liu.seSearch for publications in DiVA
Change search
Link to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Alternative names
Publications (10 of 51) Show all publications
Johansson, V., Säwenfalk, D. S., Bergman, K.-O., Kindvall, O., Askling, J. & Franzén, M. (2024). Oviposition preferences and larval survival of the marsh fritillary butterfly: The adverse impact of grazing. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 17(4), 642-650
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Oviposition preferences and larval survival of the marsh fritillary butterfly: The adverse impact of grazing
Show others...
2024 (English)In: Insect Conservation and Diversity, ISSN 1752-458X, E-ISSN 1752-4598, Vol. 17, no 4, p. 642-650Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Species-rich semi-natural grasslands have been lost during the last century due to agricultural intensification. This has had large negative consequences for many specialised species, including grassland butterflies. To prevent further loss, management regimes in the remaining grasslands must maintain habitat quality over time, and we therefore need to understand the habitat preferences of specialised species and how different management regimes affect their survival. We studied the egg-laying preferences of the threatened marsh fritillary butterfly in relation to host plant properties, microclimate and management (grazing) on Gotland, Sweden. Moreover, we followed the survival of eggs and larvae from 27 egg batches during a period of 8 months (from June 2020 to March 2021) in grazed and ungrazed areas. We found 92 egg batches in total and the average number of eggs was 184.5. Egg-laying probability increased with increasing host plant size and abundance, and environmental variables associated with a warm microclimate (low grass cover, low vegetation height and south-facing edges). The 27 egg batches that were followed over time had on average 203 eggs in June. Roughly 28% of the eggs developed into larvae, and about 17% of these survived over the entire study period, resulting in an overall 4.7% survival. Egg survival was higher in ungrazed habitats compared with grazed; in March (post-hibernation), there were almost nine times more eggs in ungrazed habitats. This study highlights the complex habitat ecology of specialised butterflies and underscores the detrimental impact of intense grazing, advocating for rotational grazing or mowing regimes. We study oviposition preferences and survival of both eggs and larvae (post-hibernation) for the marsh fritillary, in relation to host plant availability, microclimate conditions and grazing management Egg-laying probability increased with increasing host plant size and abundance, and environmental variables associated with a warm microclimate (low grass cover, low vegetation height and south-facing edges) Egg survival was clearly higher in ungrazed habitats compared with grazed; in March (post-hibernation), there were almost nine times more eggs in ungrazed habitats. image

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
WILEY, 2024
Keywords
calcareous grasslands; conservation strategies; egg-laying; Euphydryas aurinia; habitat preferences; host plant selection
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-201665 (URN)10.1111/icad.12734 (DOI)001179738700001 ()2-s2.0-85187152997 (Scopus ID)
Note

Funding Agencies|Heidelberg Material AB; Swedish National Research Programme on Climate, Formas [2018-02846, 2021-02142]; Stiftelsen Oscar och Lili Lamms Minne [FO2020-0023]

Available from: 2024-03-19 Created: 2024-03-19 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved
Milberg, P., Eriksson, V. & Bergman, K.-O. (2021). Assemblages of flower-visiting insects in clear-cuts are rich and dynamic. Zenodo
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Assemblages of flower-visiting insects in clear-cuts are rich and dynamic
2021 (English)Data set
Abstract [en]

Clear-cuts in production forests provide  an open, sunny environment, with an abundance of nectar, as well as exposed soil and woody debris. This makes them a potential habitat for several groups of insects that typically use open habitats like grassland, including those species that visit flowers. In the current study, we used colour pan traps to catch flower-visiting species. Study sites were selected according to age (2-8 yrs since clear-cut) and land-use history (forest or meadow 150 yrs ago). We caught and identified solitary bees (395 specimens belonging to 59 species), social bees (831/16), other Hymenoptera (367/66), Syrphidae (256/31), and beetles (Lepturinae & Cetoniinae; 11,409/12). Age of the clear-cut strongly affected species composition as well as several of the groups and species, with most species caught mainly in the younger clear-cuts. Flower abundance statistically affected several groups and species, but such effects are potentially suspect due to the flower-richness bias in pan trap catches. Bare soil and woody debris seemed irrelevant were important for the insect assemblage sampled, while bare rock sometimes positively affected flower-visiting insectswas not. Although the majority of the insects caught were forest species, about one third of the species were associated with open, agricultural sites and hence seem to be able to locate and exploit resources in clear-cuts.

