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The effects of disturbance on forest butterflies using two methods of sampling in Trinidad
Abstract
The butterfly assemblages of pairs of forest habitats, differing in disturbance level, within the Victoria Mayaro reserve of South-East Trinidad, are described using walk-and-count transects and canopy and understorey fruit traps. The concurrent use of these two butterfly censusing techniques, revealed major but conflicting differences in species accumulation rates under different disturbance conditions. The disturbed evergreen habitat had the significantly highest accumulation rate from walk-and-count data but the significantly lowest from fruit trap data. This reflects the specificity of much of the fruit-feeding guild for closed canopy forest. Disturbed habitats were found to lack a distinct canopy fauna. These results are discussed in light of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Within a region of forest, butterflies were found to be more characteristic of a disturbance level than of a particular forest type, lending weight to the belief that butterfly faunas can be used as bioindicators of forest disturbance. Several restricted geographic range species were not adversely affected by forest disturbance, at these levels of disturbance. The butterfly censuses in this study suggest that the optimal strategy for safeguarding butterfly species richness under natural forest management regimes would be to maintain a mosaic of habitats that included areas of undisturbed primary forest and a network of other forest patches, that varied in management regime and level of disturbance.
... Butterflies are effective ecological models because they are very responsive to changes in local weather patterns, attributes of habitat as well as seasonal trends, and vegetation fragmentation. Butterflies have a well-defined taxonomic classification, as well as a well-defined life cycle and biology (Nelson and Anderson, 1994;Wood and Gillman, 1998) [28,49,49] . Around 273,000 species of Lepidoptera [butterflies (28,000) and moths (245,000)] have been identified in the world today, accounting for one-quarter of all known species (Emmel 2012;Nair et al. 2014;MCLB 2021) [9,27,23] . ...
... Butterflies are effective ecological models because they are very responsive to changes in local weather patterns, attributes of habitat as well as seasonal trends, and vegetation fragmentation. Butterflies have a well-defined taxonomic classification, as well as a well-defined life cycle and biology (Nelson and Anderson, 1994;Wood and Gillman, 1998) [28,49,49] . Around 273,000 species of Lepidoptera [butterflies (28,000) and moths (245,000)] have been identified in the world today, accounting for one-quarter of all known species (Emmel 2012;Nair et al. 2014;MCLB 2021) [9,27,23] . ...
... Butterflies are effective ecological models because they are very responsive to changes in local weather patterns, attributes of habitat as well as seasonal trends, and vegetation fragmentation. Butterflies have a well-defined taxonomic classification, as well as a well-defined life cycle and biology (Nelson and Anderson, 1994;Wood and Gillman, 1998) [28,49,49] . Around 273,000 species of Lepidoptera [butterflies (28,000) and moths (245,000)] have been identified in the world today, accounting for one-quarter of all known species (Emmel 2012;Nair et al. 2014;MCLB 2021) [9,27,23] . ...
The present study was conducted at two selected sites of Junagadh, Gujarat, India. The survey was conducted from July 2021 to February 2022 using pollard walk method on fixed transects at both sites. A total of 5,754 individuals of butterflies representing 44 Genera and 66 Species belonging to five families were recorded from the study sites. Pelopidas sinensis and Potanthus confucius belonging to family Hesperiidae were recorded first time from Junagadh, Gujarat. Industrial study site has less diversity of butterflies as compared to Baliyavad Dam site, due to lack of floral resources. This study helps in the conservation of butterflies by giving proper attention to plantation in the Industrial zones.
... Los datos obtenidos por ambos métodos de muestreo de mariposas se complementan y permiten tener una lista más completa de especies de Nymphalidae (Wood and Gillman 1998;Castro and Espinosa 2015;Jakubikova and Kadlec 2015;Graça et al. 2017), pero no se pueden combinar para estimar la abundancia de especies. Por tanto, los índices que no requieren información de abundancia, como riqueza y lista de especies, se elaboraron para cada sitio y época utilizando los datos de ambos métodos de muestreo integrados, mientras que la abundancia y heterogeneidad (inverso del índice de diversidad de Simpson [Simpson 1949]) se calcularon de manera separada para cada método de muestreo. ...
... Esto puede explicar la presencia de especies conocidas como indicadoras de bosque primario en bosque secundario (e.g., Haetera piera, Pierella hyceta, Nessaea obrinus, Consul fabius, Bia rebeli y Morpho achilles) y en cultivos (Taygetis mermeria), así como la presencia de algunas especies de sotobosque en los cultivos (Oleria victorine y P. valentina). Otros estudios también reportaron la presencia de especies de bosque primario en sitios con mayor perturbación, y lo atribuyeron principalmente a la presencia de sus plantas hospederas (DeVries et al. 1997;Wood and Gillman 1998;Ghazoul 2002). También se reportó que la distancia entre fragmentos de bosque no afecta la presencia de mariposas tanto como lo hace la disponibilidad de recursos alimenticios (Haddad and Baum 1999;Krauss et al. 2004;Veddeler et al. 2005). ...
... genoveva y Hermeuptychia sp.) fueron capturadas mayormente por el método manual (91% y 70%, respectivamente), reduciendo la heterogeneidad en este nivel de perturbación. Dado que la perturbación puede afectar de distinta manera a distintos grupos del ensamblaje de mariposas, es importante que las evaluaciones complementen el muestreo con captura manual (Wood and Gillman 1998;Castro and Espinosa 2015;Jakubikova and Kadlec 2015;Graça et al. 2017;Checa et al. 2019). C����������� La presencia de especies asociadas a bosque conservado en el área de estudio, sumada a la similitud en la composición de sitios de bosque primario y secundario, resalta la importancia del bosque primario para conservar la riqueza de Nymphalidae en el área (Wood and Gillman 1998;Horner-Devine et al. 2003;Veddeler et al. 2005;Gibson et al. 2011). ...
Tropical forests conversion to agriculture has increased in recent years, though often followed by land abandonment and subsequent conversion to secondary forest. In this study, we evaluated the effect of disturbance on Nymphalid butterfly assemblages in an area of mountain foothill forests in Bolivia by comparing the butterfly diversity and species composition among primary forests, secondary forests and cacao crops. Data were obtained in two seasons, dry and dry-to-wet transition, using two sampling methods (bait traps and hand net). Species richness and butterfly abundance were higher in the understory of primary forests than in crops during the transition season. The sampling method can influence the detection of community variation: with traps, we only detected seasonal variation, while we registered higher abundance in both types of forests than crops with manual sampling, with higher heterogeneity in the understory of primary forests than in crops. There was also a difference in butterfly species composition between crops and both types of forest. Although some understory butterflies are capable of inhabiting disturbed sites, we should highlight the importance of primary forest for the maintenance of specific species and groups that could be lost if the disturbance dynamics intensify. Finally, long-term studies are necessary to understand species dynamics in the area, both their seasonality and the interrelationship with available resources in each type of habitat.
... Butterflies are another well studied group that have the potential to serve as indicators of disturbance (Sundufu and Dumbuya 2008), and have been widely used in habitat disturbance studies elsewhere (Beck and Schulze 2000;Wood and Gillman 1998;DeVries et al. 1997;Hill et al. 1995;Sparrow et al. 1994;Spitzer et al. 1993;Kremen 1992;Brown 1991;Lovejoy et al. 1986;). These insects have also been suggested as good environmental indicators due to their sensitivity to microclimate and light intensity changes (Wood and Gillman, 1998;Erhardt, 1985), and because of their complex life history (Kremen, 1992;Ehrlich, 1984). ...
... Butterflies are another well studied group that have the potential to serve as indicators of disturbance (Sundufu and Dumbuya 2008), and have been widely used in habitat disturbance studies elsewhere (Beck and Schulze 2000;Wood and Gillman 1998;DeVries et al. 1997;Hill et al. 1995;Sparrow et al. 1994;Spitzer et al. 1993;Kremen 1992;Brown 1991;Lovejoy et al. 1986;). These insects have also been suggested as good environmental indicators due to their sensitivity to microclimate and light intensity changes (Wood and Gillman, 1998;Erhardt, 1985), and because of their complex life history (Kremen, 1992;Ehrlich, 1984). Butterfly taxonomy, distribution and natural history (Brown, 1997) is also well known and many species can be reliably identified in the field (Wood and Gillman, 1998). ...
... These insects have also been suggested as good environmental indicators due to their sensitivity to microclimate and light intensity changes (Wood and Gillman, 1998;Erhardt, 1985), and because of their complex life history (Kremen, 1992;Ehrlich, 1984). Butterfly taxonomy, distribution and natural history (Brown, 1997) is also well known and many species can be reliably identified in the field (Wood and Gillman, 1998). ...
