Project overview
Nigel’s scientific interests focus on the molecular biology, biogeography and ecology of butterflies, particularly of the family Nymphalidae. He began his PhD in November 2015, following the award of a Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship from Bournemouth University.
The South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute facilitated his pilot study in the Falklands in 2016 and, together with the Shackleton Scholarship Fund, supported a more extensive period of fieldwork in 2016-2017.
He is also liaising closely with Falklands Conservation, given the project’s focus on practical outcomes.
The Falklands Fritillary is the Islands’ only resident butterfly.
The project will seek to establish the degree of separation from the Latin American subspecies Yramea cytheris siga and assess possible gene flows from Latin America to the Falklands. It will seek to establish the phylogenetics of the butterfly at colony level, focusing on the populations on Sea Lion Island, Bleaker Island, Roy Cove and Fitzroy, and drawing on historical specimens where available.
The preferred situation and quality of the larval food plants Viola maculata and Viola magellanica will be analysed. In the light of any threats identified, whether genetic or environmental, the viability of the populations of Yramea cytheris cytheris will be assessed and appropriate steps to ensure its conservation will be recommended.
Project Outcome
Nigel was awarded his PhD in December 2020. It showed that the Falkland Island and Latin American populations of the butterfly Yramea cytheris were very close genetically, with some butterflies in each population showing identical DNA patterns in the three genes investigated. There were, however, clear differences in wing size and shape, consistent with the Falkland butterflies adapting to windy conditions. Both populations of Y. cytheris showed an ability to adapt to their environment, which gave hope that the Falkland butterfly would be able to cope with climate change.
The fragmentary nature and small size of the Falkland populations, together with the butterfly’s dependence on Viola plants at the larval stage, remained, however, a cause for concern.
