Collecting and Mitchell's Satyr

[Shueyi at aol.com]

 In a message dated 97-09-16 11:34:42 EDT, Michael Gochfeld  writes:
 
 << Last week's discussion of commercial exploitation and extinction of 
  <populations, prompted me to comment that the elimination of Mitchell's 
  <Satyr from New Jersey (at least from all known NJ colonies) has been 
  <attributed to overzealous collecting, whereby people visited the 
  <colonies day after day during the flight period for several years.  
  <Whether the last Satyr was collected or whether the collecting reduced 
  <the population below a critical level, is moot.  By the time Mitchell's 
  <Satyr was officially listed as endangered, the NJ colonies had been 
  <eliminated as far as we know.  I personally suspect that we'll 
  <re-discover it somewhere in NJ, because there are several examples of 
  <fen habitat that seem suitable and undisturbed (this was not a case of 
  <habitat loss).  However, I also believed that I would re-discover the 
  <Passenger Pigeon.
  
    >>
 Having read this proclimation that collecting contributed (one way or
another) to the decline of Mitchell's satyr, I have to respond.  As the
primary author of the recovery plan for this species, I very carefully
weighed the evidence and found it far from convincing.  The fens of New
Jersey are not found in a pre-settlement landscape - the processes that
shaped fens, controlled woody encroachment (they are under considerable
pressure from rapidly encroaching red maples that must have been "maintaned"
in some sort of equalibrium prior to our current time) and influenced
landscape-scale patch dynamics are more likely to blaime for the decline of
this species in New Jersey.  I have given this situation considerable
thought, and I
 quote myself in the following three paragraphs (from _ Shuey, J. A. 1997.
 Conservation status and natural history of Mitchell's satyr (Neonympha
mitchellii mitchellii French (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).  Natural
Areas Journal 17:153-163_).
 ____________________________________________________
 
 ""FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DECLINE OF MITCHELL'S SATYR
 
 Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii historically has always been a rare species
and very selective in its habitats.  The primary threat to the continued
survival of N. m. mitchellii is the loss and disruption of suitable fen
habitats.  Wetland alteration and partial draining has resulted in the loss
of the single known Ohio population of the butterfly, as well as several
sites in Michigan.  The Berrien County, Michigan population is threatened by
a planned 4-lane highway bridge which will pass directly over the heart of
this fen.  The impacts to this habitat from bridge construction,  shading,
and highway pollution such as salt spray and ozone are all unknown factors
that are likely to degrade habitat quality at this site.  The Laporte County,
Indiana fen is threatened by peat and gravel dredging, which is likely to
disrupt its hydrological integrity.  All other occupied sites have obvious
reminders of past anthropogenic disturbance, ranging from fences to ditches.
 
 Complicating the loss of fen habitat for the species, is the disruption of
landscape-scale processes which may be critical for the maintenance of
habitat suitability and/or the creation of new habitats for Mitchell's satyr.
 Historical disturbance regimes such as wildfire, fluctuations in hydrologic
regimes, and flooding caused by beaver have all but been eliminated
throughout the range of Mitchell's satyr.  Surviving
 populations now occupy highly isolated fens in which successionary processes
are slowed, but not eliminated by the discharge of calcium-carbonate laden
groundwater.  Eventually, in the absence of some
 process which resets succession to an earlier stage, the surviving fen
habitats will become increasingly unsuitable as habitat for Mitchell's satyr.
 As habitats become more isolated, dispersal among populations and suitable
unoccupied habitats becomes increasingly unlikely, and the rate of natural
population extinction out-paces the establishment of new populations.  This
may account for the disappearance of several historically known populations
at pristine wetland sites.
 
 Anecdotal evidence exists for the elimination of the New Jersey Mitchell's
satyr populations as the result of over collecting.  These sites are located
next to major metropolitan areas, and long series of specimens in the
American Museum of Natural History attest to the collection pressures that
just a few collectors placed on these populations.  Conversely, two Michigan
fens are widely known for supporting Mitchell's satyr and historically
received the brunt of both in-state and out-of-state collection pressure.
 Because apparently viable populations of Mitchell's satyr are present at
both wetland complexes, collecting pressure can not be easily implicated in
the recent extinction of Michigan populations.  While there will likely be
continued attempts to collect Mitchell's satyr despite its Federal endangered
status, the level of activity is not likely to jeopardize most remaining
populations.  The listing of Mitchell's satyr as endangered has deterred
conscientious collectors.""
 ____________________________________________________
 
 Thus, it is not clearly obvious that collecting contributed to the decline
and
 ultimate extirpation of Mitchell's satyr in New Jersey.  Note that I am not
 claiming that it had no influence, and I absolutely believe that collecting
 individuals of endangered species from small isoletd populations is
abolutely
 unethical --  and I will not tolerate those that continue to practice this
 type of behavior.  However, I do not claim that my beliefs are based on any
 "proven" facts, but rather that they are simply my own beliefs.
 
 Anyone wanting a complete reprint of the above paper should send me (not the
list) an email.
 
 John Shuey