... The study of butterflies which comprises of their diversity and abundance in various geographical areas have been a topic of interest since long past. The species-level taxonomy, life history and biology of butterflies are very well studied since the early 18 th century and is presently well established and relatively stable (Nelson and Anderson, 1994;Wood and Gillman, 1998; David et al., 2013) [22,41,6] . Butterflies are considered as one of the most accepted species for biodiversity studies as these globally distributed as well as economically important insects perform a vital role in the functioning of ecosystem. ...
... The study of butterflies which comprises of their diversity and abundance in various geographical areas have been a topic of interest since long past. The species-level taxonomy, life history and biology of butterflies are very well studied since the early 18 th century and is presently well established and relatively stable (Nelson and Anderson, 1994;Wood and Gillman, 1998; David et al., 2013) [22,41,6] . Butterflies are considered as one of the most accepted species for biodiversity studies as these globally distributed as well as economically important insects perform a vital role in the functioning of ecosystem. ...
Butterflies, being a fascinating creature of nature as well as a great ecological indicator, have been on the forefront of conservation initiatives since a long period. A short-term study on diversity and abundance of butterfly community was carried out in North Narayanguri, Assam, an adjoining area of Manas National Park from 10 th to 16 th November, 2024, which recorded a total of 133 butterfly species belonging to six families and 87 genera, out of which ten species were observed to be legally protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. When comparing the species percentage composition, Nymphalidae was found as dominant family (40.54%), followed by Pieridae (29.28%), Lycaenidae (18.15%), Papilionidae (6.55%), Hesperiidae (4.20%), Riodinidae (1.28%). Among all the sampled butterfly species, Common Emigrant (Catopsilia Pomona) was found to be the most abundant one constituting 4.20%, closely followed by Mottled Emigrant (Catopsilia pyranthe) with 4.15%. Based on the sightings of the butterflies during the survey period, 87.50% butterflies of the population were under the category very common (VC), 10.66% under common (C), 1.46% under fairly common (FC) and 0.39% under uncommon (UC) category. Family Nymphalidae was recorded with the highest value for the Shannon diversity index (H') (3.57), whereas, the lowest value for this index was recorded from Riodinidae family (0.24). In case of Shannon Hmax, family Nymphalidae (2.98) was again found as the most diverse one, followed by Pieridae (2.84) and Lycaenidae family (2.63). The Whittaker plot and the results of diversity indices, Shannon's index (H'=4.38), Pielou's evenness index (J=0.90) and Simpson's index of diversity (D=0.98) revealed that the butterfly community in the study area was highly diverse with even distribution and high abundance. The vegetations of this site provide a suitable habitat to the butterfly community. For the conservation of this habitat and well-being of this indicator species, there is a need of further studies focussing on assessment of different aspects of butterfly ecology.
... These results can be attributed to the presence of host and larval plant species, whose occurrence impacts distribution of butterflies [10]. There are many studies that have shown higher butterfly diversity in disturbed habitat or forest gaps than that in dense forest or closed canopy [11][12][13][14]. This study, therefore, shows some sort of contradictory results which might be due to different levels of disturbance among these habitats, more in open scrub in terms of human interference in the form of fuel wood gathering, cattle grazing, forest fire, and so forth, but less in urbanized habitat where there are well maintained gardens. ...
... These human interferences result in more gaps, edges which provide more light and space, and diversity in plant structure to support more butterfly species than natural forest [3,13,15]. The correlation of disturbance and occurrence of butterflies is attributed to the emergence of secondary vegetation like Lantana camera, Eupatorium odoratum, and so forth, which are good food sources for many butterfly species [14]. One important aspect of study is the statistics of common species between different habitats which indicates the beta diversity and how different (or similar) these habitats are in terms of the variety and abundance of species found in them. ...
... En Sara Ana se han registrado 86 especies que se alimentan de materia orgánica en descomposición y 4 especies que posiblemente pertenecen a este gremio. Estas mariposas se consideran buenos indicadores del estado de conservación del hábitat y pueden permitir monitorear rápidamente una declinación en la diversidad de especies (Erhardt 1985, Kremen 1992, Kremen et al. 1993, Brown & Hutchings 1997, Andrade 1998, Lawton et al. 1998, Wood & Gillman 1998, DeVries & Walla 2001, García-Perez et al. 2007, Millán et al. 2009, Orozco et al. 2009). ...
... Las especies Nessaea hewitsonii y Haetera piera, también consideradas indicadoras de bosque primario o maduro, fueron registradas en bosque secundario (fuera de las parcelas experimentales), esto también fue ob-servado en otros estudios, en los que se atribuye el registro de especies indicadoras de bosque conservado en sitios menos conservados a la presencia de sus plantas hospederas (DeVries et al. 1997, Wood & Gillman 1998, Ghazoul 2002, González-Valdivia et al. 2016, lo que indica que pueden adaptarse a ambientes perturbados. Sin embargo, cabe resaltar la necesidad de estudios que confirmen la presencia permanente de los adultos en sitios perturbados y la presencia de las plantas hospederas en éstos ambientes. ...
... -10.30 AM) and afternoon (15.00 -17.00 PM) (Wood & Gillman 1998). Butterfly collection was carried out for 3 days in each study area. ...
... Each butterfly encountered at a radius of 5 m to the left and right of the transect line and 5 m forward was captured with insect nets, then killed by punching the thorax, and finally inserted into papilot (triangle shaped paper). The time and date of the collection, the location of the study, and the code of numbers to distinguish one species from another were recorded in each folded paper (Wood & Gillman 1998). ...
Wiranti D, Nurtjahya E, Dahelmi. 2019. Short Communication: The diversity of butterflies (Superfamily Papilionoidea) as a success indicator of tin-mined land revegetation. Biodiversitas 20: 1923-1928. Some former tin-mining areas in Belitung District have been revegetated. With the increase of vegetation age, the environmental quality changes, and so does the diversity of insects living in the vegetated areas. The objective of this study was to propose the use of butterfly diversity as a success indicator of tin-mined land revegetation. The research was conducted at six locations in Belitung District, consisting of one tin-mined land that had not been revegetated, four revegetated tin-mined lands with different ages of vegetation, namely 1-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-20 years, more than 20 years, and primary forest in Gunung Tajam. The research used the Pollard walk method and specimens were obtained using insect nets. The results showed that the highest diversity of butterflies was recorded in primary forest (31 species), followed by vegetat ed mined lands with the following ages of vegetation: > 20 years (21 species), 10-20 years (15 species), 5-10 years (14 species), and 1-5 years (7 species), and the lowest diversity was found in tin-mined land that had not been revegetated (2 species). The Shannon-Wiener diversity index in tin-mined land that had not been revegetated was low, namely 0.56 while in the revegetated tin mined land was medium, i.e., 1.47-2.96 and in primary forest was high, i.e., 3.2. The diversity of butterflies in revegetated land increased with the increasin g age of vegetation, and the community similarity index between revegetated land and forest also increased with the increasing age of vegetation. Therefore, the diversity of butterflies may be used as a success indicator of revegetation in former tin mining areas.
... have an impact on butterfly habitats as well. They are also excellent markers of activity and environmental disruption [45,[79][80][81][82]. Sensitivity to temperature and climatic variations, butterflies may be valuable ecological markers of urbanization [78,[84][85][86][87][88]. The present study two year investigates insect biodiversity in two different micro agro ecosystem. ...
Butterflies are important bio-indicators that should be protected to conserve the biodiversity and environment. They play an important role in the food chain and are valuable pollinators in the local environment. The present study investigated and compared the butterfly abundance and diversity within two different habitats (i) Undisturbed and (ii) Disturbed, in Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Campus, Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh. A total of 24 butterfly species were recorded during the study from June 2022 to July 2023 using transects with the aid of sweep nets. An overall total of 2537 butterflies were recorded, which spread across 05 families 17 genera and 23 species. The most abundant family of butterflies caught in undisturbed ecosystems was Pieridae 38% followed by Nymphalidae 27%, Lycaenidae 14%, Papilionidae and Hesperiidae 7%. In disturbed ecosystems butterflies were distributed as Pieridae being dominated with 52% followed by Lycaenidae at 22%, Nymphalidae at 16%, Hesperiidae at 7% and Papilionidae at 3%. The undisturbed habitat was more diversified (H'-1.59) in butterfly diversity than the disturbed habitat (H'-1.20).
... Butterflies are one of the most charming and easily recognizable insects that belong to order Lepidoptera. They have a fairly clear taxonomy, and their life history and biology are well defined (Nelson and Anderson, 1994;Wood and Gillman, 1998). Their ability to adapt to virtually any climate, has made them some of the most successful creatures on earth. ...
... ErEnlEr Et al.: coMPoSition and SPEciES ricHnESS of tobaGo buttErfliES 158 rent work aims to begin the process of filling that gap, allowing more detailed biogeographic comparisons with Trinidad, the continent and the Lesser Antilles. It also provides an opportunity to assess the suitability of walk-and-count methods (Wood and Gillman 1998;Caldas and Robbins 2003;Attiwilli et al. 2024) for rapid sampling of the island's butterflies. ...