Place, publisher, year
Zenodo, 2021
Keywords
Syrphidae, Apoidea, Lepturinae, colour pan trap, flower abundance, clear-cut, boreal forest
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-198564 (URN)10.5281/zenodo.4756772 (DOI)
Note

Rights:

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Available from: 2023-10-17 Created: 2023-10-17 Last updated: 2023-10-24Bibliographically approved
Milberg, P., Bergman, K.-O., Sancak, K. & Jansson, N. (2016). Assemblages of saproxylic beetles on large downed trunks of oak. Ecology and Evolution, 6(6), 1614-1625
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Assemblages of saproxylic beetles on large downed trunks of oak
2016 (English)In: Ecology and Evolution, E-ISSN 2045-7758, Vol. 6, no 6, p. 1614-1625Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Old living oaks (Quercus robur) are known as a very species-rich habitat for saproxylic beetles, but it is less clear to what extent such veteran trees differ from an even rarer feature: downed trunks of large oaks. In this study, we set out to sample this habitat, using window traps, with two aims: (1) to describe the variation of assemblages among downed trunks of different type and (2) to compare beetles on downed oaks with data from veteran standing trees. The results showed that trunk volume and sun exposure better explained assemblages as well as species numbers on downed trunks than did decay stage. Furthermore, species classified as facultative saproxylic species showed weak or no differentiation among downed trunks. Species with different feeding habits showed no apparent differentiation among downed trunks. Furthermore, species composition on dead, downed oak trunks differed sharply from that of living, veteran oaks. Wood or bark feeders were more common on veterans than downed trunks, but there was no difference for those species feeding on fungi or those feeding on insects and their remains. In conclusion, for a successful conservation of the saproxylic beetle fauna it is important to keep downed oak trunks, and particularly large ones, in forest and pastures as they constitute a saproxylic habitat that differs from that of living trees.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2016
Keywords
Coleoptera, log, Quercus robur, snag, Sweden, veteran tree
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-126288 (URN)10.1002/ece3.1935 (DOI)000372488300004 ()26904184 (PubMedID)
Note

Funding agencies: Eklandskapsfonden (Linkoping municipality) Ostergotland County Administration Board

Available from: 2016-03-21 Created: 2016-03-21 Last updated: 2024-01-17Bibliographically approved
Carlsson, S., Bergman, K.-O., Jansson, N., Ranius, T. & Milberg, P. (2016). Boxing for biodiversity: evaluation of an artificiallycreated decaying wood habitat. Biodiversity and Conservation, 25(2), 393-405
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Boxing for biodiversity: evaluation of an artificiallycreated decaying wood habitat
Show others...
2016 (English)In: Biodiversity and Conservation, ISSN 0960-3115, E-ISSN 1572-9710, Vol. 25, no 2, p. 393-405Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Many saproxylic species are threatened in Europe because of habitat decline.Hollow trees represent an important habitat for saproxylic species. Artificial habitats mayneed to be created to maintain or increase the amount of habitat due to natural habitat decline.This study investigated the extent to which saproxylic beetles use artificial habitats in woodenboxes. The boxes were placed at various distances (0–1800 m) from known biodiversityhotspots with hollow oaks and studied over 10 years. Boxes were mainly filled with oak sawdust, oak leaves, hay and lucerne flour. In total, 2170 specimens of 91 saproxylic beetlespecies were sampled in 43 boxes. The abundance of species associated with tree hollows,wood rot and animal nests increased from the fourth to the final year, but species richnessdeclined for all groups. This study shows that wooden boxes can function as saproxylicspecies habitats. The artificial habitats developed into a more hollow-like environment duringthe decade long experiment with fewer but more abundant tree hollow specialists.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2016
Keywords
Artificial habitats Hollow trees Intervention Saproxylic beetles Succession Wood mould
National Category
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use Ecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-125192 (URN)10.1007/s10531-016-1057-2 (DOI)000370137100012 ()
Note

Funding agencies:  Stiftelsen Oscar och Lili Lamms minne; Eklandskapsfonden i Linkopings kommun

