About this Research Topic
Butterflies have long been a focus of scientific study and conservation efforts worldwide. They are also unique among insects because of the positive attention they inspire in the public. Over the past twenty or so years, governments have also taken an interest in butterflies because of their importance in maintaining ecosystem services. Butterflies serve dual roles in most ecosystems: they are herbivores when larval and potential pollinators when adults. While these traits make butterflies a unique taxon, they can also make managing and conserving butterfly populations difficult. The dearth of information about the ecology of many butterfly species can make it hard to predict what may happen in the future under habitat fragmentation and climate change scenarios. This puts the public and conservation organizations in the position of not knowing what should be done to manage these species and communities.
We would like to explore and synthesize the lessons learned from cutting edge case studies of applied science and conservation efforts aimed at butterfly species and communities around the world (Note: we plan to put special emphasis on including examples from the global south, which has tended to be underrepresented in systematic reviews). These case studies will include a variety of species and ecosystems, as well as a diversity of advances in science and public communication. We intend to synthesize these lessons and address the following questions: 1) What are the frontiers of current conservation practice and how can they be applied successfully to butterflies?; 2) What technical advances have been made in terms of leveraging diverse sources of information to understand how and where butterflies should be conserved?; 3) How have other butterfly conservation efforts addressed the need to communicate with the public about the importance of butterflies; and 4) Can other conservation efforts benefit from including butterfly science or conservation in their messaging?
We will consider manuscripts that present conservation case studies, applied science or other research that focuses on any of the questions below. We will also consider opinion pieces about any of these questions:
Citizen Science
• How can citizen science by leveraged to increase public engagement in butterfly conservation?
• How can citizen science data be integrated into our scientific understanding of butterfly ecology and management?
Ecosystem Science
• What have been the advances in our understanding of the ecological roles that butterflies play in various ecosystems?
Ecosystem Services
• How can butterflies be used to understand the state of ecosystems and the services they provide?
• How can those services be used to communicate with the public about the importance of butterflies and ecosystems?
Conservation Planning and Management
• How have planning approaches been used to develop conservation strategies for butterflies?
• What lessons can be learned and applied to other butterfly species?
• What are the largest challenges in butterfly conservation and how can they be overcome?
We would like to explore and synthesize the lessons learned from cutting edge case studies of applied science and conservation efforts aimed at butterfly species and communities around the world (Note: we plan to put special emphasis on including examples from the global south, which has tended to be underrepresented in systematic reviews). These case studies will include a variety of species and ecosystems, as well as a diversity of advances in science and public communication. We intend to synthesize these lessons and address the following questions: 1) What are the frontiers of current conservation practice and how can they be applied successfully to butterflies?; 2) What technical advances have been made in terms of leveraging diverse sources of information to understand how and where butterflies should be conserved?; 3) How have other butterfly conservation efforts addressed the need to communicate with the public about the importance of butterflies; and 4) Can other conservation efforts benefit from including butterfly science or conservation in their messaging?
We will consider manuscripts that present conservation case studies, applied science or other research that focuses on any of the questions below. We will also consider opinion pieces about any of these questions:
Citizen Science
• How can citizen science by leveraged to increase public engagement in butterfly conservation?
• How can citizen science data be integrated into our scientific understanding of butterfly ecology and management?
Ecosystem Science
• What have been the advances in our understanding of the ecological roles that butterflies play in various ecosystems?
Ecosystem Services
• How can butterflies be used to understand the state of ecosystems and the services they provide?
• How can those services be used to communicate with the public about the importance of butterflies and ecosystems?
Conservation Planning and Management
• How have planning approaches been used to develop conservation strategies for butterflies?
• What lessons can be learned and applied to other butterfly species?
• What are the largest challenges in butterfly conservation and how can they be overcome?
Keywords: Decision Science, Distribution Modelling, Conservation Planning, Butterfly Conservation, Lepidoptera Conservation, Population Viability, Pollination Services, Faunal Restoration, Citizen Science
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
