Aim To examine how butterfly population trends respond to climate change and urbanisation at a continental scale, and whether responses differ between urban and rural environments. Location 869 sites across 12 European countries, spanning six bioclimatic zones. Time Period 1976–2021. Major Taxa Studied Butterflies (Lepidoptera). Methods We analysed long‐term monitoring data from > 8400 populations of 145 species representing a...

Aim Anthropogenic‐driven biodiversity loss can impact ecosystem stability. However, most studies have only evaluated the diversity–stability relationship at the local scale and we do not fully understand which factors stabilize animal populations and communities across scales. Here, we investigate the role of species dispersal ability, climate, spatial distance and different facets of biodiversity on the stability of butterfly...

Habitat fragmentation may present a major impediment to species range shifts caused by climate change, but how it affects local community dynamics in a changing climate has so far not been adequately investigated empirically. Using long‐term monitoring data of butterfly assemblages, we tested the effects of the amount and distribution of semi‐natural habitat (SNH), moderated by species traits, on climate‐driven species turnove...

Aim The aim was to assess the sensitivity of butterfly population dynamics to variation in weather conditions across their geographical ranges, relative to sensitivity to density dependence, and determine whether sensitivity is greater towards latitudinal range margins. Location Europe. Time period 1980–2014. Major taxa studied Butterflies. Methods We use long‐term (35 years) butterfly monitoring data from > 900 sites, ranging...

Analyses of species' population losses typically show a dichotomy between strongly affected, rare, and localized species and apparently unaffected, common, and widespread species. We analyzed 16 years (1992–2007) of butterfly transect count data from The Netherlands in a reevaluation of the trends of common, widespread species. Fifty‐five percent (11 of 20 species) of these species suffered severe declines in distribution and...

Without robust and unbiased systems for monitoring, changes in natural systems will remain enigmatic for policy makers, leaving them without a clear idea of the consequences of any environmental policies they might adopt. Generally, biodiversity‐monitoring activities are not integrated or evaluated across any large geographic region. The EuMon project conducted the first large‐scale evaluation of monitoring practices in Europe...

Global warming may explain the current poleward shift of species distributions. However, paradoxically, climatic warming can lead to microclimatic cooling in spring by advancing plant growth, an effect worsened by excess nitrogen. We suggest that spring‐developing but thermophilous organisms, such as butterflies hibernating as egg or larva, are particularly sensitive to the cooling of microclimates. Using published data on but...