Article,
The impact of extreme weather on habitat preference and survival in a metapopulation of the bush cricket Metrioptera bicolor in Sweden
Biological Conservation, 73 (1): 51--58 (1995)
Abstract
The bush cricket, Metrioptera bicolor Philippi (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae), lives in an archipelago of grassland fragments within pine forest in southernmost Sweden. In 1992, an exceptional drought forced this bush cricket to use other habitats including the pine forest, which is normally an effective barrier for dispersal. This behaviour may increase the gene flow between separate habitat patches. In most years, tall and low grassland are roughly equally good for M. bicolor, but in 1992 local populations living on patches with a high proportion of tall grassland decreased less than populations living on patches dominated by low grassland. This study shows that we cannot expect dispersal rates and habitat preferences to remain constant over time. In order to preserve endagered species it may be important to save a wide range of habitats with different local climates.
