[Pollinator] The Xerces Society Announces the 2014 Joan Mosenthal DeWind Award Winners

[Matthew Shepherd]

The Xerces Society is thrilled to announce the two winners of the 2014 Joan
Mosenthal DeWind Awards. From among the exceptional applications we
received, the following two students were selected: 

 

Anuj Jain - National University of Singapore, Department of Biological
Sciences

Habitat enrichment for butterflies in tropical forest and urban landscapes

Deforestation and habitat degradation are primary conservation concerns,
reducing and fragmenting critical habitats and resources for tropical
insects. As a result, many threatened insects cannot maintain their own
populations and need intervention in the form of habitat enrichment.
Experimental studies that manipulate key insect resources and quantify
insects' response are lacking, despite these studies' great conservation
potential. Using Singapore as a model system, our research will quantify the
effect of a habitat enrichment strategy by using larval host plants and
nectar plants for four butterfly species (two locally threatened) with
different habitat requirements, studied across mature forest, degraded
forest, and urban landscapes.

 

Yu-Hsuan Liu - North Carolina State University, Department of Biological
Sciences

Do corridors increase gene flow in butterflies?

Many butterflies are threatened by habitat fragmentation, which causes loss
of genetic diversity in their populations, deteriorating long-term survival,
and diminishing restoration success. Corridors, which reconnect fragmented
landscapes through strips of habitats, are a promising conservation strategy
to reverse these adverse effects. However, there is not enough support for
the theory that corridors promote sufficient gene flow to assist in
butterfly population persistence. I propose to use two well-studied species,
the buckeye (Junonia coenia) and variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia),
in the world's largest corridor experiment at Savannah River Site as a case
study to test whether corridors will be an effective long-term conservation
strategy for butterflies.

 

The board and staff of the Society congratulate Anuj and Yu-Hsuan and thank
all the applicants for their outstanding efforts in invertebrate
conservation.

 

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. 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 40 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. 

 

For more information on the DeWind Award, visit
http://www.xerces.org/dewind.htm  

 

 

________

 

Matthew Shepherd

Communications Director

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Protecting the Life that Sustains Us

 

628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA

 <mailto:mdshepherd at xerces.org> mdshepherd at xerces.org 

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110

Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110

Cell: (503) 807-1577

Fax: (503) 233-6794

 

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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat.

 

To join the Society, make a donation, or read about our work, please visit
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