valuable insight that will be shared with US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Oregon State Parks and other partner agencies and will contribute to next steps to plan for future conservation efforts for Oregon silverspot butterflies.