Effect of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity across Turkish Provinces.

1. ©Münir Hançer
Conservation Biology
Volume 27, Number 6, December 2013
Featured
Paper…

2. Effect of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on
Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Contributed Paper by Burak K. Pekin
a photo essay…
Conservation Biology
December 2013
Mark Burgman, Editor-in-Chief
www.conbio.org
Published by Wiley

3. ©DKM Archive
Researchers surveying butterflies in Central Turkey
Researchers surveying butterflies in Central Turkey

4. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
In addition to being highly
sensitive to environmental
change, butterflies are
also highly representative
of biodiversity at large
spatial scales. They are
thus a good indicator
group with which to
assess regional
biodiversity losses.
(Pekin, 2013)

5. Rapid Ecosystem Change and Polar Bear Conservation
Conservation Letters
Wiskott’s Marbled White (Melanargia
wiskotti) is endemic to the Mediterranean
Region of Turkey where it is threatened by
agricultural intensification and urban
development.
©Fatih Köleli
A sub-adult female polar bear on a frozen lake along the shore of Hudson Bay. Small bears
like this are usually wary of adult males which can be predatory.

6. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
Thirty-seven of Turkey's 373
species have a near threatened
(NT), vulnerable (VU),
endangered (EN), or critically
endangered (CR)
classification…
Accordingly, I calculated
threatened butterfly richness
for each province as the
number of species with an NT,
VU, EN, or CE classification.
(Pekin, 2013)

7. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
Butterfly species richness across Turkish Provinces
All species
7 - 52
53 - 97
98 - 143
144 - 188
189 - 234
Threatened species
0-3
4-6
7-9
10 - 12
13 - 15
©Burak Pekin

8. Rapid Ecosystem Change and Polar Bear Conservation
Conservation Letters
Once considered too
dry to farm, the
habitat of the
endangered
Levantine Silver-line
(Apharitis cilissa) has
been largely
converted into
irrigated commercial
farmland following
construction of
several large dams in
southeastern Turkey.
©Ali Atahan
A four month old cub caught in the Beaufort Sea with its mother. Studies showing reduced
body condition, declining reproduction, and lower survival have been correlated with
reduced availability of sea ice.

9. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
My results revealed substantial
differences in butterfly
composition among Turkish
provinces within the same
geographic region...The
compositional differences
between provinces in the same
region were largely explained by
their area of natural land cover
and agricultural chemical use.
(Pekin, 2013)

10. ©Burak Pekin
Traditional agricultural lands in Turkey are
often scattered across small fertile valleys
nestled within a largely mountainous
landscape..

11. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
The strength of the effect of
pesticide use on the relative
number of threatened
butterfly species was more
than twice that of natural land
cover and precipitation
seasonality (Table 1)…
(Pekin, 2013)

12. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
…threatened butterfly richness decreased most strongly with pesticide
use and increased nearly as strongly with natural land cover

13. ©Burak Pekin
Rapid Ecosystem Change and Polar Bear Conservation
Conservation Letters
Mixed-use landscapes that include
human habitation, orchards,
agricultural fields, grazing pastures,
and natural vegetation cover are
common features of give
A typical ringed seal pup kill site in the Beaufort Sea in spring. Ringed seal femalestraditional
birth to pups under snow along the ridged ice and polar bears hunt theseTurkish villages.
areas for
vulnerable pups and their mothers.

14. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
My results also suggest that
agricultural intensification, reflected
in pesticide use, poses as great of a
threat to butterfly conservation as
loss of natural land cover in Turkey
because threatened butterfly species
(both total richness and relative
number of species) decreased most
strongly as pesticide use increased.
(Pekin, 2013)

15. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
…increased availability and
widespread use of agricultural
chemicals and other industrialized
farming techniques are likely to
make traditional farming practices
obsolete. The loss of traditional
agriculture and the associated
migration of rural populations to
cities pose an imminent threat to the
cultural as well as biological diversity
of Turkish landscapes.
(Pekin, 2013)

16. Village homes in rugged southeastern Turkey
near the Syrian border
PHOTO: A sub-adult polar bear wandering the shores of Hudson Bay waiting for the
return of winter. Delayed freeze-up is causing increased risk of starvation in the
population.
©Burak Pekin

17. Effects of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use on Butterfly Diversity Across Turkish Provinces
Conservation Biology
Mitigating agricultural intensification
in Turkey is important for conserving
the biodiversity of Turkey and Europe
as a whole because Turkey harbors
many of Europe's rare species.
(Pekin, 2013)

18. ©Hilary and Geof Welch
Villagers haying a meadow of wild
flowers by hand scythe. Such
meadows provide important habitat for
butterflies and other wildlife.

19. © Mark Day
Livestock like sheep play an important role
in traditional agriculture in Turkey

20. ©Burak Pekin
Coastal communities in
western Turkey often support
both agriculture and tourism
related activities.
PHOTO: Adult males play fighting along the coast of Hudson Bay, Canada. Without access to
food while on land, adult males can be social and play fighting is thought to allow skill development
for future competition for mates or food.

21. ©Münir Hançer
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Effect of Widespread Agricultural Chemical Use
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PHOTO: A sub-adult polar bear wandering the shores of Hudson Bay waiting for the
return of winter. Delayed freeze-up is causing increased risk of starvation in the
population.