Projecting the geographical range of butterflies in Japan under environmental changes based on species distribution model considering biotic interaction

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26740029
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental impact assessment
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (2015); The University of Tokyo (2014)
• Principal Investigator: SAITO MASAYUKI 東京農工大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 研究員 (90466003)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: チョウ / 寄主植物 / マクロスケール / 分布モデル / シナリオ分析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

For 22 butterfly species in Japan, I constructed the species distribution models (SDMs) considering climate, topography, land-use and the distribution of host plant species, and projected the future distribution under environmental change scenarios. Our models showed that climate is critical for the geographical range of Japanese butterflies. Also, land-use factors accounted for the distribution of some species. The contribution of the distribution of host plant species was high in 11 species. This indicates the importance of biotic interaction for SDM approach. The projection under environmental scenarios indicated that climate warming and land-use change affects both increase and decrease of range of butterfly species.

Free Research Field

景観生態学