Available from: 2016-02-15 Created: 2016-02-15 Last updated: 2018-01-10
Milberg, P., Bergman, K.-O., Cronvall, E., Eriksson, Å. I., Glimskär, A., Islamovic, A., . . . Westerberg, L. (2016). Flower abundance and vegetation height as predictors fornectar-feeding insect occurrence in Swedish semi-natural grasslands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 230, 47-54
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Flower abundance and vegetation height as predictors fornectar-feeding insect occurrence in Swedish semi-natural grasslands
Show others...
2016 (English)In: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, ISSN 0167-8809, E-ISSN 1873-2305, Vol. 230, p. 47-54Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

With steadily shrinking areas of species-rich semi-natural grasslands in Europe, the management of theremaining fragments becomes ever more crucial for the preservation of key elements of biodiversity inthe agricultural landscape. Detailed knowledge about species-wise, as well as group-wise, relationshipscan provide guidelines for conservation management and a basis for predictions about differentmanagement scenarios. In the present study, we related the occurrence of species of bumblebees (N = 12),butterflies (31) and day-flying moths (4) and their total richness in 424 sites in southern Sweden to threegrass sward attributes, (i)flower abundance, (ii) height of the grass sward and (iii) within-site variation inheight of vegetation. The abundance of nectar-bearingflowers proved overall the best predictor ofrichness and in most of the occurrence-based species-wise models. However, both high grass swardheight and high variation in grass sward height contributed significantly to species richness andoccurrence of individual species. There was a tendency for bumblebees to respond less positively toflower abundance and vegetation height than butterflies and moths. One expectation was that grasslandspecialists, red-listed species, or species decreasing in other part of Europe, would be more responsive totall vegetation orflower abundance but there was no support for this in the data. Hence, managementstrategies that promote common species will also benefit all, or most of, the rare ones as well.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2016
Keywords
Grazing, Management, Nectar, Pollinator, Semi-natural grassland, Sweden
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-129210 (URN)10.1016/j.agee.2016.05.029 (DOI)000381834500006 ()
Note

Funding agencies: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

Available from: 2016-06-13 Created: 2016-06-13 Last updated: 2018-03-19
Burman, J., Westerberg, L., Ostrow, S., Ryrholm, N., Bergman, K.-O., Winde, I., . . . Milberg, P. (2016). Revealing hidden species distribution with pheromones: the caseof Synanthedon vespiformis (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) in Sweden. Journal of Insect Conservation, 20(1), 11-21
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Revealing hidden species distribution with pheromones: the caseof Synanthedon vespiformis (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) in Sweden
Show others...
2016 (English)In: Journal of Insect Conservation, ISSN 1366-638X, E-ISSN 1572-9753, Vol. 20, no 1, p. 11-21Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Synanthedon vespiformis L. (Lepidoptera:Sesiidae) is considered a rare insect in Sweden, discoveredin 1860, with only a few observations recorded until a sexpheromone attractant became available recently. This studydetails a national survey conducted using pheromones as asampling method for this species. Through pheromonetrapping we captured 439 specimens in Southern Sweden at77 sites, almost tripling the number of previously reportedrecords for this species. The results suggest that S. vespiformisis truly a rare species with a genuinely scattereddistribution, but can be locally abundant. Habitat analyseswere conducted in order to test the relationship betweenhabitat quality and the number of individuals caught. InSweden, S. vespiformis is thought to be associated with oakhosts, but our attempts to predict its occurrence by theabundance of oaks yielded no significant relationships. Wetherefore suggest that sampling bias and limited knowledgeon distribution may have led to the assumption that thisspecies is primarily reliant on oaks in the northern part ofits range, whereas it may in fact be polyphagous, similar toS. vespiformis found as an agricultural pest in Central andSouthern Europe. We conclude that pheromones canmassively enhance sampling potential for this and otherrare lepidopteran species. Large-scale pheromone-basedsurveys provide a snapshot of true presences and absencesacross a considerable part of a species national distributionrange, and thus for the first time provide a viable means ofsystematically assessing changes in distribution over timewith high spatiotemporal resolution.

