Description
The Meetnetten - Transects for butterflies in Flanders, Belgium dataset is a sampling event dataset published by the Research Institute of Nature and Forest (INBO). It is part of the Meetnetten.be suite of monitoring networks for priority species in Flanders, in which data are collected at fixed locations using a standardized protocol (https://meetnetten.be). This dataset contains transect data for 8 priority butterfly species, as well as other butterflies observed during sampling. Here it is published as a standardized Darwin Core Archive and includes for each sampling event an eventID, date, location and sampling protocol (in the event core), the cloudiness, temperature, and wind force at the time of the event (in the measurement or fact extension) and for each occurrence an occurrenceID, the number of recorded individuals, status (present/absent) and scientific name (in the occurrence extension). Issues with the dataset can be reported at https://github.com/inbo/meetnetten-occurrences/issues
Generalized and/or withheld information: as these are sensitive priority species, location information is generalized to 1, 5 or 10 km Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid cells. Original locations are available upon request.
We have released this dataset to the public domain under a Creative Commons Zero waiver. We would appreciate it if you follow the INBO norms for data use (https://www.inbo.be/en/norms-data-use) when using the data. If you have any questions regarding this dataset, don't hesitate to contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata or via opendata@inbo.be.
For all published Meetnetten.be datasets, see https://www.gbif.org/dataset/search?project_id=meetnetten.be
Data Records
The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 9,807 records.
1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Piesschaert F, Maes D, Brosens D, Westra T, Desmet P, Ledegen H, Veraghtert W, Van de Poel S, Pollet M (2023). Meetnetten.be - Transects for butterflies in Flanders, Belgium. Version 1.30. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). Samplingevent dataset. https://doi.org/10.15468/kfhvy4
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 63938753-1fec-4c08-ae39-e9f8a6576521. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Belgian Biodiversity Platform.
Keywords
Samplingevent; butterflies; Lepidoptera; monitoring; priority species; Samplingevent
Contacts
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5843-646X
- Originator
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator
- Originator
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator
- Originator
- Originator
Geographic Coverage
Flanders, Belgium
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [50.67, 2.53], North East [51.51, 5.94] |
|---|
Taxonomic Coverage
The target butterfly species for Meetnetten.be are listed at https://meetnetten.be/#group-4. Other butterflies observed during the sampling are also included. This dataset covers the transect protocol, for which there are 8 target species.
| Kingdom | Animalia (animals) |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta (insects) |
| Order | Lepidoptera (butterflies) |
| Species | Cyaniris semiargus (mazarine blue / klaverblauwtje), Erynnis tages (dingy skipper / bruin dikkopje), Hesperia comma (silver-spotted skipper / kommavlinder), Hipparchia semele (grayling / heivlinder), Lasiommata megera (wall brown / argusvlinder), Melitaea cinxia (glanville fritillary / veldparelmoervlinder), Pyrgus malvae (grizzled skipper / aardbeivlinder), Pyronia tithonus (gatekeeper / oranje zandoogje), Euphydryas aurinia (Marsh fritillary) |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 2016-01-01 / 2022-05-20 |
|---|
Project Data
Meetnetten.be is a suite of monitoring networks through which the Flemish Government is collecting high-quality information on 65 priority plant and animal species. These are species on which Flanders has to report to Europe in the framework of the Habitats and Birds Directives, but also other species that are important for the Flemish nature policy.
