Towards a functional resource-based concept for habitat: a butterfly biology viewpoint

The habitat is the basic unit for developments in life history, population dynamics, landscape ecology and conservation of organisms. It is frequently treated as a particulate, invariant and homogeneous entity (a patch). Here we examine the implications of using this concept of habitat in butterfly...

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Veröffentlicht in:Oikos 2003-08, Vol.102 (2), p.417-426
Hauptverfasser: Roger L. H. Dennis, Shreeve, Tim G., Van Dyck, Hans
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The habitat is the basic unit for developments in life history, population dynamics, landscape ecology and conservation of organisms. It is frequently treated as a particulate, invariant and homogeneous entity (a patch). Here we examine the implications of using this concept of habitat in butterfly biology. In doing so, we suggest the alternative approach of applying a functional resource-based concept of habitat. This recognises the fundamental requirements of organisms, consumables and utilities, the latter describing suitable environmental conditions as well as essential substrates. We argue that a resource-based concept is critical for butterfly conservation and call for the development of a resource database on butterfly biology.
ISSN:0030-1299
1600-0706
DOI:10.1034/j.1600-0579.2003.12492.x