Keywords
Ecology, Saproxylic, Moth, Indicator of species richness, Conservation, Monitoring
National Category
Ecology Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-125596 (URN)10.1007/s10841-015-9835-9 (DOI)000371086000002 ()
Note

Funding agencies: Stiftelsen Eklandskapet i Linkopings kommun; Marie-Claire Cronstedts Stiftelse; Swedish WWF; Tranemala Foundation; Skogssallskapet; Region Skanes miljovardsfond; SLU Partnerskap Alnarp; IC-E3 Linnaeus grant (Formas, SLU)

Available from: 2016-02-26 Created: 2016-02-26 Last updated: 2018-10-08
Milberg, P., Bergman, K.-O., Norman, H., Pettersson, R. B., Westerberg, L., Wikars, L.-O. & Jansson, N. (2015). A burning desire for smoke? Sampling insects favoured by forestfire in the absence of fire. Journal of Insect Conservation, 19(1), 55-65
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A burning desire for smoke? Sampling insects favoured by forestfire in the absence of fire
Show others...
2015 (English)In: Journal of Insect Conservation, ISSN 1366-638X, E-ISSN 1572-9753, Vol. 19, no 1, p. 55-65Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Fire-favoured insects are difficult to sampleexcept opportunistically after forest fires. Here, we tested ifsmoke from a small fire could be an efficient way to samplesuch insects. Insects were sampled over ca. 10 h hours, byhand-picking and netting on screens put up around the fire.Two specimens of the rare and redlisted Hormopeza spp.(Diptera, Empididae) were caught. Large numbers([20,000) of Microsania spp. (Diptera, Platypezidae) werecaught, but none in the absence of smoke. The numbers ofMicrosania spp. clearly peaked in late afternoon, and ashort sampling period would be sufficient if targeting onlythis taxon. Of the almost 200 species of Coleoptera, 17 %were considered as fire-favoured, contributing 9 % of thespecimens, suggesting low efficiency of the method for thisgroup. Using 23 sites differing in fire history, catches ofMicrosania spp. were unaffected by numbers and area offorest fire (preceding 5 years and within 10 km radius overthe sampling sites). In contrast, there was a weak trend forthe proportion of fire-favoured Coleoptera to increase withincreasing number of fires. To conclude, smoke as producedin our study can clearly attract fire-favoured Diptera,but smoke had only a weak effect on fire-favoured Coleopterain the study area. It is still likely that selectivelypicking specimens of species attracted to smoke is a morecost-efficient method than using, e.g., Malaise traps thatcatch indiscriminately.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2015
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-115293 (URN)10.1007/s10841-014-9742-5 (DOI)000350887700006 ()
Available from: 2015-03-12 Created: 2015-03-12 Last updated: 2017-12-04
Blixt, T., Bergman, K.-O., Milberg, P., Westerberg, L. & Jonason, D. (2015). Clear-cuts in production forests: From matrix to neo-habitat forbutterflies. Acta Oecologica, 69, 71-77
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Clear-cuts in production forests: From matrix to neo-habitat forbutterflies
Show others...
2015 (English)In: Acta Oecologica, ISSN 1146-609X, E-ISSN 1873-6238, Vol. 69, p. 71-77Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Butterfly conservation in Europe is mainly focused on well-defined grassland habitat patches. Such anapproach ignores the impact of the surrounding landscape, which may contain complementary resourcesand facilitate dispersal. Here, we investigated butterfly species richness and abundance in a habitatnormally regarded as unsuitable matrix: production forestry clear-cuts. Butterflies were recorded in 48clear-cuts in southern Sweden differing with regards to the time since clear-cutting and land-use history(meadow or forest based on historical maps from the 1870s). All clear-cuts had been managed as productionforests for at least 80e120 years. A total of 39 species were found in clear-cuts of both land-usehistories, but clear-cuts with a history as meadow had on average 34% higher species richness and 19%higher abundance than did clear-cuts with a history as forest. No effect of the time since clear-cuttingwas found, irrespective of land-use history, which was likely due to the narrow timespan sampled (<8years). The absence of temporal effect suggests that clear-cuts may provide butterflies with valuableresources for 10e15 years. Assuming a 100 year forest rotational cycle, this means that 10e15% of thetotal forested area are made up by clear-cuts valuable to butterflies, which corresponds to an area aboutfour times as large as that of species-rich semi-natural grasslands. The study illustrates the importance ofconsidering land-use legacies in ecological research and question the landscape-ecological view thatclear-cuts make up an unsuitable matrix for butterflies. Moreover, forest conservation management withspecial attention to land-use history may increase the quality of the landscape, thus facilitating butterflymetapopulation persistence. Given their large area and assets of nectar and host plant resources, clearcutsmust be considered as a butterfly habitat in its own right. Being a man-made environment withshort history, we might call it a neo-habitat.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2015
