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The Silver- Studded Blue Butterfly) on Studland Peninsula? Is it all about the ants? What are the factors influencing the presence of Plebejus argus (the Silver- studded Blue butterfly) on Studland Peninsula? Submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of Masters by Research LORRAINE MUNNS A Report for The Cyril Diver Project National Trust MARCH 2017 Acknowledgements With thanks to The Cyril Diver Project which inspired and funded the project, particularly David Brown and Michelle Brown, for their encouragement and help with the identification of species. I would also like to thank my supervisory team, Dr A. Diaz and Dr P. Gillingham for their support and guidance, my examiners, Professor T. Shreeve and Dr K. Hodder for their suggestions and Steve Smith (IT Skills Analyst at BU) for his invaluable help with the statistical analysis of data. A special acknowledgement must also be extended to my partner Andy for his IT expertise, infinite patience and continuous support throughout the research process. Page 2 of 170 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 15 1.1 The Background to the project ..................................................................... 15 The Cyril Diver Project .................................................................................... 15 The geology of Studland Peninsula ................................................................ 17 The habitats at Studland Heath ...................................................................... 17 Studland Heath and Plebejus argus L. (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) ................. 19 2 THE AIMS OF THE RESEARCH AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ....... 21 2.1 The threats to P. argus population persistence ............................................. 21 2.2 Gaps in Current Research on the habitat requirements of P. argus ............... 22 2.3 Aim and research questions ......................................................................... 22 3 LITERATURE REVIEW: THE ECOLOGY OF P. ARGUS AND HEATHLAND ANTS ................................................................................ 25 3.1 The morphology of P. argus ......................................................................... 25 The life history of P. argus .............................................................................. 26 3.1.1.1 Imagines .......................................................................................................... 26 3.1.1.2 Eggs, Larvae and Pupae .................................................................................. 27 The symbiotic relationship between P. argus larvae/pupae with Lasius spp. 28 3.2 Ant Ecology ................................................................................................. 29 Physical Structure and Life cycle of Ants ........................................................ 29 Temperature ................................................................................................... 30 Nesting and its impact on soil components ................................................... 31 Foraging Behaviour ......................................................................................... 31 Dietary Requirements and Honeydew ........................................................... 32 3.3 The Ecology of Individual Species ................................................................. 33 Lasius niger (Linnaeus 1758)........................................................................... 33 Lasius alienus .................................................................................................. 34 Formica rufa (Linnaeus 1761) ......................................................................... 35 Formica fusca (Linnaeus 1758) ....................................................................... 36 Myrmicinae ..................................................................................................... 37 3.3.5.1 Myrmica scabrinodis (Nylander 1846) ........................................................... 37 3.3.5.2 Myrmica ruginodis (Nylander 1846) ............................................................... 38 4 RESEARCH METHODS ............................................................... 39 4.1 Sample Sites ................................................................................................ 39 4.2 The recording of Plebejus argus ................................................................... 42 4.3 Group membership...................................................................................... 42 4.4 Laboratory Analysis on soil samples ............................................................. 44 Page 3 of 170 4.5 Ant Collection .............................................................................................. 44 4.6 Statistical Tests ............................................................................................ 45 5 RESULTS ................................................................................... 46 5.1 What was the distribution of P. argus across Studland peninsula? ................ 46 5.2 What factors are driving the distribution of P. argus across the peninsula? .. 49 How important is vegetation? ........................................................................ 49 Which resources are important to P. argus? .................................................. 51 How important are ants in driving P. argus abundance and distribution? .... 61 5.3 Do ants have specific habitat requirements? ................................................ 62 What are the vegetation requirements of L. niger? ....................................... 65 F. rufa and vegetation requirements.............................................................. 73 L. alienus and F. fusca with Vegetation Requirements .................................. 79 Myrmica species and Vegetation Requirements ............................................ 81 5.3.4.1 M. scabrinodis ................................................................................................ 81 5.3.4.2 M. ruginodis .................................................................................................... 84 How important are soil components in driving P. argus abundance and distribution? .................................................................................................................... 88 5.4 Does soil depth at 10 cm influence P. argus distribution? ............................. 91 6 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS ................................................... 93 6.1 What was the distribution of P. argus across the peninsula? ........................ 93 6.2 What is driving the distribution of P. argus? ................................................. 95 Which resources are important? .................................................................... 95 6.2.1.1 The relationship between P. argus and E. tetralix.......................................... 95 6.2.1.2 The relationship between P. argus and L. niger ............................................. 98 6.2.1.3 Past research on the association between P. argus and L. niger ................... 98 6.2.1.4 The relationship between P. argus, E. tetralix and L. niger .......................... 100 6.2.1.5 Shrub, tree and grass cover .......................................................................... 103 6.3 Ant Abundance and Habitat Requirements ................................................ 104 Does L. niger have habitat requirements which could be driving the distribution of P. argus? ................................................................................................ 104 6.3.1.1 The habitat requirements of L. niger ............................................................ 105 6.3.1.2 Changes in the distribution of L. niger ......................................................... 106 6.4 Interspecific competition ........................................................................... 110 F. rufa habitat requirements ........................................................................ 110 6.4.1.1 Changes in the distribution of F. rufa ........................................................... 110 Interspecific completion between F. rufa and L. niger................................. 113 What is influencing the distribution of L. niger? .......................................... 116 The impact of F. fusca on L. niger distribution ............................................. 118 6.4.4.1 The impact of L. alienus, M. scabrinodis and M. ruginodis on the distribution of L. niger 122 6.5 How important are soil components to the distribution of P. argus? .......... 123 Page 4 of 170 The relationship between P. argus with soil chemistry and resources ........ 123 6.5.1.1 Soil Chemistry ............................................................................................... 123 6.6 How has the distribution of P. argus changed since the 1930s? .................. 125 The possible loss of P. argus from Twelve Acre Wood, Wood Heath and Aspen Wood (plots 21-25) ....................................................................................................... 128 7 CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 131 7.1 The Importance of Conservation Management Strategies .......................... 131 Successional processes and the threat to P. argus and L. niger ................... 131 Creating a disturbance .................................................................................. 132 7.1.2.1
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