| Oregon silverspot | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Speyeria |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | S. z. hippolyta |
| Trinomial name | |
| Speyeria zerene hippolyta W. H. Edwards, 1879 | |
Speyeria zerene hippolyta, the Oregon silverspot, is a threatened butterfly that is found in the U.S. states of California and Oregon. [1] It is a subspecies of Speyeria zerene .
Speyeria zerene hippolyta was described by American lepidopterist William Henry Edwards in 1879 as a subspecies of Speyeria zerene, Zerene Fritillary, which was described by French lepidopterist Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1852. [2]
Speyeria zerene hippolyta is in a clade of three closely related subspecies. In suitable habitat along the U.S. Pacific coast, it is the northernmost one found. Further south, Myrtle's silverspot ( Speyeria zerene myrtleae ) had a range along the coast from San Mateo County to Sonoma County, California, and Behren's silverspot ( Speyeria zerene behrensii ) had a range along the northern California coast. [4]
McHugh et al. (2013) conducted a genetic analysis of S. z. hippolyta and other S. zerene subspecies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear markers with a goal of identifying evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). [5] There wasn't consensus among mitochondrial and nuclear markers so researchers were not able to resolve phylogenetic relationships or identify the taxa as monophyletic through genetic analysis. [5] However, it was discovered that the populations located at Rock Creek and Mt. Hebo have mtDNA haplotypes that are distinctive. [5]
The Oregon silverspot used to inhabit suitable coastal habitat from northern California, through Oregon, into southern Washington. There are 20 historical sites known. [6] It can now only be found in the wild at five remaining sites in California and Oregon. [4] Conservation sites include Cascade Head and the Rock Creek Wilderness [7] in Oregon. The butterfly can also be found at Mount Hebo and Bray Point in Oregon, and at Lake Earl in California. [6] [4] [8] The butterfly has been determined to be extirpated from Clatsop Plains in Oregon since 2001. [6]
The coastal habitats used by the butterfly were kept in an early successional state by high wind, salt-spray and occasional wildfires, providing the open conditions required by the hooked spur violet ( Viola adunca ) which is the butterfly's larval host plant. [10] In recent years, although the winds and ocean salt spray continue to limit other vegetation growth, the wildfires have been suppressed due to modern development in this habitat. The original habitat of open meadows has, over time, been replaced by forest habitat. [4]
The butterfly was listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1980. [8] In Washington, the butterfly is listed as endangered under that state's legislation, though it is now reported extirpated from this state. [11] California and Oregon do not have endangered species statutes that allow the listing of insect species, but they still have protection in these states under the federal ESA. [12] It is on the Special Animals list created by the California Department of Fish and Game. [4] In Oregon the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (ORBIC), under the Oregon Natural Heritage Act (Oregon Natural Areas Act), maintains a list of threatened and endangered invertebrates. [13] The ORBIC is located at Portland State University (PSU) within the Institute for Natural Resources (INR). [14] The ORBIC assists the USFWS and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to carry out conservation programs for invertebrates within the state. [13] [15] The USFWS maintains a timeline of conservation and recovery for the butterfly on their website. [16]
Researchers have been testing methods of maintaining and restoring the grassland habitat in coastal preserves, these include prescribed fire. As it does take several years for the hooked spur violet to reach maturity a "stop-gap measure" is underway. A team consisting of the Oregon Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lewis and Clark College and the Oregon Zoo gather female butterflies for captive rearing. The captive-rearing projects are underway at the college and the Oregon Zoo in Portland and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. After being hatched and raised at the college and the zoos, the young are reintroduced as pupae to the wild to augment the existing populations. [18] [4] After the release of nearly 450 silverspots at Mount Hebo in 2016, Karen Lewis, a zoo conservation research associate, said in a statement, "The goal of the recovery program is to help each population grow large enough to be self-sustaining, if it weren't for this program, three of the five remaining silverspot populations would likely be extinct." [19] The Oregon Zoo released about 2000 silverspots at the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge in 2017. [20] [6] In 2018, the Oregon Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, USFWS, and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) collaborated to release 500 silverspots at Saddle Mountain in Oregon in an effort to restore a historical population. [21] The butterflies had not been seen at Saddle Mountain since the 1970s. [22] [6]
The establishment of new colonies may have lasting effects on the genetics of the subspecies. The founding events of isolated small populations may cause a loss of heterozygosity over generations and an accumulation of deleterious recessive alleles without gene flow from other populations. [23] The butterflies may be at increased risk of extinction due to the increased genetic load and reduction in genetic diversity following the population bottleneck before the captive breeding programs. [24]
Oregon silverspots are considered to be moderately vulnerable to climate change due to their sensitivity to environmental conditions. [11] However, increased fire in a warming climate may open up additional coastal prairie habitat and may help the growth of their only host plant, the early blue violet (Viola adunca), which is partially dependent on fire for germination. [11]
Woodland Park Zoo is a wildlife conservation organization and zoological garden located in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the recipient of over 65 awards across multiple categories, and had served approximately 1.4 million domestic and international visitors in 2019.
The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi River.
