Butterflies: Extinction by 2050? Habitat Pointers, Too.

Large butterfly populations in the UK could become extinct by 2050 due to severe droughts, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change.

Dr. Tom Oliver of the U.K.'s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) led the study, working with colleagues from CEH, Butterfly Conservation, Natural England and the University of Exeter, according to a release.

Despite their predictions, the researchers also noted that better landscape management and greenhouse gas emission reductions could save large amounts of butterfly populations through at least 2100, the release said.

"The results are worrying," Oliver said in the release. "Until I started this research, I hadn't quite realized the magnitude and potential impacts from climate change. For drought-sensitive butterflies, and potentially other taxa, widespread population extinctions are expected by 2050. To limit these losses, both habitat restoration and reducing CO2 emissions have a role. In fact, a combination of both is necessary."

For their study, the researchers singled out six different species of butterfly, including large skipper, speckled wood, large white, ringlet, green-veined white and small white as having a low chance of survival by the year 2050. The researchers compiled data from 129 separate sites as well as climate data from Central England Temperature, the England and Wales monthly rainfall series, the U.K. Land Cover Map and climate projections from global circulation models.

"The study highlights the pressing need to investigate local conservation measures that may help drought-sensitive butterflies to adapt and persist in our changing countryside," co-author Tom Brereton of Butterfly Conservation said in the release.

If you'd like to learn more about the type of habitat required by each butterfly, which we can help to create and to prevent from fragmenting, see the website for the U.K. organization Butterfly Conservation. 

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