Do Butterfly Activity Data from Mark-Recapture Surveys Reflect Temporal Patterns?

Temporal patterns in butterfly behavior should reflect diurnal, seasonal and population-level changes in mate availability. Investment into mating should peak at times when potential mates are at a maximum; at other times, individuals should save energy and focus on maintenance activities. To explor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of insect behavior 2018-07, Vol.31 (4), p.385-401
Main Authors: Vlašánek, Petr, Fric, Zdeněk Faltýnek, Zimmermann, Kamil, Novotný, David, Čížek, Oldřich, Klečková, Irena, Vrba, Pavel, Kadlec, Tomáš, Konvička, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Animal Ecology
Animal reproduction
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Butterflies & moths
Data processing
Datasets
Demography
Diurnal
Energy conservation
Entomology
Evolutionary Biology
Females
Life Sciences
Males
Mating
Mating behavior
Neurobiology
Ordination
Oviposition
Population
Population number
Seasons
Sex
Sex ratio
Sexes
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Summary:Temporal patterns in butterfly behavior should reflect diurnal, seasonal and population-level changes in mate availability. Investment into mating should peak at times when potential mates are at a maximum; at other times, individuals should save energy and focus on maintenance activities. To explore these assumptions, we re-analyzed mark-recapture data containing records of behavior for each handled individual: 15 species, 21 separate datasets, total of 20,828 activity records (13,223 males and 7605 females). We used ordination analysis, with activity categories as response variables and controls for dataset identity and weather effects. Across species, basking and nectaring were prevailing morning activities, while mating peaked at afternoons. With the progressing season, males switched from maintenance behavior to mating activities, whereas opposite trend applied to females. Density predictors (sex ratio, daily population size) revealed that mating concentrated to high densities of the opposite sex and that female oviposition, resting and nectaring increased under low density of males. Exploring mark-recapture data for studying behavioral patterns proved to be fruitful but cannot replace focused observations or experiments.
ISSN:0892-7553
1572-8889
DOI:10.1007/s10905-018-9686-9