Keywords
Boreal forest Butterfly conservation Historical maps Land-use history Production forestry Semi-natural grasslands
National Category
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-121874 (URN)10.1016/j.actao.2015.09.006 (DOI)000366079700009 ()
Available from: 2015-10-12 Created: 2015-10-12 Last updated: 2018-01-11Bibliographically approved
Marini, L., Öckinger, E., Bergman, K.-O., Jauker, B., Krauss, J., Kuussaari, M., . . . Bommarco, R. (2014). Contrasting effects of habitat area and connectivity on evenness of pollinator communities. Ecography, 37(6), 544-551
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Contrasting effects of habitat area and connectivity on evenness of pollinator communities
Show others...
2014 (English)In: Ecography, ISSN 0906-7590, E-ISSN 1600-0587, Vol. 37, no 6, p. 544-551Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Losses of both habitat area and connectivity have been identified as important drivers of species richness declines, but littletheoretical and empirical work exists that addresses the effect of fragmentation on relative commonness of highly mobilespecies such as pollinating insects. With a large dataset of wild bee and butterfly abundances collected across Europe,we first tested the effect of habitat area and connectivity on evenness in pollinator communities using a large array ofindexes that give different weight to dominance and rarity. Second, we tested if traits related to mobility and diet breadthcould explain the observed evenness patterns. We found a clear negative effect of area and a weaker, but positive effectof connectivity on evenness. Communities in small habitat fragments were mainly composed of mobile and generalistspecies. The higher evenness in small fragments could thereby be generated by highly mobile species that maintain localpopulations with frequent inter-fragment movements. Trait analysis suggested an increasing importance of dispersalover local recruitment, as we move from large to small fragments and from less to more connected fragments. Speciesrichness and evenness were negatively correlated indicating that the two variables responded differently to habitat areaand connectivity, although the mechanisms underlying the observed patterns are difficult to isolate. Even though habitatarea and connectivity often decrease simultaneously due to habitat fragmentation, an interesting practical implicationof the contrasting effect of the two variables is that the resulting community composition will depend on the relativestrength of these two processes.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Wiley-Blackwell, 2014
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-104592 (URN)10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00369.x (DOI)000337694100004 ()
Available from: 2014-02-19 Created: 2014-02-19 Last updated: 2017-12-06
Lättman, H., Bergman, K.-O., Rapp, M., Tälle, M., Westerberg, L. & Milberg, P. (2014). Decline in lichen biodiversity on oak trunks due to urbanization. Nordic Journal of Botany, 32(4), 518-528
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Decline in lichen biodiversity on oak trunks due to urbanization
Show others...
2014 (English)In: Nordic Journal of Botany, ISSN 0107-055X, E-ISSN 1756-1051, Vol. 32, no 4, p. 518-528Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Biodiversity often suff ers from urbanization. In the present study, we focused on how the duration of urbanization aff ects therichness of 17 epiphytic lichen species and their cover on large oaks in urban environments in a city of 100 000 inhabitantsin southeast Sweden. We also surveyed trees in adjacent rural areas, selected to have similar distributions of tree trunkcircumference and surrounding oak density (within 300 m). Lichen richness and cover were lower on urban trees comparedto rural trees. Furthermore, richness and cover decreased with the length of time that urban trees had been surrounded byhouses. Most of the species that were analysed demonstrated a decline in occurrence with respect to the duration of housingdevelopment. Th e reduction in the probability of occurrence varied from 60% ( Calicium viride , Evernia prunastri ), 80%( Chrysothrix candelaris ) to 90% ( Ramalina spp.) during the considered 160-year period of urbanization. Th erefore, even ifvaluable trees survive over the course of development, their lichen biota is likely to become depleted over time.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Wiley-Blackwell, 2014
National Category
Biological Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-109110 (URN)10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00413.x (DOI)000340574500015 ()
Available from: 2014-08-11 Created: 2014-08-11 Last updated: 2017-12-05
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0003-1311-021X

Search in DiVA

Show all publications