climate change seems to be a stronger change-agent than habitat
loss Warming climate has been reshaping Massachusetts butterfly
communities, researchers say, and Southern species seldom seen
before are moving in. Analyzing 19 years of data from field
trips by the amateur naturalist group the Massachusetts
Butterfly Club, researchers at Harvard University said they've
filled a crucial gap in the scientific record. More than three-
quarters of northerly species, those with a range centered north
of Boston are now declining in Massachusetts, many of them
rapidly, a Harvard release reported. Meanwhile subtropical and
warm-climate species such as the giant swallowtail and zabulon
skipper -- rare or absent in Massachusetts as recently as the
late 1980s -- have shown sharp increases, researchers said. "For
most butterfly species, climate change seems to be a stronger
change-agent than habitat loss," lead study author Greg Breed
said. "Protecting habitat remains a key management strategy, and
that may help some butter