Flitter Further North

摘要

Many species are edging northwards in response to climate change, among them the UK-resident butterflies marbled white (Melanargia galathea) and small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris). In 1999 and 2000, Stephen Willis of Durham University, UK, and his colleagues collected several hundred adults of each species and moved them many kilometres north of their current ranges.rnBoth butterflies thrived in their new homes, suggesting that their ability to disperse northwards is slower than the rate at which suitable habitat is becoming available owing to climate change. The authors say that actively moving certain species may help them to survive climate change.