Multi-species aggregation and movement patterns of danaid butterflies (Nymphalidae: Danainae) in Hong Kong
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract Danaid butterflies (Nymphalidae: Danainae) in Asia form seasonal aggregations and/or exhibit migratory flights similar to those of the North American monarch ( Danaus plexippus ). In contrast to this well-studied single-species system, however, Asian danaids form smaller multi-species aggregations and show seasonal movements which remain relatively understudied. In this study, we used publicly reportable stickers to tag 15,918 danaid butterflies from 13 species and five genera ( Euploea , Tirumala , Danaus , Ideopsis , Parantica ) over four years in Hong Kong to elucidate patterns of seasonal aggregation and movements. Species assemblages were distinct at forested valley habitats versus open sites rich in pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) plants. Using mark-recapture, we estimated up to 16,000 butterflies in a single aggregation. Recoveries of 1,503 tags (50.6% reported by the public) revealed local movements of 78 individuals, but no butterflies were reported outside Hong Kong. The observed variation in aggregation dynamics and movement patterns indicate interspecific differences in site selection, overwintering strategies, and orientation of seasonal movement. Regional collaboration across southern China and the Indochinese region is necessary to understand these complicated patterns and inform the conservation of sensitive overwintering and migratory phenomena. Implications for insect conservation Aggregation and migration of Asian danaid butterflies may be similarly vulnerable to habitat and climate changes that have led to extensive declines in the migratory monarchs in North America. Our study highlights the need for dynamic and comprehensive conservation strategies that adequately consider the requirements of many species involved in the multi-species danaid systems in tropical and subtropical Asia.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".