Butterfly monitoring to provide conclusions on species diversity
The large ox-eye was the most common and widespread butterfly
The protection and restoration of biodiversity is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, alongside the fight against the climate crisis. Comprehensive nationwide biodiversity monitoring is essential in order to record the state of and changes in biodiversity. Butterflies have been counted regularly and systematically in Austria for a year now. As a result, 13,000 butterflies have been observed at 50 locations. This is an important contribution to monitoring biodiversity. If you would like to support the census, you can also become active yourself.
Thanks to the joint commitment of researchers from the University of Innsbruck and the Tyrolean State Museums, as well as funding from the Biodiversity Fund of the Ministry of Climate Protection (BMK), the continuous monitoring of butterfly populations throughout Austria is also taking on a pioneering role in international comparison. The butterfly monitoring program makes an important contribution to Austria-wide biodiversity monitoring and future EU-wide pollinator monitoring.
"In order to successfully counteract the biodiversity crisis - i.e. to stop the progressive loss of nature that is so important to us humans and to reverse this trend - we must act with foresight and consistency," emphasizes Johannes Rüdisser, biodiversity researcher at the University of Innsbruck and head of the butterfly monitoring project. "Theprerequisite for this is scientifically sound data. For butterflies, which are also representative of many other insects, we will be able to provide this important basis in the coming years," says Rüdisser enthusiastically.
Over 13,000 species observed
In the first year of Austria-wide butterfly monitoring, over 13,000 individual butterflies of 556 different species (97 diurnal and 459 nocturnal butterflies) were observed. The most common and widespread butterfly was the large ox-eye butterfly. The main aim of butterfly monitoring is to observe the populations of relatively common species and identify changes. These species have many important ecological functions, as they pollinate plants or serve as food for breeding birds, for example. Last year, however, rare and noteworthy species such as the Augsburg bear or the large fire butterfly were also observed.
Survey locations
The butterfly surveys took place at 50 locations in 2023. A further 50 sites will be added in each of the next three years. After four years, the observations will begin again at the sites from the first year. With 200 systematically selected survey sites throughout Austria and an additional 100 sites each in Tyrol and Vorarlberg, Austria has an excellent observation network that can be used to document changes in butterfly populations in a targeted manner. In Vorarlberg, the first four-year cycle has just been completed and a total of over 11,000 butterflies have been counted and identified.
Multi-year monitoring important for informative value
As insect populations are subject to strong natural fluctuations in the short term, monitoring over several years to decades is particularly important in order to derive trends and identify changes. In 2024, butterfly enthusiasts will therefore once again be out and about in Vorarlberg's meadows to collect data for the next survey cycle.
The multi-butterfly monitoring project is being implemented by the Institute of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck together with the Collection and Research Center of the Tyrolean Provincial Museums and other important cooperation partners throughout Austria, including inatura, Stiftung Blühendes Österreich, the Province of Vorarlberg, the Province of Tyrol and EURAC Bolzano.
