Hindawi Publishing Corporation Dataset Papers in Science Volume 2014, Article ID 176471, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/176471 Dataset Paper New Distributional Data of Butterflies in the Middle of the Mediterranean Basin: An Area Very Sensitive to Expected Climate Change Stefano Scalercio Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Unita` di Ricerca per la Selvicoltura in Ambiente Mediterraneo, Contrada Li Rocchi-Vermicelli, Rende, 87036 Cosenza, Italy Correspondence should be addressed to Stefano Scalercio; [email protected] Received 6 November 2013; Accepted 6 March 2014; Published 12 May 2014 Academic Editors: P. Nowicki, B. Qian, and B. Schatz Copyright © 2014 Stefano Scalercio. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Butterflies are known to be very sensitive to environmental changes. Species distribution is modified by climate warming with latitudinal and altitudinal range shifts, but also environmental perturbations modify abundance and species composition of communities. Changes can be detected and described when large datasets are available, but unfortunately only for few Mediterranean countries they were created. The butterfly fauna of the Mediterranean Basin is very sensitive to climate warming and there is an urgent need of large datasets to investigate and mitigate risks such as local extinctions or new pest outbreaks. The fauna of Calabria, the southernmost region of peninsular Italy, is composed also of European species having here their southern range. The aim of this dataset paper is to increase and update the knowledge of butterfly distribution in a region very sensitive to climate warming that can become an early-warning area. 1. Introduction only few data are available for southern Italy, an area with a fauna very sensitive to climate changes [5]. In order to Large and updated datasets are fundamental tools for investi- detect changes, it is important to investigate the distribution gating the effects of climatic changes and environmental of both common and rare species, but bibliographic sources perturbations on biodiversity, mainly of sensitive taxa such only rarely provide punctual and useful data of the former as butterflies [1]. Butterflies are known to react to climate causing an important lack of information. Many data can warming with latitudinal and altitudinal range shifts2 [ ], but be collected within private and public collections. This is an these changes are detectable only if distributional datasets expensive procedure, but interesting data can be obtained on are available. In Europe, some countries (Belgium, Finland, the past distribution of common species. Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, In Italy, the first attempt toward a knowledge of the and UK) adopted a standardized butterfly monitoring scheme distribution of the fauna at a national scale is represented by from several years [3],butintheMediterraneanareasonlythe the Checklist of the Italian Fauna [6], with the distribution Catalan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (http://www.cata- of species only generalized to large areas (North, South, Sar- lanbms.org/) and the Suivi Temporel des Rhopaloceres` dinia, and Sicily). Successively, the project CKmap supported de France (http://vigienature.mnhn.fr/page/suivi-temporel- the mapping of 10.000 species of animals at a national level des-rhopaloceres-de-france)areworking. in a UTM grid square [7]. Among them, the distribution of Models of species distribution in face of changes due to all butterflies species known for Italy was mapped and the climate warming [4]arebasedontheactualdistributionof localities georeferenced [8]. These localities were obtained species and future scenarios can be distorted when a model from private and public collections, from private datasets, and is based on few data. The southern range of the European from bibliographic resources, but very few were collected in distribution of butterflies is largely underinvestigated and the southern regions, where large territories are not explored. 