... Keystone species such as the black woodpecker promotes the development of habitat for other species. Wood and Gillman (1998) suggested to maintaining a heterogeneous mosaic of the landscape with undisturbed and natural vegetation; a network of other forest patches, different land use, and land covers with varied levels of management and disturbance. To maintain the community composition, the management interventions are recommended to control the monotypic stands of vegetation (Manral et al. 2012). ...
The present study is an attempt to characterize the significance of different micro-habitats in the context of
habitat quality, complex food-web within and surrounding environs of the Asan Conservation reserve wetland in
outer Himalayan tract. The unceasing nutrient-rich water flow supports vegetation growth and the occurrence of
biological elements at different trophic levels of the food chain supply. A mix of swamp-marsh, shallow and
deep water, floating, and terrestrial vegetation make it a good environmental setup to meet various life-cycle
needs of the migratory and resident birds. Four dominant biotic groups: primary producers and consumers at
different trophic levels such as butterflies, amphibians, and birds were studied. We used two-season IRS LISS
IV satellite data of 2016 for characterizing the micro-habitat of the wetland. The analyses of water quality for
pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, and total soil organic content indicates that these are within
permissible limits for the survival of larvae, prey, and predators species to complete their lifecycle. The unique
ecological setup formed by the permanent source of flowing and stagnant water, natural and semi-natural
vegetation, the mosaic of tree-grassland-marsh-swamp land, seasonal crops, prey species, etc. and the presence
of peripheral vegetation are some of the ecological niceties and reasons for attracting a large number of migratory
birds. Habitat used by birds, amphibians, and butterflies in the core wetland and adjacent ecosystems were
characterized. We recommend adaptive scientific management for maintaining ‘Hemi marsh’ in the ratio of
60:40 between the water and vegetation, controlling water pollution and eutrophication, and fixing of dredging
policy after thorough studies on the soil benthic fauna before and after desilting.
... Fruit-feeding butterflies have long been used as indicators for monitoring habitat changes and the effects of disturbance in tropical forests Bonebrake et al., 2010). They are a guild of species in the Nymphalidae family, whose adults feed on juices of rotting fruits on the forest floor (Molleman et al., 2005), and many species are specialized to closed canopy forest (Davenport, 2001;Wood & Gillman, 1998). Here, we aim to reveal the recovery pattern of fruit-feeding butterfly communities across a large-scale tropical forest restoration project area in Kibale National Park, Uganda, East Africa. ...
Abstract Restoration of forests is now considered an essential tool to combat climate change and the global biodiversity decline. However, our understanding of how animal communities recover after restoration interventions in tropical forests is limited. Here, we aim to reveal the recovery patterns of fruit‐feeding butterfly communities across a large‐scale rainforest restoration area in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Our study represents a chronosequence resampling of fruit‐feeding butterfly communities across actively restored Afrotropical forest planted between 1995 and 2011 and primary forest reference sites. Sampling of 40 study sites was done first in the period 2011–2012 and again in the period 2020–2021 (including 5 new study sites), allowing a direct comparison of how communities have changed in nine years and to follow the progress of 26 years of active restoration. Fruit‐feeding butterfly community composition showed a directional pattern from the younger restored to older restored and primary forests. However, over the nine years, the similarity of community composition to primary forest increased only in younger restored forests. Furthermore, different characteristics of community structure and different diversity facets recovered at different paces. For example, the count of individuals, the count of species, and phylogenetic diversity increased in the restored forests; however, Simpson's diversity increased only in the older restored forest. Our study shows that active restoration can help fruit‐feeding butterfly communities become increasingly similar to communities found in primary forests, and such changes can be relatively fast in the early‐successional phases of tropical forests but slow down at later phases.
... They are used as model organisms in different ecological disciplines such as evolutionary ecology, behavioural ecology, and landscape ecology (Dennis 1992;Hanski 1999;Settele et al. 2009). Butterflies have an impartially clear taxonomy; their life history and biology are well defined (Nelson and Anderson 1994;Wood and Gillman 1998). Diversity of butterfly is particularly high in mountain regions, presumably because elevational gradients encompass several gradients in climatic and environmental factors (especially temperature and moisture) and vegetation assemblages vary along elevational gradients, contributing to environmental heterogeneity (Pellissier et al. 2013). ...
The subalpine zone of the Himalaya epitomises a transition (ecotone) between alpine grassland and temperate forest ecosystems. This research was conducted in seven sites Chanshal, Marhi, Chotabanghal, Hattu, Shipkila, Jot, and Pangi Valley of Himachal Pradesh. A total of 61 species of butterflies belonging to 45 genera, 5 families, and 16 subfamilies were documented. The members of the family Papilionidae and Hesperiidae have been least recorded. We have carried out butterfly sampling along an elevational gradient (2300–3899 m). A Kruskal Wallis test for diversity indices for seven different sites from the year 2013 to 2015 (H = 1.024, df = 6 p = 0.984, H = 0.642 df = 6 p = 0.995, H = 0.690 df = 6 p = 0.994 p > 0.05) revealed no significant difference. Three species legally protected under Wildlife Protection Act, India, 1972, have been detected. They are Lampides boeticus, Maniola devendra devendra Schedule II Part II and Euploea mulciber Schedule IV.
... Butterflies have been studied systematically since the early 18 th century and about 18,000 species are documented worldwide (Martinez et al., 2003). Insects have been shown to be sensitive to changes in vegetation composition and the physical attributes of the environment (Gardner et al., 1995;Wood & Gillman, 1998) resulting in a decrease in insect diversity (Holloway, 1987;Holloway et al., 1992). Among insects, butterflies are the most beautiful and colourful creatures on the earth and have a great aesthetic value, which makes them very attractive. ...
The present study was carried out to reveal the checklist of butterfly species in the Tadoba National Park, Chandrapur area of 623 sq. km. Study was carried out from 2011 to 2021. A total of 134 species were recorded, with an addition of 27 new records for Tadoba National Park. Of the total, 60 species were very common, 34 species were common, 9 were frequent common, 19 were rare, and 12 were very rare. Most of the butterflies recorded belong to the Nymphalidae (43 species) with 4 new records. Of Lycaenidae, 41 species with 12 new records. In Pieridae 19 species with 3 new records were recorded. A total of 20 Hesperiidae species with 6 new records and 10 species were recorded from the Papilionidae with 2 new records and one species recorded from the family Riodinidae. About 12 species of the recorded ones come under the protection category of the Indian Wild Life protection Act 1972. The study provided an updated list of butterflies of Tadoba National Park.
... Changes in the environment may be detected by assessing sensitive bioindicator taxonomic groups (see Brown, 1991). In tropical forests, fruit-feeding butterflies have been widely used as bioindicators for the ease of standardized sampling and for responding to subtle vegetation changes, such as sites under a forest succession process at different stages (e.g., Wood and Gillman, 1998;Barlow et al., 2007Barlow et al., , 2008Ribeiro and Freitas, 2012;Sant'Anna et al., 2014;Spaniol et al., 2019). These changes in the environment can affect the relationship between host plant, butterfly larvae, and food source availability for adults (Marques et al., 2000;Curtis et al., 2015), reflecting the dominance of a few species in environments with biotic homogenization. ...
The Atlantic Forest of the southern Brazilian highlands is a biocultural mosaic of Araucaria Forest and grasslands. Despite adverse impacts on biodiversity, extensive areas are being afforested with non-native pine (Pinus spp.), triggering forest succession on areas that were previously native grasslands. The long-term effects of afforestation with these non-native trees for biodiversity conservation are still unknown. Here, we assess this issue by comparing the fruit-feeding butterfly assemblages in young (20 year) and old (70 year) pine plots with nearby native Araucaria Forest. Abundance and richness of butterflies were positively correlated with temperature and mean humidity only in the native forest. Abiotic conditions differed between vegetation types: there was more sunlight, and was warmer and drier in the pine afforestation plots than in the Araucaria Forest. Butterfly species composition was similar between young and old pine plots, but distinct from the native Araucaria Forest. Butterfly species abundances in native forests were more evenly distributed than in afforestation sites. In these pine sites, assemblages were dominated by small, grass-feeding satyrines, whereas old pine sites had more liana-feeding biblidines, and the Araucaria Forest had more large-sized bamboo-feeding species. Our results indicate that even after 70 years of succession a non-native pine afforestation cannot support a butterfly assemblage as that found in the neighboring preserved forest. Moreover, threatened grassland specialist species have been locally extinct after only 20 years of pine afforestation. The evidence gathered here points against the use of silviculture with non-native trees in these biocultural mosaic landscapes.
... As the anthropic pressure on the planet increases, the threat to ecosystems grows (Wood & Gillman 1998). Interest in the conservation of biodiversity is increasing, while the resources and time available to achieve this are limited (Hughes et al. 2000). ...
