Butterfly diversity in Vorarlberg at risk – University of Innsbruck
There are over 2500 species of butterflies in Vorarlberg. Half of them are currently endangered, as an updated red list of “inatura” shows. Johannes Rüdisser from the Institute of Ecology was in charge of monitoring the butterflies. The results were presented in a press conference on May 16, 2022.
Around 20 years after the first edition, a comprehensive revision now examines the degree of endangerment of all native butterflies, makes statements about the causes of their endangerment and gives recommendations for the preservation of this group of insects. To die “inatura – experience nature show Dornbirn“ is legally commissioned with the creation of the Red Hearing. 2501 butterfly species have been documented in Vorarlberg. Although Vorarlberg is Austria’s second smallest federal state in terms of area, its geographical features mean that it has a remarkable variety of different habitats. Butterflies are found in almost all of these habitats. However, the diversity of species is in decline: Based on almost 170,000 individual observations from all over the state, all butterfly species were analyzed by experts under the direction of Dr. Peter Huemer, Head of the natural science collections of the Tyrolean state museums, reassessed according to their occurrence and frequency in degree of danger. The results are worrying. Less than half of the recorded butterflies, 1121 species to be precise, are at little or no endangered. For 1131 species, the scale ranges from “extinct” to “endangered” to “endangered”, the details of about 250 species could not be set up due to lack of data or they are non-native butterflies.
The reasons for this dramatic situation are manifold. The abandonment of traditional management methods for meadows and pastures, intensification of land use, increased input of pollutants, soil sealing and climate change are creating new environmental conditions and thus new threats. In Vorarlberg, this decline in biodiversity has been scientifically documented for a good 20 years through the implementation of Red Lists. Especially with the butterflies, a long observation time can be used. They have been used in Vorarlberg for more than 100 years. For two years, lay researchers have been working together with experts as part of the “Frequent butterflies: butterfly monitoring“under the direction of biodiversity researcher Dr. Johannes Rüdisser from the Institute of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck studied the occurrence of native butterflies. The data from this monitoring is included as an important contribution to the newly published Red List.
So far, there is hardly any reliable data on the development of insect populations in Austria, since there is no corresponding monitoring or it is limited exclusively to cultivated landscapes. Systematic monitoring has only been carried out for the butterfly group in Tyrol since 2017 and in Vorarlberg since 2020. This is made possible by the “Multiple Butterflies: Butterfly Monitoring” system developed at the Institute for Ecology at the University of Innsbruck under the direction of Johannes Rüdisser. “Red lists and the systematic monitoring of different species are the two most important complementary tools for monitoring biodiversity. Red lists document the ongoing erosion of biodiversity. Today, nature and biodiversity protection is not just about protecting one or a rare species, but about preserving biodiversity as a whole. A comprehensive protection of biodiversity is of essential importance, not least for the preservation of the quality of life of humans”, emphasizes Johannes Rüdisser.
Red lists were originally intended to draw attention to the impending loss of species, so they quickly became an obvious basis for decision-making for practical nature conservation. Vorarlberg is the only federal state in Austria that has laid down the creation of the Red Lists by law. The “inatura – Erlebnis Naturschau Dornbirn” was commissioned as the central documentation center for nature in Vorarlberg in the nature conservation ordinance with the creation and publication of these red lists. “Re-issuing a Red List is a lengthy process. First, historical and current data on the respective animal, fungus or plant species must be evaluated. In the Vorarlbergs concerned, in which we still have too little distribution data, & additional research work is carried out in advance. Initiating, organizing and directing all of this is our job,” says Anette Herburger, team leader in the inatura research department.
“The state of Vorarlberg is the only federal state in Austria that has anchored the creation of red lists in its nature conservation law. That means: We have legally required important alarm systems that give us direct feedback on which species are threatened with extinction in Vorarlberg. In order to counteract the extinction of species, we need far-reaching climate, environmental and nature protection and, above all, a change in our behavior: soil sealing, intensive agriculture, climatic change, etc. destroy habitats. The climate catastrophe affects not only us humans, but also the plants and animals in our environment. They are all subject to a high level of pressure to adapt. If we don’t do anything, we’ll soon be on this list, too,” said Provincial Councilor Daniel Zadra.
(natural/red)