Abstract
The East Bassian Province is among the most varied parts of Australia and is also that most changed by intensive human activities. It contains the restricted alpine/subalpine regions as the southernmost parts of the Great Dividing Range, forests dominated by sclerophyll eucalypts, southern temperate rainforests with Nothofagus, formerly extensive lowland grasslands, upland grasslands above the treeline, a diversity of sedgelands and coastal dune systems, and a generally rich and varied vegetation. Each of the above biotopes, and others, supports butterfly taxa largely dependent on, and limited to, it. Each also gives conservation concerns due to anthropogenic changes, many of them severe, over the last century or so. The climate is ‘cool temperate’ with evident seasonality, and a trend to being warmer and dryer inland than near the coast. Three major thermal zones are sometimes recognized; warm temperate, such as along the coastal plains; cool temperate, the highlands; and cold temperate, the alpine areas. The region includes Australia’s largest cities (Sydney, Melbourne), the nation’s capital (Canberra), other state capitals (Adelaide, Hobart) and a number of substantial regional centres, and well over half of Australia’s rapidly increasing human population live within this area. Catering for the needs of increasing urbanisation and residential land use, together with recreation, industry and agriculture has led to substantial and rapid changes, and the entire region falls into Graetz et al.’s (1995) broad category of ‘intensive land use’.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Belvedere M, Bain G, Steller P (1998) Sword-grass brown butterfly project. Vict Nat 115: 142–145
Braby MF, Douglas F (2004) The taxonomy, ecology and conservation status of the Golden-rayed blue, a threatened butterfly endemic to western Victoria, Australia. Biol J Linn Soc 81: 275–299
Braby MF, Edwards T (2006) The butterfly fauna of the Griffith district, a fragmented semi-arid landscape in inland southern New South Wales. Pacif Conserv Biol 12: 140–154
Collier N, Mackay DA, Benkendorff K, Austin AD, Carthew SM (2006) Butterfly communities in South Australian urban reserves: estimating abundance and diversity using the Pollard walk. Aust Ecol 31: 282–290
Graetz RD, Wilson MA, Campbell SK (1995) Landcover disturbance over the Australian continent, a contemporary assessment. Biodiversity series paper no 7. Department of Environment, Sport and Territories, Canberra
Grund R (2004) South Australian butterflies. Data sheet. Candalides noelkeri Braby and Douglas (Golden-rayed Blue). (http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~rbg/noelkeri_ds.htm, accessed July 2009)
Grund R (2006) South Australian butterflies. Data sheet. Heteronympha cordace wilsoni Burns (Bright-eyed Brown). (http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/∼erg/cordace_ds.htm, accessed July 2009)
Grund R, Hunt L (2000) Butterfly conservation in the lower south-east region. Department of Environment and Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia
Haywood BT, Natt V (2006) First confirmed record of Heteronympha cordace wilsoni Burns (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) in South Australia. Aust Entomol 33: 5–7
Hofmeister B (1988) Australia and its urban centres. Gebrueder Borntraeger, Berlin
Kirkpatrick J, McDougall K, Hyde M (1995) Australia’s most threatened ecosystems. The southeastern lowland native grasslands. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton
Kitching RL, Edwards ED, Ferguson D, Fletcher MB, Walker JM (1978) The butterflies of the Australian Capital Territory. J Aust Entomol Soc 17: 125–133
Koh LP, Sodhi NS (2004) Importance of reserves, fragments and parks for butterfly conservation in a tropical urban landscape. Ecol Appl 14: 1695–1708
New TR (2005) Recreation and reserves: values of golf courses for insect conservation. J Insect Conserv 9: 1–2
New TR, Sands DPA (2003a) Conservation concerns for butterflies in urban areas of Australia. J Insect Conserv 6(2002): 207–215
Pollard E, Eversham BC (1995) Butterfly monitoring 2 – interpreting the changes. pp. 23–36 in Pullin AS (ed) Ecology and conservation of butterflies. Chapman & Hall, London
Sands DPA, New TR (2002) The Action Plan for Australian Butterflies. Environment Australia, Canberra
Sattler P, Creighton C (2002) Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002. Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra
Valentine PW (2004) The demise of mass migration of the brown awl Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius 1775) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae): a consequence of land clearing in Queensland? Pacif Conserv Biol 10: 67–69
Waterhouse GA (1897) The genus Heteronympha in New South Wales Proc Linn Soc NSW 22: 240–243
Williams MR (2009) Butterflies and day-flying moths in a fragmented urban landscape, south-western Western Australia: patterns of species richness. Pacif Conserv Biol 15: 32–46
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Netherlands
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
New, T.R. (2011). Environments for Butterflies in South Eastern Australia. In: Butterfly Conservation in South-Eastern Australia: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9926-6_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9926-6_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-9925-9
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9926-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)