The new genera Ahijuna gen. n. and Lumptibiella gen. n. (Araneae, Salticidae) including four new species, A. patoruzito sp. n., L. camporum sp. n., L. chacoensis sp. n. and L. paranensis sp. n., are described from specimens recently discovered in areas endangered by wildfires in Argentina. The species of these new genera share the typical structure of the genitalia with many Dendryphantini Menge. However, the combination of a distinct atrium on the anterior half of epigynal field for both genera, a small body size, flattened carapace shape, and a distinctive dorsal coloration pattern in the case of Ahijuna gen. n., and the possession of a lump-shaped process on the middle of the male tibia retrolateral side in the case of Lumptibiella gen. n., are not found in other Neotropical dendryphantine. Available ecological data suggests that most of these species inhabit grasslands. Full colored photographs are provided.
... A survey and documentation of the study sites were conducted from July 2018 to August 2020. For data collection, opportunistic survey and random sightings were used along with modified Pollard walk method (Pollard and Yates, 1992;Royer et al., 1998;Wood and Gillman, 1998;Pellet et al., 2012). All observations were carried out between 6:30 hrs to 11:30 hrs and 14:30 hrs to 17:30 hrs in good weathered conditions. ...
The loss and fragmentation of habitat caused by rapid urbanization can have devastating effects, both at regional and global level. In this study, butterfly species diversity has been assessed in Bhubaneswar, India, as a model geographical region for understanding the biology of the local population and its dynamics. In total 107 butterfly species have been documented, with the highest number of species being recorded from the family Nymphalidae (31.77%), followed by Lycaenidae (25.23%), Hesperiidae (23.36%), Pieridae (11.21%) and Papilionidae (8.41%). Out of these, 17 species are new reports for the city and nine species are legally protected in India under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Sørensen’s diversity index and one-way ANOVA have been used to establish the relation between species diversity and habitat. The present investigation provides baseline data for future research and conservation of species in places like the model city, which face rapid urbanization.
... This is an indicator that the butterflies prefer undisturbed habitats (Rosenzweig, 1981;Majumder et al., 2013;Jacob et al., 2016). But several studies also showed that low disturbance level of natural vegetation have supported positively the diversity and abundance of butterflies (Sparrow et al., 1994;Wood and Gillman, 1998). In contrast, other studies indicate adverse effects of disturbance on tropical butterfly communities (Hamer and Hill, 2000;Hill et al., 2001). ...
Butterflies (Order: Lepidoptera) were studied for the period of ten months (March-December 2016) in the Southern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria. Butterflies are important in the sustenance of ecosystem through their role in pollination, important food chain components and as indicators of healthy and quality of host plants and the ecosystem. Hence, exploration of butterfly fauna thus, becomes important in identifying and preserving potential habitats under threat. The fruit bait traps and walk-capture methods were employed for the study. The total numbers of 823 butterflies were captured belonging to 49 species and spread among 26 genera and 6 families. The family observed were Nymphalidae (16), Pieridae (11), Acraeidae (8), Lycaenidae (7), Hesperiddae (4) and Papiolionidae (3). The total specimens collected for the study period were distributed in the order of 98, 163, 203 and 359 for Paiko hill area, Jedna, IBBU Farm and Lapai, respectively. The species richness for the sites was 25, 29, 33 and 46 for Paiko hill area, Jedna, IBBU Farm and Lapai, respectively. Lapai elucidated highest species richness followed by IBBU Farm, Jedna and Paiko hill. Large numbers of the butterflies were observed from the less disturbed agro-forest of Nupe land as compared to heavily cultivated forest of the Gbagyi land. Sorenson Similarity Index reflects low to medium similarities among the 4 sites sampled. This study will contribute to the plan of biodiversity restoration in this region and the development of eco-friendly strategies by the pest management experts that will ensure sustenance of butterflies and the ecosystem balance.
... This has been reported in other studies (Qureshi et al. 2013) (28). The greatest number butterflies in the study area might be the adequate distribution of larval host plants and nectar [24] (29) and vegetation cover and good food sources for many butterfly species [25] (30). ...
... that the highest diversity of these three areas is in the Ramna Park, and the lowest is in the Baldha Garden, since the value of λ decrease with the increasing diversity (Ludwing and Reynolds 1988). The Shannon-Wiener Index of diversity has demonstrated some sort of contradictory outcome, interference habitat or forest gaps have higher butterfly diversity than that in closed canopy or dense forests (Wood and Gillman 1998 Month butterfly diversity of which the topmost diversity was in the Ramna Park, and the lowest was in the Baldha Garden.The Simson's Reciprocal Index is also shown high butterfly diversity of these areas. According to the index values the maximum and minimum diversity was found as same as Simpson's Index of Diversity ...
The diversity of butterfly species was studied from January to June 2015 in the three selected areas, viz. Ramna Park, Jagannath University Campus, and Baldha Garden in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. A total 75 species of butterfly belonging to 42 genera under 8 families were recorded from the study areas during the study period. Of them, 52 species (6253 individuals) of 8 families were found in the Ramna Park, 37 species (1430 individuals) of 7 families in the Jagannath University Campus and 20 species (320 individuals) of 6 families in the Boldha Garden. In these three study areas, 17 species, 14 genera and 6 families were in common. At the Ramna Park, the highest species richness included the family Lycaenidae (21.15%, 11 spp.) followed by Papilionidae (17.31%, 9 spp.), Pieridae (17.31%, 9 spp.), Nymphalidae (17.31%, 9 spp.), Hesperiidae (13.46%, 7 spp.), Danaidae (7.69%, 4 spp.), Satyridae (3.85%, 2 spp.), and the lowest was in the family Acriidae (1.92%, 1 spp.). At the Jagannath University Campus the highest number of species were recorded in the family Lycaenidae (21.62%, 8 spp.) and Hesperiidae (21.62%, 8 spp.) followed by Pieridae (18.92%, 7 spp.), Papilionidae (13.51%, 5 spp.), Nymphalidae (10.81%, 4 spp.), Danaidae (10.81%, 4 spp.), and the lowest was in Satyridae (2.70%, 1 spp.). The topmost butterfly species were recorded in the family Pieridae (25%, 5 spp.) followed by Lycaenidae (20%, 4 spp.), Nymphalidae (20%, 4 spp.), Papilionidae (15%, 3 spp.), and the lowest from the family Hesperiidae (10%, 2 spp.) and Danaidae (10%, 2 spp.) at the Baldha Garden. The maximum butterfly species were found in February to June (51 spp.), February (34 spp.), and April (16 spp.), and the lowest were in January (46 spp.), June (21 spp.) and January (8 spp.), respectively for the Ramna Park, Jagannath University Campus and the Baldha Garden. The peak of the population observed in May (n =1285), March (n = 325), and May (n = 71), and the lowest was in January (n = 662), June (n = 145) and January (n = 21), respectively for the Ramna Park, Jagannath University Campus, and Baldha Garden. The Shanon’s Diversity Index (H) and Simpson’s Index (λ) indicated high butterfly diversity at the Ramna Park (H = 3.68, λ = 0.03), Jagannath University Campus (H = 3.20, λ = 0.06) and Baldha Garden (H = 2.50, λ = 0.13), respectively. The high Species Evenness in the Ramna Park (E = 0.93), Jaganath University Campus (E = 0.89) and the Baldha Garden (E = 0.84) indicated that the species were evenly distributed. The calculated Sorenson’s Coefficient (CC) was 0.47, which indicates that these three communities have quite a bit of overlap or similarity. Bangladesh J. Zool. 48(2): 413-428, 2020
... Fruit-feeding butterflies (of family Nymphalidae) have long been used as indicator species for monitoring habitat changes and the effects of disturbance in tropical forests (e.g., Aduse-Poku et al., 2012;Barlow et al., 2007a,b;Bonebrake et al., 2010;Nyafwono et al., 2014). Many of the species in this guild are specific to closed-canopy forest (Wood and Gillman, 1998). They play important roles in tropical forest food-webs as herbivores, pollinators, prey (e.g., for birds), and hosts for parasitoids and parasites (Bonebrake et al., 2010). ...
Understanding of how biodiversity can recover after anthropogenic disturbances, such as selective logging, is important for planning conservation strategies for tropical forests and for more sustainable timber harvest re-gimes. However, the knowledge of insect community compositions in regenerating logged forests is still limited, especially in the Afrotropics. Here, we evaluated the recovery patterns of fruit-feeding butterfly communities in four different-aged secondary forest compartments and one primary forest compartment in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve, Uganda. In each compartment, butterflies were sampled monthly for five consecutive months in 2017 using traps baited with fermented bananas. A total of 3,778 individuals, representing 82 species (78 identified at the species level and four morphogroups) were recorded. The fruit-feeding butterfly community composition differed among forest compartments and study months. Fruit-feeding butterfly communities of the oldest 72-year-old secondary forest compartment were similar to the primary forest compartment. In the younger secondary forest compartments the seasonal variation was large; especially the communities of the “core” rainy season months were distinct from the communities in primary and oldest secondary forest. The majority of in-dividuals captured from both primary and secondary forests represented forest-dependent species. Primary forests are irreplaceable for preserving the diversity of tropical forests in the long-term. Nevertheless, our study demonstrates that selective logging can allow fruit-feeding butterfly community composition to recover if enough time (>70 years) is allowed for recovery.
