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March 14, 2008<br><br>
<div align="center"><h2><b>The Xerces Society Announces the 2008 Joan
Mosenthal DeWind Award Winners</b></h2></div>
The DeWind Awards are given to individuals engaged in studies or research
leading to a university degree related to Lepidoptera research and
conservation and working or intending to work in that field. From among
the exceptional applications we received, the following three projects
were selected: <br><br>
<b>Linking Local Behavior and Range-Wide Movement to Conserve a Rare
Butterfly in an Urbanized Landscape<br>
</b>Allison K. Leidner<b>, </b>PhD candidate - Department of Zoology,
North Carolina State University<br><br>
Habitat loss and fragmentation by urban development pose severe threats
to species viability. This research focuses on a newly identified
<i>Atrytonopsis</i> species which uses heavily fragmented sand dune
habitat along a 30-mile stretch of North Carolina’s barrier islands.
Combining local behavioral studies with range-wide analyses of population
structure, this study will determine the effects of habitat fragmentation
and urbanization on the movement of <i>Atrytonopsis</i>. Ultimately, this
information can identify features in the landscape that promote movement,
and be used to generate conservation strategies that will help maintain
the long-term persistence of <i>Atrytonopsis.<br><br>
</i><b>Climate Change as a Threat to Geometrid Moths along an Altitudinal
Gradient in the North Eastern Andes of Ecuador <br>
</b>Genoveva R. Castañeda, PhD candidate - Department of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University<br>
<br>
Climate change is predicted to change species’ distributions, potentially
decoupling interactions among species, with related consequences for
entire communities. Ecological models and empirical data predict
that these impacts will be more severe for montane species, as these
species have upper limits to potential range expansion in response to
warmer temperatures. This study will experimentally extend the
altitudinal range of ants, the dominant predators of <i>Eios</i>
geometrid caterpillars in the Andean mountains of Ecuador, in order to
investigate the impacts that increases in global temperatures will have
on ant-plant mutualisms and distributions of Lepidoptera. <br><br>
<b>Rising Treeline and Shifting Host-Plan Dynamics: Implications for a
Monophagous Alpine Butterfly<br>
</b>Kurt Illerbrun, Graduate Student - Department of Biological Sciences,
University of Alberta<br><br>
Climate mediated treeline rise reduces the size and contiguity of alpine
meadows worldwide, altering the ecology of alpine flora and fauna. On
Jumpingpound Ridge in Alberta, Canada, treeline may be a major
determinant of distribution and abundance for <i>Sedum lanceolatum</i>,
host plant of the Apollo butterfly <i>Parnassius smintheus</i>, whose
larvae are monophagous. This research will examine the effects of
advancing treeline and herbivory on <i>Sedum </i>distribution and
dynamics, and relate these effects to the observed responses in movement
and herbivory pattern of <i>Parnassius </i>larvae. Knowledge of
fine-scale resource usage by larvae will aid in understanding and
predicting butterfly responses to habitat change in similar environments,
with direct relevance to endangered lepidoptera.<br>
<br>
Joan Mosenthal DeWind was a pioneering member of the Xerces Society. A
psychiatric social worker by profession, she was also an avid butterfly
gardener and an accomplished amateur lepidopterist. Her contributions of
time, organizational expertise, and financial support were essential to
the growth and success of the Xerces Society over the past 25 years. Joan
also had a keen interest in young people, supporting what became the
Young Entomologists’ Society. In Joan’s memory, Bill DeWind established a
student research endowment fund in her name. <br>
<br>
For more information on the DeWind Award, visit
<a href="http://www.xerces.org/dewind.htm">
http://www.xerces.org/dewind.htm</a> <br>
<br>
Congratulations to the award winners and to all the applicants for their
outstanding efforts in invertebrate conservation!<br><br>
<br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
*************************<br>
Scott Hoffman Black<br>
Ecologist/Entomologist<br>
Executive Director<br>
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<br>
4828 SE Hawthorne <br>
Portland, OR 97215 <br>
Direct line (503) 449-3792<br>
sblack@xerces.org<br><br>
<i>The Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that
protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their
habitat. <br>
</i> <br>
To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, <br>
please visit
<a href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</a>.<br><br>
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