Grant: Alliance Grants

Most tall-grass prairie habitat in North America has been severely fragmented or eliminated over the past century, and the little habitat that remains is declining in quality due to human suppression of natural disturbances (e.g. wildfire). Two North American prairie butterflies, Poweshiek skipperling and Dakota skipper, have become endangered as a result. Canada is home to some of the last surviving populations of these species, but both have been in decline since the late 1990s. Given their poor dispersal abilities and the scarcity of remaining habitat, they are facing imminent extirpation from Canada, or outright extinction. To help these species recover, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Assiniboine Park Conservancy have been working with researchers from the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba over the past several years to raise caterpillars in captivity and release adult butterflies back into the wild. However, there are several gaps in our knowledge that are preventing us from developing successful, long-term recovery plans. For example, we are unsure how to manage habitat in a way that enhances habitat quality while minimizing the risk to remaining butterfly populations. We also need to investigate the risks associated with low genetic diversity, the influence of climate on population dynamics, and specific resource requirements and behavioural traits of the butterflies themselves. To fill these knowledge gaps, we are applying to fund one BSc Honours project, two Masters projects, one PhD project, and a full-time research associate position based at the Universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba over the next five years (2023-2027). Simultaneously, we aim to help our conservation partner organizations expand their capacity to raise butterflies in captivity, begin reintroducing them into formerly occupied habitat, develop long-term habitat management strategies, and monitor the health of habitats and populations moving forward. Although full recovery of Poweshiek skipperling and Dakota skipper will take longer than five years, the activities we are proposing will establish the basic knowledge and methods necessary for us to continue our recovery efforts beyond the five-year funding period.