... Most of these changes are driven by the cumulative effects of size, isolation and degradation of habitats within urbanized areas (McKinney 2008). However, as also found by Bouyer et al. (2007), when they evaluated the distribution of flower chafer beetles across land uses related to various human pressures (i.e., none, hunting, traditional and intensive crops, grazing), our results support that Cetoniinae beetles found in our study are actually favored by a slight disturbance, as it was observed in forest butterflies in other studies (Brown 1997;Wood and Gillman 1998;Mauro et al. 2007). The maintenance of ecological communities in urban landscapes is essential for the welfare of the human being, through the offering of ecosystem services (Bolund and Hunhammar 1999). ...
Understanding the drivers underlying spatial and temporal changes of species distribution is a major and urgent challenge, given the scenario of increased climate and land use changes. The creation and maintenance of urban parks is an efficient conservation strategy in urbanized landscapes. In this study, we explore how spatiotemporal β-diversity components of turnover and nestedness of flower chafer beetles are influenced by climate conditions in urban park and natural reserve sites in Brazilian Cerrado, one of the largest, richest and possibly the most threatened tropical savannah on the Planet. We sampled flower chafer beetles using aerial fruit-baited traps, every 2 weeks from January to December 2014, in six ‘natural reserve’ sites (outside the urban matrix) and four ‘urban park’ sites (within the urban matrix) in Brazilian Cerrado. Our results highlighted four main findings: (i) spatially, ‘natural reserve’ and ‘urban park’ sites presented similar values of dissimilarity and substitution of flower chafer beetles but ‘urban park’ sites had higher nestedness values than ‘natural reserve’ sites; (ii) temporally, ‘natural reserve’ and ‘urban park’ sites presented similar values of dissimilarity, turnover, and nestedness; (iii) average β-diversity, turnover and nestedness values did not differ between dry and rainy seasons in both ‘natural reserve’ and ‘urban park’ sites; and (iv) none of the climatic variables influenced the temporal variation in β-diversity and its components of flower chafer beetles. Therefore, most of spatiotemporal changes in β-diversity patterns of flower chafer beetles are not related to urbanization effects or changes in climatic variables in Brazilian Cerrado. This group of insects seems to respond more to environmental and climatic filters with changes in richness, abundance, and species composition than changes in β-diversity patterns.
... Most of these changes are driven by the cumulative effects of size, isolation and degradation of habitats within urbanized areas (McKinney 2008). However, as also found by Bouyer et al. (2007), when they evaluated the distribution of flower chafer beetles across land uses related to various human pressures (i.e., none, hunting, traditional and intensive crops, grazing), our results support that Cetoniinae beetles found in our study are actually favored by a slight disturbance, as it was observed in forest butterflies in other studies (Brown 1997;Wood and Gillman 1998;Mauro et al. 2007). The maintenance of ecological communities in urban landscapes is essential for the welfare of the human being, through the offering of ecosystem services (Bolund and Hunhammar 1999). ...
Understanding the drivers underlying spatial and temporal changes of species distribution is a major and urgent challenge, given the scenario of increased climate and land use changes. The creation and maintenance of urban parks is an efficient conservation strategy in urbanized landscapes. In this study, we explore how spatiotemporal β-diversity components of turnover and nestedness of flower chafer beetles are influenced by climate conditions in urban park and natural reserve sites in Brazilian Cerrado, one of the largest, richest and possibly the most threatened tropical savannah on the Planet. We sampled flower chafer beetles using aerial fruit-baited traps, every 2 weeks from January to December 2014, in six ‘natural reserve’ sites (outside the urban matrix) and four ‘urban park’ sites (within the urban matrix) in Brazilian Cerrado. Our results highlighted four main findings: (i) spatially, ‘natural reserve’ and ‘urban park’ sites presented similar values of dissimilarity and substitution of flower chafer beetles but ‘urban park’ sites had higher nestedness values than ‘natural reserve’ sites; (ii) temporally, ‘natural reserve’ and ‘urban park’ sites presented similar values of dissimilarity, turnover, and nestedness; (iii) average β-diversity, turnover and nestedness values did not differ between dry and rainy seasons in both ‘natural reserve’ and ‘urban park’ sites; and (iv) none of the climatic variables influenced the temporal variation in β-diversity and its components of flower chafer beetles. Therefore, most of spatiotemporal changes in β-diversity patterns of flower chafer beetles are not related to urbanization effects or changes in climatic variables in Brazilian Cerrado. This group of insects seems to respond more to environmental and climatic filters with changes in richness, abundance, and species composition than changes in β-diversity patterns.
... The effects of habitat disturbances such as fragmentation (Brown & Hutchings 1997), selective logging (Hill et al. 1995) and plantation agriculture (Watt et al. 1997) on butterfly diversity are varied and complex. However, it appears that small-scale or low level forest disturbances as seen in coffee plantations, creation of small tree fall gaps and partial forest clearing, often result in increased local butterfly diversity (Janzen 1987, Spitzer et al. 1997, Watt et al 1997, Wood & Gillman 1998. Small-scale disturbances encourage light penetration and create a locally heterogeneous environment suitable for butterfly activity, even encouraging the growth of certain larval host plants and increasing the local abundance of flowers. ...
We studied the role of plantation agriculture as a refuge for the butterflies of deciduous forest habitat in the Western Ghats of southern India. Abundance, diversity and species composition of the butterflies of forest habitat were compared with those of adjoining lime plantations. Butterfly communities were studied using visual censusing techniques along eleven line transects in forest habitat and five line transects in plantation habitat. Observed butterfly densities were not significantly different in forest (478 ± 378) and plantation transects (401 ± 167). Observed species richness was higher in plantations (38 ± 5) compared to forest habitat (34 ± 8) but this difference was not statistically significant. However, ordination analysis revealed that species composition differed between the two types of habitat with forest specialists being replaced by edge and secondary growth species in plantations. Faunal similarity between plantation and forest transects was low, with only 33.7%. The study indicated that although butterfly abundance and species richness of plantations were comparable with those of forest, species composition varied significantly between the two types of habitat.
... Atualmente a diversidade biológica vem sendo perdida em ritmo acelerado e a causa principal da redução das populações é a destruição de seu habitat (WOOD & GILMAN, 1998). ...
Este trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver estudos faunísticos de lepidópteros em três ambientes florestais: floresta nativa, mata ripária e área de Capoeira no município de Cotriguaçu, MT. Foram instaladas três armadilhas luminosas em cada ambiente. O período de levantamento ocorreu de julho de 2007 a junho de 2008. Foram determinados os índices faunísticos de dominância, frequência, constância e abundância. A diversidade foi calculada pelo índice de Shannon-Wiener (H’) e a similaridade dos ambientes foi determinada através da análise de Cluster. Coletou-se um total de 1.558 indivíduos, distribuídos em 236 espécies, da qual ocorreram 170, 113 e 107 respectivamente na floresta nativa, mata ripária e capoeira. Floresta nativa apresentou maior número de espécies coletadas com maior índice de diversidade. Capoeira e mata ripária foram ambientes similares. Nenhuma espécie foi dominante e constante nos três ambientes.
... Six syntypes were found at NHMUK. One of them is herein designated as the lectotype to fix the identity of the name ( Figure 124) Singer & Ehrlich 1993;Wood & Gillman 1998;Beccaloni et al. 2008;Cock 2014) are, in fact, Magneuptychia andrei Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke, 2017(see details in Zacca et al. 2017). However, based on the specimens Male genitalia . ...
A systematic revision of Paryphthimoides , a satyrine genus widely distributed in Central and South America, is presented based on an integrative approach. Molecular phylogeny inferred using multiple methods with nuclear (GAPDH, RpS5) and mitochondrial (COI) genes indicates that Paryphthimoides , as currently circumscribed, is polyphyletic. A new taxonomic arrangement is proposed reflecting the monophyly based on molecular and morphological evidence. Paryphthimoides now comprises 14 taxa, namely: P. poltys poltys (Prittwitz, 1865), P. poltys numilia (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) stat. nov. , P. vestigiata (Butler, 1867), P. fridae Zacca, Casagrande, Huertas & Nakahara sp. nov. , P. jorupe Zacca, Casagrande, Checa & Willmott sp. nov. , P. terrestris terrestris (Butler, 1867) comb. nov. , P. terrestris muyrakytan Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke ssp. nov. , P. terrestris araguaianus Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke ssp. nov. , P. terrestris grevei Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke ssp. nov. , P. touloulou (Benmesbah, 2015) comb. nov. , P. brixius brixius (Godart, [1824]) comb. nov. , P. brixius madre Zacca, Mielke, Casagrande & Lamas ssp. nov. , P. brixius rouranensis Brévignon ssp. nov. and P. flavofascia (Zacca & Siewert, 2014) comb. nov.Euptychia zeredatha Butler, 1869 and P. bahneri Anken, 1994 are new synonyms of P. p. poltys , and Euptychia binalinea Butler, 1867 and E. poltys bahiana Bryk, 1953 are new synonyms of P. poltys numilia. Lectotypes are designated for Euptychia zeredatha , Neonympha numilia , Euptychia vestigiata , Euptychia terrestris and Euptychia brixiola , Butler, 1867 and a neotype is designated for Satyrus brixius . In addition, female morphology is described for the first time for all available species, and biological data and distributional maps are provided for all species. Last instar and pupae of Paryphthimoides p. poltys are also described.