| Title | Meetnetten.be |
|---|---|
| Identifier | meetnetten.be |
| Funding | Flemish Government |
| Study Area Description | Flanders, Belgium |
| Design Description | Each monitoring network consists of fixed sample locations in which target species are counted based on a standardized protocol. Data collection relies mainly on specialized volunteers, coordinated by the NGO Natuurpunt Studie. Fieldwork is planned and monitored with the web tool https://meetnetten.be, which is also used for entering the collected data. |
The personnel involved in the project:
Sampling Methods
Sampling was done using the protocol described in Maes et al. (2019) and explained to volunteers in Ledegen et al. (2018). Cyaniris semiargus (mazarine blue / klaverblauwtje), Erynnis tages (dingy skipper / bruin dikkopje), Hesperia comma (silver-spotted skipper / kommavlinder), Melitaea cinxia (glanville fritillary / veldparelmoervlinder) and Pyrgus malvae (grizzled skipper / aardbeivlinder) occur in less than 30 locations in Flanders. For these species all locations are selected for monitoring and counted annually. Hipparchia semele (grayling / heivlinder), Lasiommata megera (wall brown / argusvlinder) and Pyronia tithonus (gatekeeper / oranje zandoogje) occur in more than 30 locations. For these species a random sample of 30 locations was drawn, which are counted once every three years. Within each selected location, transect counts are carried out. A fixed route of a maximum of 1000m is mapped out, along which the numbers of butterflies per section of 50 m are counted within an imaginary cage of 5 x 5 m around the observer. The sampling protocol may vary a little, depending on the butterfly species. 1. Cyaniris semiargus (mazarine blue / klaverblauwtje): the first generation flies in spring (May), the second generation can be found in high summer (10 July - 10 August). Both seasons are followed up in this monitoring network (at least three field visits per flying season). 2. Erynnis tages (dingy skipper / bruin dikkopje): flies in 2 generations, in spring (May) and in high summer (20 July - 20 August) and is therefore followed up in both seasons (at least six field visits). 3. Hesperia comma (silver-spotted skipper / kommavlinder): we ask at least 3 field visits in good butterfly weather, during the month of August. 4. Hipparchia semele (grayling / heivlinder): in a counting year we ask at least 3 field visits in good butterfly weather, in the period from 20 July to 20 August. 5. Lasiommata megera (wall brown / argusvlinder): in a counting year we ask for 6 field visits in good butterfly weather, 3 in May and 3 in the period from 20 July to 20 August. 6. Melitaea cinxia (glanville fritillary / veldparelmoervlinder): we ask at least 3 field visits in good butterfly weather, between 1 and 31 May. 7. Pyrgus malvae (grizzled skipper / aardbeivlinder): we ask at least 3 field visits in good butterfly weather, during the month of May. 8. Pyronia tithonus (gatekeeper / oranje zandoogje): in a counting year we ask at least 3 field visits in good butterfly weather, in the period from 15 July to 15 August. 9. Euphydryas aurinia (Marsh fritillary) : 3 visits a year in good butterfly weather (3 field visits in May)
| Study Extent | 1. Cyaniris semiargus (mazarine blue / klaverblauwtje) was once widespread, but now endangered, with only one known location. It is bound to grasslands with sufficient Trifolium pratense (red clover), its host plant. 2. Erynnis tages (dingy skipper / bruin dikkopje) in Flanders is limited to a handful of locations in Limburg. It prefers (calcareous) grasslands with Lotus corniculatus (common bird's-foot trefoil). 3. Hesperia comma (silver-spotted skipper / kommavlinder) can be found in a limited number of dry heathland areas with well-developed heather-rich vegetation. 4. Hipparchia semele (grayling / heivlinder) is mainly found on dry heathland, heather-rich grasslands and dunes with open sand, sheep grass or ostrich grass. 5. Lasiommata megera (wall brown / argusvlinder) lives in verges and grasslands. Its populations have deteriorated considerably in recent decades. 6. Melitaea cinxia (glanville fritillary / veldparelmoervlinder) can be found in barren grasslands with a sufficient number of Plantago lanceolata (narrow plantain). 7. Pyrgus malvae (grizzled skipper / aardbeivlinder) can be found in only a handful of locations in Flanders. It lives on nutrient-poor grasslands, with Potentilla erecta (tormentil) as host plant. 8. Pyronia tithonus (gatekeeper / oranje zandoogje) is a common species in Flanders that occurs locally in high densities. The distribution of this species is limited to Europe and in Western Europe Pyronia tithonus reaches high densities, but here and there the species declines: therefore this butterfly was selected as a Flemish priority species. 9. Euphydryas aurinia (Marsh fritillary) The marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval stage lasts for approximately seven to eight months and includes a period of hibernation over the winter. |
|---|---|
| Quality Control | Data are collected using a predefined sampling protocol. |
Method step description:
- Researchers from INBO and Natuurpunt Studie define and document the appropriate sampling protocol for the target species.
- Fieldwork is planned and coordinated by Natuurpunt Studie, using https://meetnetten.be.
- Data are collected in the field by specialized volunteers, using the predefined sampling protocol.
- Volunteers enter the collected data in https://meetnetten.be.
- A custom SQL view is created in the meetnetten.be database to map the original data to Darwin Core as an event core and occurrence extension.
- The Darwin Core views are connected to the INBO IPT and documented with metadata.
- The dataset is published and registered with GBIF.
Bibliographic Citations
- Maes D, Ledegen H, Van de Poel S & Westra T (2019) Monitoringsprotocol Dagvlinders: Versie 2.0. Rapporten van het Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek 2019 (56). Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek, Brussel. https://doi.org/10.21436/inbor.16744530
- Ledegen H, Veraghtert W & Van de Poel S (2018) Veldwerkhandleiding dagvlinders. Natuurpunt Studie, Mechelen.
Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | 63938753-1fec-4c08-ae39-e9f8a6576521 |
|---|---|
| https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=meetnetten-butterflies-occurrences |