Meeting Abstract
Reintroduction of imperiled species has become a popular conservation strategy; rigorous monitoring of reintroduced organism is vital to assessing the outcomes of these efforts. The Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri), a federally endangered Lycaenid endemic to Florida, is the focus of an ongoing captive breeding and reintroduction project. Captively reared pupae and adult butterflies were released into large in-situ enclosures at two sites in the Florida Keys. Released individuals were monitored in order to estimate pupal survival, adult butterfly longevity, fecundity, and egg survival. In addition, a variety of environmental factors were measured at each site, including precipitation and vegetative characteristics. Successful establishment of reintroduced butterflies occurred quickly at one site, where individuals went through multiple generations without further intervention by researchers, while establishment did not occur at the second reintroduction site. Release of adult butterflies was associated with greater fecundity than for pupal reintroductions, likely due to mortality of pupae in the field. Adult butterfly longevity as well as fecundity were higher in field enclosures with greater cover of one larval host plant but not a second larval host plant, as well as higher overall plant cover. These results indicate that Miami blue butterfly may experience higher survivorship on one larval host plant versus the other, though a lab experiment indicated that larval survival was not significantly different between the two host plants. These results indicate that conservation efforts should include habitat restoration with larval host plants.