2 Dataset Papers in Science The localities were individuated by two toponyms: the 50 first is the most precise and the second is the most easily recognizable on maps. Latitude and longitude were provided 40 for all localities and grouped in territorial units with similar 1 ecological, geomorphological, and biogeographic features in 1000 km 30 9 order to facilitate the individuation of areas that need further 7 0102030 investigations. The territorial units individuated are nine [11]: Pollino-Orsomarso Mountains, Catena Costiera Moun- 2 tains, Sila Mountains, Marchesato Area, Serre Mountains, Aspromonte Mountains, Crati Valley, Tyrrhenian Coast, and 3 4 Ionian Coast (Figure 1). Data of localities are summarized in Table 1. Species lists were compiled as shown in Dataset Items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (Tables). Tyrrhenian Sea 3. Dataset Description Ionian Sea The dataset associated with this Dataset Paper consists of 5 8 5 items which are described as follows. Dataset Item 1 (Table). Species list for the different localities of the Pollino-Orsomarso Mountains. Data presented in this (km) table were based on the presence (1) or absence (0) of a 6 050 butterfly species. Column 1: Family Column 2: Species Figure 1: Study area. It is located in the middle of the Mediter- Column 3: Bosco Pollinello ranean Basin. Territorial units are indicated as follows: 1: Pollino- OrsomarsoMountains;2:CatenaCostieraMountains;3:SilaMoun- Column 4: Campo Tenese tains; 4: Marchesato Area; 5: Serre Mountains; 6: Aspromonte Column 5: Castrovillari Mountains; 7: Crati Valley; 8: Tyrrhenian Coast; 9: Ionian Coast. Column 6: Civita Column 7: Cozzo del Pellegrino Column 8: Fagosa The Calabria is the southernmost region of Italian Penin- sula, located in the middle of the Mediterranean Basin. The Column 9: Fiume Argentino regional fauna includes European species, having here their Column 10: La Calvia southern range limit, particularly sensitive to the risk of local Column 11: Monte Moschereto extinctions as a consequence of the expected climate change. Column 12: Monte Palanuda Papers devoted to the Calabrian fauna of Lepidoptera are very scarce and only in last few decades the studies were Column 13: Monte Pollino intensified5 [ , 9, 10]. Anyway, data are largely insufficient to Column 14: Orsomarso study changes on a regional scale and data are strictly needed Column 15: Piani del Pollino for detecting and mitigating risks such as local extinctions or Column 16: Papasidero new pest outbreaks. Theaimofthisdatasetpaperistoprovidenewdistribu- Column 17: Petrosa tional data and georeferenced datasets useful for the study Column 18: Serra del Prete of dynamics linked to changes on large spatial and temporal Column 19: Serra Dolcedorme scales in the Mediterranean Basin, a region very sensitive to Column 20: Timpa San Lorenzo climate changes that can become an early-warning area [5]. Dataset Item 2 (Table). Species list for the different localities 2. Methodology of the Catena Costiera Mountains. Data presented in this In this dataset paper, all unpublished records of butterflies table were based on the presence (1) or absence (0) of a of the author are reported. Data were collected during the butterfly species. years 2005–2012, mainly in the Cosenza Province, covering Column 1: Family all the seasons of butterflies’ activity. Species are named according to the online database of the European Fauna Column 2: Species (http://www.faunaeur.org/). Column 3: Acquafredda Dataset Papers in Science 3 E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E 11 31 13 15 17 23 11 17 21 23 03 35 55 15 19 50 25 44 21 24 40 14 06 41 31 53 02 58 21 56 30 24 38 27 22 22 05 47 00 33 09 48 5 11 11 21 11 13 13 14 05 13 10 11 15 23 13 15 15 17 15 08 13 07 14 18 08 08 10 14 14 45 0 14 12 24 56 07 06 56 04 54 34 08 06 ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ 16 N16 N16 N N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N15 N16 N16 N16 N15 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N15 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N17 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 N16 11 31 17 18 13 10 35 52 10 39 31 18 17 21 58 50 45 29 07 54 50 44 21 50 00 33 48 39 57 43 24 36 27 19 38 30 09 20 48 06 09 04 11 17 15 19 10 16 20 11 11 01 12 15 17 07 23 16 14 09 21 12 10 10 13 58 09 40 10 41 05 23 29 09 37 06 45 36 26 07 20 07 24 06 ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ ∘ Table 1: Description of collecting localities. Crotone Ionian Coast 15 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 800 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 540 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 1540 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 590 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 460 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 810 39 Cosenza Ionian Coast 30 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 270 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 625 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 1080 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 480 39 Cosenza Crati Valley 200 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 985 39 Cosenza Crati Valley 250 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 320 39 Cosenza Crati Valley 60 39 Cosenza Catena Costiera Mountains 1000 39 Cosenza Crati Valley 230