@article {KNZ002050,
	title = {Regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) sex ratio in tallgrass prairie: Effects of survey timing and management regime},
	journal = {The American Midland Naturalist},
	volume = {185},
	year = {2021},
	pages = {57 - 76},
	abstract = {<p>The regal fritillary, Speyeria idalia (Drury), was once a common inhabitant of North American grassland communities. Regal fritillary populations are commonly reported to have a male biased adult sex ratio (ASR) throughout their range. We assessed the observed ASR of regal fritillary throughout an annual flight period, investigated how the overall density of both sexes changed, and tested effects of prescribed fire, grazing and haying management treatments on male and female density. We found that regal fritillary exhibited an observed 2:1 male biased ASR across the entire emergence period. Our analysis also revealed that male density peaked earlier than female density in the flight period. Point estimates of density indicated sites that received prescribed burning at the moderate fire-return interval supported \&ge;1.3 times greater density of males and \&ge;5.6 times greater density of females versus sites burned with short and long fire-return intervals. Additionally, this effect was enhanced when combined with grazing which showed males were \&ge;1.9 times and females had \&ge;1.2 times greater point estimates of density in sites that were grazed and burned at a moderate fire-return interval versus other sites. The relatively stable status of regal fritillary within our study region suggests that a 2:1 male to female ASR may be considered the model composition of populations throughout their range. Likewise, the dynamic nature of the ASR throughout the flight period highlights the importance of conducting surveys across the flight period. Finally, these results corroborate an increasing number of research results that reveal common prairie management practices, such as prescribed fire can be applied within sites that contain regal fritillary and continue to support stable populations.</p>},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ},
	url = {https://bioone.org/journals/the-american-midland-naturalist/volume-185/issue-1/0003-0031-185.1.57/Regal-Fritillary-Speyeria-idalia-Sex-Ratio-in-Tallgrass-Prairie/10.1637/0003-0031-185.1.57.short},
	author = {McCullough, K. and Haukos, D.A. and Albanese, G.}
}
@article {KNZ001974,
	title = {Management regime and habitat response influence abundance of regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) in tallgrass prairie},
	journal = {Ecosphere},
	volume = {10},
	year = {2019},
	pages = {e02845},
	abstract = {<p>The \&gt;2,570,000-ha Flint Hills ecoregion of Kansas, USA, harbors the largest remaining contiguous tract of tallgrass prairie in North America, a unique system, as the remainder of North America\&$\#$39;s tallgrass prairie has succumbed to development and conversion. Consequently, the loss and degradation of tallgrass prairie has reduced populations of many North American prairie-obligate species including the regal fritillary (Speyeria idalia) butterfly. Population abundance and occupied range of regal fritillary have declined \&gt;99\%, restricting many populations to isolated, remnant patches of tallgrass prairie. Such extensive decline has resulted in consideration of the regal fritillary for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Although it is widely accepted that management practices such as fire, grazing, and haying are necessary to maintain prairie ecosystems, reported responses by regal fritillary to these management regimes have been ambiguous. We tested effects of prescribed fire across short, moderate, and long fire-return intervals as well as grazing and haying management treatments on regal fritillary density. We also tested the relative influence of habitat characteristics created by these management regimes by measuring density of an obligate host plant (Viola spp.) and canopy cover of woody vegetation, grasses, forbs/ferns, bare ground, and litter. We found density was at least 1.6 times greater in sites burned with a moderate fire-return interval vs. sites burned with short and long fire-return intervals. Overall management regardless of fire-return interval did not have an effect on density. Percent cover of grass had the strongest positive association, while percent cover of woody vegetation had the greatest negative effect on density. Our results indicate that patch-burning is a viable and perhaps even ideal management strategy for regal fritillary in tallgrass prairie landscapes. Additionally, these results elucidate the importance of fire, particularly when applied at moderate-return intervals to regal fritillary, and corroborate a growing suite of studies that suggest fire is perhaps not as detrimental to populations of regal fritillary as previously believed.</p>},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ},
	doi = {10.1002/ecs2.2019.10.issue-810.1002/ecs2.2845},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/21508925/10/8},
	author = {McCullough, K. and Gene Albanese and David A. Haukos and Ricketts, A. M. and Stratton, S.}
}