... Large scale infestation of the forest canopies by the caterpillars can even regulate the micro climate of the forest by facilitating higher light penetration through the canopy. Insects have been shown to be sensitive to changes in vegetation composition and the physical attributes of the environment (Wood & Gillman 1998) resulting in a decrease in insect diversity (Holloway 1987, Holloway et al. 1992). Among the insects tropical butterfly communities are highly diverse with many endemic species, most of which are to some extent dependant on closed-canopy forest (Collins & Morris 1985). ...
... Large scale infestation of the forest canopies by the caterpillars can even regulate the micro climate of the forest by facilitating higher light penetration through the canopy. Insects have been shown to be sensitive to changes in vegetation composition and the physical attributes of the environment (Wood & Gillman 1998) resulting in a decrease in insect diversity (Holloway 1987, Holloway et al. 1992). Among the insects tropical butterfly communities are highly diverse with many endemic species, most of which are to some extent dependant on closed-canopy forest (Collins & Morris 1985). ...
Manas Biosphere Reserve located in the foothill of Bhutan Himalaya and the northern part of river Brahmaputra is the residence of 271 species, 149 genera of five families of butterflies. This is approximately one third of the total number of butterflies found in Assam. Among the butterflies highest number of species were recorded from the family Nymphalidae (97) which is followed by Lycaenidae (60), Hesperiidae (53) Papilionidae (33) while Pieridae had the least numbers of species (28). Among the 271 species of butterflies 22 species were protected by the Wildlife (Protection) Act. 1972. Presence of four high altitude butterflies indicates about the winter migration of butterflies from Bhutan Himalaya to Assam plain during winter. Perhaps this is the first record of migration of butterfly from north-eastern part of India. Present status of butterflies in the study area shows 20 species were rare, 57 were occasional, 138 were frequent and 56 species were common. Therefore, in conservation point of view extensive study on these rare species is urgently needed.
... Isso pode ser alcançado quando se aumenta o tamanho da amostragem. No entanto o que se tem visto para alguns grupos de organismos em alguns estudos é que a despeito da variação no tempo de coleta e na amostragem a curva de rarefação pode até tender à estabilização (Barbosa et al., submetido) mas não alcança a assíntota (Owen & Owen, 1990;Hammond, 1990;Mawdsley, 1994;Wood & Gillman, 1998). Conforme Mawdsley (1994), alguns métodos de coleta podem ser mais eficientes que outros na acumulação de espécies. ...
Variation in species richness at the landscape scale is an important consideration in conservation planning and natural resource management. Rapid inventory assessment must provide information on diversity aspects such as local species richness and between-site species similarity. This was done for Coleoptera fauna, at three hectare sites named A (Plateau), B (Slope) and C (Campinarana) at the
Reserve Ducke, a tropical forest near to Manaus in Central Amazonia. Between February 1995 and January 1996 a total of 41,301 macro-invertebrates were sampled from 864 m2 on leaf litter using the Winkler bag method. Determination of the families, morphotyped to species, was found to be sufficient to classify the samples. Thirty-seven families were found and patterns of Coleoptera species
composition were analysed in an assemblage of 1,467 individuals and 401 species. The great majority of species had minimal abundance; the number of species represented by a single specimen was always maximal. Diversity patterns were studied in the three plots. Sites “B” and “C” were much richer in species. To estimate local species richness we applied various statistical techniques. The taxonomic composition at site “A” was different from the other sites. Analyzing a
database of Coleoptera between-site similarities of fauna was assessed. The resulting indices in family composition suggest that there is considerable overlap among the different sites, but the indices for species composition were generally low, suggesting there is no overlap among the three sites.
... Regarding species richness, the proportion of nymphalids was higher with that of piereids, while lycaenids and papilionids were least in the study. The observed variation in butterfly species richness among the sites surveyed can be attributed to the sampling effort and the physical and environmental factors (site size, altitude, number of plant species, forest disturbance, flowering plants, rainfall and temperature (Wood and Gillman, 1998;Cleary and Mooers, 2004 (Cleary and Mooers, 2004). Indeed, many studies have shown that insect abundances are highly correlated with the abundance of floral nectar sources. ...
Species diversity and abundance of butterflies were investigated at three (3) locations; jebo, Ogun State, Odongunyan Farm Settlement, Ikorodu and Hortico Gardens, Ipaja, agos using sweep nets and transects method of sampling. Biodiversity indices were calculated using hannon-Wiener, Margalef, Simpson’s and Equitability indices. A total of 1105 butterflies elonging to 11 genera and 4 families were identified from the 3 sampled sites. Butterflies belonging to the family Nymphalidae were the most abundant, accounting for 70.6% of the total butterflies collected in all locations and seasons. Four species anaus chrysippus, Acraea serena, Melanargia galathea (Nymphalidae) and Eurema sp. (Pieridae) were found in the three sites. Acraea (200), Danaus (140), Melanargia (129) (all in the family Nymphalidae) were the most abundant butterfly genera found in the study sites. Ajebo had the least diversity of butterflies in all the two seasons, while Hortico Gardens, Ipaja had the highest. Odongunyan farm land was the most equitable (j = 1.09) of the three sampled sites.
... Biology and phenology. In general, C. penelope is found at the forest edge and in nearby open areas such as grass- land or pasture, avoiding deep shade in forests (singer et al. 1983), and it has been considered an indicator of dis- turbed areas (singer & ehrliCh 1993;Brown & hutChings 1997;wood & gillMan 1998;raMos 2000;lande et al. 2003). It is multivoltine and flies year around. ...
The genus Cissia Doubleday, 1848 is revised and its monophyly is tested using Maximum Likelihood analysis based on three genes (COI, GAPDH and RpS5). A new taxonomic arrangement is proposed based on molecular and morphological evidence, and Cissia now comprises six species, C. penelope (Fabricius, 1775), C. pompilia (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867), C. proba (Weymer, 1911), C. eous (Butler, 1867) comb.n., C. phronius (Godart, [1824]) comb.n. and C. rubricata (W.H. Edwards, 1871) comb.n., distributed from the Southern US to Argentina. The remaining species previously treated in Cissia are here cited as “Cissia” until they can be removed to undescribed genera in upcoming papers. Euptychia moneta Weymer, 1911, E. austera Butler, 1867 and Paryphthimoides kiliani Anken, 1999 are new synonyms of Cissia penelope, C. pompilia and C. eous, respectively. Neotypes of Euptychia moneta, Satyrus phronius and Neonympha rubricata are designated, as well as the lectotypes of Neonympha pompilia, N. thelete Snellen, 1887, Euptychia usitata Butler, 1867, E. pieria Butler, 1867, E. erigone f. proba Weymer, 1911 and E. eous. The results confirm that is possible to distinguish most of the species of Cissia based on both morphological and molecular data, althougth C. rubricata shows some differences in the male genitalia compared to its sibling species.
... Tropical forests are one of the most biodiversity-rich habitats on the Earth and have been suffering from exceptional rates of habitat degradation due to human activities (Morris 2010;Whitmore 1998). Such human-altered habitats are largely unknown in terms of their biodiversity status in changing scenario of land use and land cover (Schulze et al. 2004;Waltert et al. 2004). ...
Agroforestry plays an important role in of agroforestry on biodiversity, a study was undertaken to access butterfly diversity in coffee, cashew and guava plantations in Eastern Ghats of southern Odisha during February–April 2016. A total of 1075 individuals of butterflies belonging to 60 species and 46 genera under five families were recorded during the study. Species richness (S) as well as Shannon diversity (H) were found to be higher in coffee (S = 45, H = 3.051) plantation, followed by cashew (S = 31, H = 2.807) and guava (S = 20, H = 2.519). However, though butterfly abundance was found to be maximum in coffee (43%), it was higher in guava (33%) followed by cashew (24%). Also, a significant difference was observed between butterfly abundance among three plantations. This shows coffee plantation was the best habitat for butterflies among the three agroforestry habitats studied. The reason for this was habitat heterogeneity in coffee plantation supporting maximum exclusive butterfly species and was least human influenced with close canopy forest. Over all, family Nymphalidae was found to be the most abundant, and Lycaenidae was the least abundant. The findings of the present study are promising and may set new directions for management of agroforestry plantations in the region to support a rich biodiversity.
