Jacquelyn M. Strager, Charles B. Yuill, and Petra Bohall Wood
West Virginia Gap Analysis Project
West Virginia Cooperative
Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Biological Resources Division
U.S. Geological Survey
Natural Resource Analysis Center
College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences
West Virginia University
Components of Gap Analysis for Butterflies in West Virginia:
As part of the West Virginia Gap Analysis Project, we analyzed the distribution of 126 native butterfly species and their predicted habitats within West Virginia. Gap Analysis is a coarse-filter approach used to analyze the distribution of elements of biodiversity (wildlife species and their habitats) in relationship to lands managed for conservation purposes (Scott et al., 1993). While the traditional Gap Analysis methods focus on terrestrial vertebrates, we chose to include butterflies in our state Gap project. Butterfly diversity is important to terrestrial ecosystems, since butterflies form important food web links as both herbivores and as food sources for small mammals and birds.
Locations of predicted habitat were classified by level of biodiversity protection to provide a measure of the conservation status of West Virginia’s butterfly taxa. Most West Virginia butterflies prefer open or shrub habitats, which are not as commonly found in West Virginia’s conservation lands as forested habitats. “Gaps” or possible conservation priorities are identified as those species with a relatively low amount of their predicted habitat found within current conservation lands.
Reference: Scott et al., 1993. Gap analysis: A geographic approach to protection of biological diversity. Wildlife Monographs 123.
Components of Gap Analysis for Butterfly Species:
Related Imagery (click on thumbnail for full-size
image):
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Land cover data for WV-GAP wildlife habitat modeling |
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Hexagon range map example for Diana (Speyeria diana), a brush-footed butterfly |
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Predicted distribution model for Diana |
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Land stewardship within predicted habitat for Diana |
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Land management status within predicted habitat for Diana |
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Species richness of butterflies in West Virginia |
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Photo of Northern Crescent courtesy of J.B. Churchill