Postgraduate research students

Long-term population trends of butterflies can provide detailed information on environmental health as well as the effects of climate change on biodiversity. The holometabolous and multivoltine life history of many butterfly species exposes them to a wide range of environmental factors that are typically affected by habitat disturbance. This means that they quickly respond to biotope disturbances, such as changes in vegetation composition and structure, pollution, and climatic changes, making them good bio-indicators. However, the type of protocol used to collect long-term data in monitoring schemes has a significant impact on the accuracy and reliability of the results, as well as subsequent interpretations. Therefore, in order for trends in butterfly populations to be used as effective indicators, surveys have to employ a protocol that provides replicable data on phenology, species composition, and abundance, with minimal bias.

Butterfly monitoring protocols have primarily been developed and employed in temperate environments in the Northern hemisphere and then been adapted elsewhere without investigating their suitability. Hence, there is an urgent need for comparative studies to assess the performance of different butterfly monitoring protocols in tropical habitats, yet such research is still relatively rare. Hence this has become a conservation priority. My current research seeks to develop effective protocols for monitoring butterfly populations in sub-Saharan savannah, and the set the guidlines for monitoring butterfly populations in the region

Tende, T., Iniunam, I. A., Ivande, S. T., Awoyemi, A. G., Danmallam, B. A., Ringim, A. S., ... & Ottosson, U. (2024). Citizen science mitigates the lack of distributional data on Nigerian birds. Ecology and Evolution, 14(4), e11280. 

• Dr Oskar Brattstrom
• Dr Sofie Spatharis

1. Rufford Small Grant - Developing capacity for butterfly monitoring on the Jos Plateau

1. Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS), 2023 - Cambridge (preseented a poster titled: Developing effective protocol for butterfly monitoring in sub-saharan savannah habitats

2. Butterfly Biology Conference (BBConf), 2024 - Nigerian Butterfly Network - towards developing a nationwide monitoring scheme