... Grazing when moderate favor some insect species while rent cropping using a lot of inputs are always unfavorable. Several studies showed that low disturbance levels have a positive effect on diversity and abundance of insect (Bobo et al., 2006;Brown, 1991;Ramos, 2000;Sparrow et al., 1994;Wood, Gillman, 1998), in accordance with the intermediate disturbance theory (Connell, 1978). In contrast, other studies indicate adverse effects of disturbance on tropical butterfly communities (Brown, 1997;Fermon et al., 2001;Fermon et al., 2000;Hamer, Hill, 2000;Hamer et al., 1997;Hill et al., 1995;Lewis, 2001;Spitzer et al., 1997;Spitzer et al., 1993;Thomas, 1991). ...
Les insectes mangeurs de fruits se sont récemment avérés de très bons bioindicateurs de santé des écosystèmes savanicoles d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Au Burkina Faso, la fragmentation grandissante des paysages dans diverses régions rend le développement de ce genre d'outils de suivi particulièrement utile. Cette étude a été réalisée pour mesurer la variabilité spatio-temporelle des densités apparentes d'insectes, de la famille des Nymphalidae et des Cetoniinae, attirés par des pièges appâtés de bananes fermentées, afin de fournir aux gestionnaires des zones protégées des recommandations quant à leur utilisation comme bioindicateurs. Deux paysages (une zone de pâture et une zone de culture) ont ainsi été échantillonnés plusieurs fois pendant différentes périodes de la saison des pluies et pendant deux années, et ce sur une durée variable (5 à 10 jours). L'étude s'est déroulée à Koro, au Sud-Ouest du Burkina Faso. L'impact de ces facteurs de variation sur la comparaison des deux types de pression anthropique a ainsi été analysé. L'étude a confirmé l'utilité de ces bioindicateurs et un impact plus important des cultures sur l'écosystème. Les résultats sont discutés et des recommandations présentées pour l'utilisation de ces insectes comme bioindicateurs, dans le cadre de la gestion des terroirs. (Résumé d'auteur)
... The absence of butterflies can indicate degradation because of their dependence on certain host plants, and losing nectivorous butterflies is detrimental because they are closely tied to their habitats as pollinators (Sparrow et al., 1994). Fruit-feeding butterflies are depend ent on forested habitat, often specific forest types, and can indicate forest degradation by their disappearance (Wood and Gillman, 1998). Furthermore, in restoration areas, butterflies can act as indicators of ecosystem improvement (Lomov et al., 2006). ...
Agriculture continues to expand in the tropics, capturing a subset of original biodiversity. Here, butterfly diversity was sampled in four land uses resulting from montane Neotropical agriculture: a forest fragment, a coffee plantation, a banana grove, and a cattle pasture. Butterflies were sampled in both traps baited with rotting fruit and visual transects during the dry season in the tropical premontane moist forest life zone near Monteverde, Costa Rica. The samples were dominated by Cissia spp., overshadowing the diversity and evenness, therefore statistical analyses were run with and without the species. Diversity was highest in the coffee, followed by the forest, then pasture, and banana. Excluding Cissia spp., diversity increased in all sites but remained highest in the coffee, then banana grove, followed by the forest fragment, with the pasture the least diverse. Coffee displayed the highest diversity presumably because it had the highest structural diversity that still allowed abundant light. The pasture may have the lowest diversity because of low structural diversity and high winds. Forest-dwelling butterfly species were less common as habitats lost structural diversity, indicating that while highest local diversity can occur with agriculture, regional species diversity may suffer.
... However, in contrast to the present study, all found higher abundances in the understorey. This was observed in the Ecuadorian (DeVries et al. 1997(DeVries et al. , 1999 and Brazilian (Ribeiro & Freitas 2012) Amazonian forests, in Trinidad (Wood & Gillman 1998), Costa Rica (DeVries et al. 2012; and outside the neotropics in Malaysia (Dumbrell & Hill 2005), Indonesia (Fermon et al. 2005), Ivory Coast (Fermon et al. 2003), Ghana (Aduse-Poku 2012) and Uganda (Molleman et al. 2006). Additionally, Fordyce & DeVries (2016) demonstrated that beta diversity of fruit-feeding butterflies was higher in the canopy. ...
To address how seasonality affects the richness and abundance of tropical insects, we compared the canopy and understorey communities of fruit-feeding butterflies in a seasonal Atlantic forest in south-eastern Brazil. Butterflies were sampled over 1 y using a standardized design with baited traps. A total of 2047 individuals in 69 species were recorded (1415 in the canopy, 632 in the understorey). Clear differences were found between canopy and understorey, with significantly higher butterfly abundances in the canopy. We observed two marked peaks of abundance and richness in both strata; one at the transition from dry to the wet seasons, and the other at the transition from wet to dry seasons. We found lower species turnover throughout the year in the canopy. We interpret this as evidence that temperature is more important than rainfall in explaining the yearly variation of abundance in vertical strata. The higher temperatures found in the canopy may allow butterflies to maintain activity in this stratum all year round, whereas the understorey is subject to colder temperatures, thus presenting a higher species turnover. These results improve our understanding of diversity gradients between evergreen and seasonal tropical forests, allowing insights into how climate and beta diversity gradients interact.
... Butterflies are recognized as the most common invertebrates used as bioindicators, given their sensitive to landscape changes from different types of anthropic disturbances (WOOD & GILLMAN, 1998;KITCHING et al., 2000;BROWN & FREITAS, 2000;SUMMERVILLE & CRIST, 2001;UEHARA-PRADO& RIBEIRO, 2012), besides being easy to sample and to identify (DEVRIES et al., 1997;KITCHING et al., 2000). Therefore, there are several studies listing butterfly species aiming to quantify local or regional diversity (BROWN, 1991;KREMEN et al., 1993;KREMEN, 1994). ...
Butterfly species lists are commonly published aiming to describe local or regional diversity, thus being primordial tools for subsiding nature preservation and management. However, tropical lands usually lack this kind of information. Inventories of megadiverse organisms, such as butterflies, usually require long term studies to detect a substantial fraction of species present in certain location. Through biological collections in scientific institutions it is possible to preserve a considerate amount of biodiversity information, which is not available in the literature, but can promote studies over time. Aiming at supplementing the knowledge on butterfly diversity in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, and to demonstrate how a scientific collection accumulates such information from the nearby surroundings, this study lists all species of butterflies recorded in the city since 1938. Since then, 554 species were recorded. Although there have been large sampling efforts since the 60s, 45 species were only recorded in the last decade. Species lists published in 1938, 1995, 2011 and 2015 contributed to a considerable fraction of species records and monitoring, but species richness observed in each study is usually low (less than 1/3 of all historical records). Therefore, the long term deposition of specimens gathered in a single collection evidences that Curitiba harbors a distinct higher number of species, though new records are still frequent. Taking into account that long term surveys of megadiverse insects offer a more complete analysis of their biological diversity, studies measuring diversity impacts, such as urban sprawl, must include historical data whenever available. © 2017, Soc Hispano-Luso-Amer Lepidopterologia-Shilap. All rights reserved.
... Hill (1995) found that composition and community structure of butterflies also responds to varying degrees of logging activity. Wood & Gillman (1998) butterflies in a mosaic of disturbed tropical forests using both walk and count transects (similar to the current study) and fruit baited traps. They found strong associations of butterflies with disturbance levels rather than habitat type. ...
Tamhini – Sudhagad Wildlife sanctuary (60km west of Pune, Maharashtra), established in 2013, is a prime example of crucial habitat giving way to human encroachment. Voluminous research has established butterflies to be sensitive to and hence indicative of ecological disturbance. This study intended to highlight the patterns of change in butterfly populations from 1998 to 2017, amidst changing land use in the Northern Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. Butterfly diversity & evenness, community structure and community composition were compared across seasons (temporal), habitats (spatial) and six dietary guilds based on host plant preference, viz., grass specialist, herb specialist, liana specialists, shrub specialist, tree specialist and generalist. These patterns were compared to data published by Padhye et al. (2006) collected between 1998 and 2000. There is a significant increase in diversity over two decades (H_Current^1 = 28.31, H_Previous^1 = 22.31, p << 0.01). However, unevenly distributed abundance along with an increase in generalist species are indicative of disturbance and higher habitat homogeneity. High diversity values coupled with the high species turnover (Bray – Curtis dissimilarity = 0.3283) may be caused by a higher number of satellite species foraging in the study area. Community structure of butterflies resembles communities in early stages of succession. The changes in the community over the period of almost two decades are indicative of increasing levels of anthropogenic pressure. Long-term continuous monitoring could provide deeper insights into the effects of unchecked development and habitat modification has on threatened ecosystems.