The Clatsop Plains are an area of wetlands and sand dunes between the Northern Oregon Coast Range and Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon in the United States. They stretch from near the mouth of the Columbia River south to the vicinity of Tillamook Head near Seaside. The plains are drained by several coastal rivers include the Skipanon River and the Necanicum River, which flow parallel to the coast and empty into the Columbia at Youngs Bay near Astoria and into the Pacific Ocean near Seaside respectively. At the time, the Lewis and Clark Expedition recorded a different river draining the plains which entered the Pacific near the current day Camp Rilea Armed Forces Training Center. Research, 200 years later in 2005, seems to have confirmed this by locating an old river channel.
The California tiger salamander is a vulnerable amphibian native to California. It is a mole salamander. Previously considered to be a subspecies of the tiger salamander, the California tiger salamander was recently designated a separate species again. The California tiger salamander distinct population segment (DPS) in Sonoma County and the Santa Barbara County DPS are listed as federally endangered, while the Central California DPS is listed as federally threatened. The Sonoma County, south San Joaquin, and the Santa Barbara County DPS have diverged from the rest of the California tiger salamander populations for over one million years, since the Pleistocene and they may warrant status as separate species.
Speyeria zerene, the zerene fritillary, is a butterfly found in the western portions of the United States and Canada. The species was first described by William John Swainson in 1827.
Euchloe ausonides insulanus, the island marble butterfly, is a subspecies of the Euchloe ausonides and is found in the San Juan Islands in Washington in the northwestern United States. The butterfly was thought to be extinct and was last observed on Gabriola Island, British Columbia in 1908. The species was rediscovered during a prairie butterfly survey in San Juan Island National Historical Park in 1998. After this rediscovery, surveys were conducted throughout the presumed range and found a few populations on San Juan Island and Lopez Island, but no remaining populations in Canada.
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The Mission blue is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The butterfly has been declared as endangered by the US federal government. It is a subspecies of Boisduval's blue.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has a number of programs aimed at Mission blue butterfly habitat conservation, which include lands traditionally inhabited by the Mission blue butterfly, an endangered species. A recovery plan, drawn up by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1984, outlined the need to protect Mission blue habitat and to repair habitat damaged by urbanization, off highway vehicle traffic, and invasion by exotic, non-native plants. An example of the type of work being done by governmental and citizen agencies can be found at the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In addition, regular wildfires have opened new habitat conservation opportunities as well as damaging existing ones.
Pyrgus ruralis lagunae, the Laguna Mountains skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is a subspecies of Pyrgus ruralis.
The callippe silverspot butterfly is a federal endangered subspecies in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. This is a subspecies. It is a member of the Heliconiinae, the subfamily known as longwings. The adult has a wingspan of just over two inches. The wings are eyecatching with a brown, tan, and black scalloped pattern on their surfaces and orange-brown with characteristic silver spots on the undersides. The wings and abdomen are hairy. The larvae are spiny, dark-colored caterpillars.
Myrtle's silverspot is a medium-sized butterfly in the brush foot family (Nymphalidae), an endangered subspecies of the zerene fritillary. It is endemic to California, where it is known from only about four locations just north of the San Francisco Bay Area, including two at Point Reyes National Seashore. Its wingspan is approximately 2.2 inches (56 mm). The upper surfaces of the wings are golden brown with numerous black spots and lines. The undersides are brown, orange and tan with black lines and silver and black spots. Larvae are dark colored with many sharp branching spines on their backs. Myrtle's silverspot is larger and paler than the closely related Behrens' silverspot, which is now limited to the vicinity of Point Arena in Mendocino County. Myrtle's silverspot is also closely related to the Oregon silverspot.
Comstock's silverspot is a subspecies of silverspot butterfly ranging from northern California to Baja Mexico. Populations are near extirpation in the Santa Monica Mountains and it is now rare in the San Gabriel Mountains. The larvae feed on Johnny jumpup. It is a very close relative of the endangered callippe silverspot butterfly, which is another subspecies of Speyeria callippe. Intermediate populations between these subspecies are fairly widespread.
Monardella undulata is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name curlyleaf monardella. It is an annual herb and is endemic to the coast of California.
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The Modoc sucker is a rare species of freshwater fish native to northern California and southern Oregon. It grows to a length of about 7 in (18 cm) and becomes sexually mature at 4 in (10 cm). It feeds on algae, small invertebrates and detritus, and hides under stones, detritus and overhanging vegetation. It is found in only a few streams and is listed as an endangered species in California and the United States. Conservation measures have been put in place such as fencing the streams in which it lives from livestock. It was previously rated as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but this rating has now been changed to "near threatened".
Argynnis is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae, one of several groups known as "fritillaries".
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Conservation banking is an environmental market-based method designed to offset adverse effects, generally, to species of concern, are threatened, or endangered and protected under the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) through the creation of conservation banks. Conservation banking can be viewed as a method of mitigation that allows permitting agencies to target various natural resources typically of value or concern, and it is generally contemplated as a protection technique to be implemented before the valued resource or species will need to be mitigated. The ESA prohibits the "taking" of fish and wildlife species which are officially listed as endangered or threatened in their populations. However, under section 7(a)(2) for Federal Agencies, and under section 10(a) for private parties, a take may be permissible for unavoidable impacts if there are conservation mitigation measures for the affected species or habitat. Purchasing “credits” through a conservation bank is one such mitigation measure to remedy the loss.
| Authority control databases: National |
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