Habitat quality is one main trigger for the persistence of butterflies. The effects of the influencing biotic and abiotic factors may be enhanced by the challenging conditions in high-alpine environments. To better our knowledge in this field, we performed a mark-release-recapture study with Boloria pales in the Southern Carpathians. We analysed population structure, movement and foraging behaviour to investigate special adaptations to the alpine environment and to reveal differences between sexes. We compared these aspects in one sector with and one sector without grazing to address the effects of grazing intensity on habitat quality. We observed “soft” protandry, in which only a small number of males appeared before females, and an extended emergence of individuals over the observed flight period, dividing the population’s age structure into three phases; both observations are considered adaptations to high mountain environments. Although both sexes were mostly sedentary, movement differences between them were obvious. Males flew larger distances than females and were more flight-active. This might explain the dimorphism in foraging behaviour: males preferred nectar sources of Asteraceae, females Caprifoliaceae. Transition from the grazed to the ungrazed sector was only observed for males and not for females, but the population density was higher and the flight distances of the individuals were significantly longer on the grazed sector compared with the ungrazed one. Soft protandry, an extended emergence of the individuals and an adapted behavioural dimorphism between sexes render to represent a good adaptation of B. pales to the harsh environmental conditions of high mountain ecosystems. However, land-use intensity apparently has severe influence on population densities and movement behaviour. To protect B. pales and other high-alpine species from the negative consequences of overgrazing, areas without or just light grazing are needed.

中文翻译：

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罗马尼亚喀尔巴阡山脉高山蝴蝶Boloria的分散和适应策略相形见绌

栖息地质量是蝴蝶持续存在的主要触发因素之一。高寒环境中的挑战性条件可能会增强影响生物和非生物因素的影响。为了更好地了解这一领域，我们在南喀尔巴阡山脉对 Boloria 进行了一次标记释放-重新捕获研究。我们分析了种群结构、运动和觅食行为，以研究对高山环境的特殊适应，并揭示两性之间的差异。我们在一个有放牧的部门和一个没有放牧的部门比较了这些方面，以解决放牧强度对栖息地质量的影响。我们观察到“软”先兆，其中只有少数雄性出现在雌性之前，并且在观察到的飞行期间个体的出现时间延长，将人口年龄结构划分为三个阶段；这两种观察都被认为是对高山环境的适应。尽管两性大多是久坐不动的，但他们之间的运动差异是显而易见的。雄性比雌性飞行的距离更远，飞行更活跃。这可能解释了觅食行为的二态性：雄性更喜欢菊科的花蜜来源，雌性更喜欢 Caprifoliaceae。从放牧区到非放牧区的转变仅观察到雄性而不是雌性，但与未放牧区相比，放牧区的种群密度更高，个体的飞行距离明显更长。柔软的先天性、个体的扩展出现和两性之间适应的行为二态性呈现出代表 B 的良好适应。高山生态系统的恶劣环境条件相形见绌。然而，土地利用强度显然对人口密度和迁移行为有严重影响。为了保护 B.pales 和其他高山物种免受过度放牧的负面影响，需要没有或只是轻度放牧的地区。