02500nas a2200229   4500008004100000245008200041210006900123260001200192300001200204490000800216520177100224653002001995653001602015653001702031653001602048653002002064653002202084653002302106100001402129700001902143856010802162       2003                        eng d00aDiversity patterns in butterfly communities of the Greek nature reserve Dadia0 aDiversity patterns in butterfly communities of the Greek nature   c2003///  a427-4360 v1143 aTraditionally, nature reserves have been centered mainly around areas that are important for vertebrate diversity. This practice has not gone unchallenged and may be a suboptimal choice for overall conservation planning. To investigate this problem, we sampled butterfly species richness in a nature reserve in north eastern Greece that was originally established for the protection of birds of prey. Patterns of butterfly species richness and abundance were investigated by means of transect walks across a range of the seven predominant habitat types (wet and dry meadow, pine, oak and mixed forest, grazed, and agricultural land). Data analysis, including ANOVA and DCA (detrended correspondence analysis), revealed that the main gradients in butterfly species richness (low to high) were from sites dominated by the pine forest matrix of the core areas of the reserve, to peripheral sites in landscapes of mixed or oak forest, and from sites with little human impact to more disturbed areas with high grazing pressure. Species of conservation interest were concentrated at sites of low human impact. Ten of them are endemic to Europe and/or threatened in Europe. In this respect, the most important species are Lycaena ottomanus, Thymelicus acteon, and Pseudophilotes vicrama which are declining all over Europe. Our results suggest that (1) traditional agricultural practices in areas surrounded by forest can be considered as important management tools in butterfly conservation, (2) highest butterfly species richness is found in the periphery of the reserve rather than in the core areas, and (3) for butterfly conservation the zones surrounding the strictly protected areas are equally important as the core areas. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.10aBalkan endemics10abutterflies10aconservation10aLepidoptera10aNature reserves10aspecies diversity10athreatened species1 aGrill, A.1 aCleary, D.F.R.  uhttps://icgf.myspecies.info/content/diversity-patterns-butterfly-communities-greek-nature-reserve-dadia