The present study deals with the butterfly diversity of Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park, Golaghat district, Assam, India which was a survey-based study of five consecutive days from 6 th to 10 th February, 2024. The study recoded 72 butterfly species belonging to 52 genera and six families namely Papilionidae (6 species), Nymphalidae (32 species), Pieridae (17 species), Lycaenidae (10 species), Riodinidae (2 species) and Hesperiidae (5 species). Nymphalidae was the family with 45.91% of total recoded butterfly species, followed by Pieridae (31.54%), Lycaenidae (11.58%), Papilionidae (5.39%), Riodinidae (3.19%) and Hesperiidae (2.40%). Based on the sightings of the butterfly species, 70.86% were found under the very common category, 19.96% under common category, 5.99% under fairly common category and 3.19% under uncommon category. Seventeen species of the recorded butterflies are legally protected under different Schedules as per the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Values of the studied diversity indices such as Shannon's index (H'=3.88) showed the species richness of the butterfly community was high, Pielou's evenness index (J'=0.91) depicted that the recoded butterfly species were evenly distributed in the community, Simpson's index (Ds=0.02) indicated that a high proportion of species abundance persisted in the community. The present study can be considered as a significant taxonomical as well as ecological work which aims to contribute to the development of biodiversity restoration plans, habitat management and conservation of butterfly fauna in Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a part of the two biodiversity hotspots represents highly diverse fauna from Landfall island of North Andaman to Southernmost island of Great Nicobar. This paper prepared based on the
Insect comprises more than half of the earth’s diversity of species. Butterflies are the most studied and well known insect group. Because of their short life cycle, they are good for the study such as genetics insect-plant interaction and co-evolution. However, due to large scale destruction of habitat, due to various developmental activities of man, many species of butterflies are on the verge of extinction.
Butterflies belong to one of the most important taxa of insects. Understanding their significance in an ecosystem as an environmental health indicator and pollination of flowering plants is crucial to achieving sustainability and conservation of floral diversity. Species diversity and abundance of butterflies were investigated at four (4) locations; Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC), LUFASI Nature Park (LNP), Shodex garden, Co-operative villa, Lagos using sweep nets and camera method of sampling. Biodiversity indices were used to compare the diversity and abundance of the butterflies. A total of 171 butterflies belonging to 4 families were identified from the 4 sampled sites. Butterflies belonging to the family Nymphalidae were the most abundant, accounting for 54.4% of the total butterflies collected in all locations. Papilio damodocus, Bicyclus dorothea, Hypolimnas misippus, Junonia sp and Precis pelarga were found in the four sites. LCC had the most diversified species (H’= 3.183) and Co-operative villa had the least (H’= 25). The study site that was most evenly distributed was Shodex garden (e^H/S = 0.9444) and the least evenly distributed was LCC (e^H/S = 0.832). Highest degree of species concentration was found in LCC (D = 0.9522) and Co-operative villa had the least (D = 0.905). Species diversity composition of LNP and LCC, LCC and Shodex garden, LCC and Cooperative villa are significantly different (p < 0.05). It is necessary to identify the rare butterfly species and conserve them by establishing butterfly garden and buffer zones.
Tropical rainforests including high mountains are the most diverse terrestrial ecosystems. The ecology of tropical insects has been documented, but there is still a knowledge gap on insect diversity within certain underexplored regions such as the Afrotropical Mountains. A study was conducted in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda, an Afromontane tropical rainforest and a biodiversity hotspot. The aims of the study were to assess (1) the fruit‐feeding butterfly species and their distribution across an elevation gradient in Nyungwe; (2) the elevation distribution range of each fruit‐feeding butterfly species; and (3) the effect of seasonal variation on fruit‐feeding butterflies' distribution across an elevation gradient in Nyungwe National Park. Stratified seasonal sampling was conducted using fruit‐baited traps along an elevation gradient spanning from 1700 to 2950 m of altitude. Fifty‐six species including 10 Albertine Rift endemics were recorded, and 77% of the recorded species range between 1700 and 2100 m of altitude. Higher species richness and abundance were recorded during the dry season and decreased with increasing elevation. This study contributed to the knowledge of Nyungwe butterflies' diversity and provided baseline data for use in future monitoring of climate change effects in high mountain tropical rainforests within the Albertine Rift region.
Butterflies are not only beautiful creatures, but do a great deal for the environment. Like bees, they are plant pollinators and they provide population control for a number of plant and even insect species by eating them. They also serve as sustenance for other species. A study to find out the diversity and richness of butterflies at the Govt. Girls’ P.G. College Ujjain, India was carried out over a period of two years from 2019 to 2020.A total 31 butterfly species belonging to 5 families and 01 order. The maximum number of species belong to family Nymphalidea with 13 species, Lycaenidae and Pieridae with same number of 6 species, and minimum number of species in two family with same number of species Papilionidae and Hasperidae with 3 species. Out of 31 species Euremahecabe was the most dominate species followed by Talicadanyseus and Catopsillapyranthe. Diversity and richness of butterfly species were calculated during the course of study which were H=2.396 and 5.660 respectively. Dominance of the species can be explained by the presence of their larval form and host plants in the college campus.
Butterflies play an important role in agroforestry landscapes mainly for performing essential ecosystem services viz, pollination and maintaining prey–predatory relationships. Despite these benefits, the diversity and functional role of butterfly in agroforestry system has been poorly reported. Therefore, in this study, butterfly diversity was assessed in a circular multifunctional agroforestry system at foot hills of Nilgiris, India. This model is spread over 0.75 acre land with 24 different tree species and 8 intercrops arranged in four distinct quadrats of equal size (Q1 = Flower, Q2 = Vegetables, Q3 = Curry leaf and Q4 = Fodder). The butterflies were observed and counted by pollard walk method on alternate days in three time slots between 0900 to 1400 h during October – December, 2019. A total of eighteen butterfly species were recorded with maximum number under Nymphalidae (10) followed by Pieridae (5) and Papilionidae (3) families. Among the recorded species, Hypolimnas misippus, Pachliopta hector and Cepora nerissa comes under Schedule I and II of Indian Wildlife Act, 1972. Three species (Papilio crino, Danaus chrysippus and Hebomoia glaucippe) falls under “Rare”, seven species under “Very Common”, five species under “Common” and the remaining three species under “Not evaluated” categories of IUCN red list. The relative abundance, species richness and diversity of butterfly were found significantly different among the quadrats in different time slots of the observation. Species richness was highest in Q1 (17) followed by Q2 (15), Q3 (11) and Q4 (11) while Shannon diversity index was highest in Q1 (H = 2.81), followed by Q3 (H = 2.37), Q4 (H = 2.37) and Q2 (H = 2.22). The species richness was found highest during morning hours (0900–1000 h) followed by decreasing trend in noon. Overall Q1 was better habitat for butterflies among the four quadrats, which is due to heterogeneity of species composition and abundance of flowering species.
The famous butterfly conservation areas in South Sulawesi, Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, are gradually being replaced by intensively used farmland especially in lowland and submontane regions. The objectives of the research were to identify butterfly species and their host plant served as larvae food, nectar and pollen source in three different altitudes at Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park. The research was conducted based on transect methods at Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia from April to October 2018. Butterflies and their food were observed in three locations at different altitudes of 0-300 m above sea level (asl), 400-700 m asl, and above 700 m asl. The observation indicates a variation in the butterfly species found in different altitudes based on the presence of host plants. A total of 59 individual butterfly samples collected were divided into four families: Papilionidae (7 species), Pieridae (2 species), Nymphalidae (1 species) and Saturniidae (1 species). A further dispersal study based on seasons is needed in order to build a good taxonomic database for Sulawesi butterflies conservation.
Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park is one of the famous butterfly habitat in South Sulawesi. Since few years ago, there are very rapid decline butterfly population because deforestation and wild hunting by local people around conservation areas. The purpose of the research is to study the habitat and preference of butterflies on host plant at Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park. The activity of research used transect survey method of butterfly habitat in Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, Maros Regency, from July to September 2017. The result of butterfly habitat was showed most butterflies found in the open field about 18 individual (35.3% ), 12 individual (23.5%) were in secondary forest, about 6 individual (11.8%) near the water flow.
Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung adalah salah satu habitat kupu-kupu di Sulawesi Selatan. Sejak beberapa tahun yang lalu terjadi penurunan populasi kupu-kupu yang sangat cepat karena kerusakan hutan dan perburuan liar oleh masyarakat. Tujuan penelitian yang telah dilakukan adalah mempelajari habitat dan preferensi kupu-kupu terhadap tumbuhan pakan di Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung. Pelaksanaan kegiatan menggunakan metode survei dengan pemasangan transek berdasarkan habitat kupu-kupu di Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung Kabupaten Maros mulai bulan Juli sampai September 2017. Hasil pengamatan habitat kupu-kupu menunjukkan kupu-kupu paling banyak berada di lapangan terbuka yakni 18 ekor (35.3%), 12 ekor (23.5%) berada di hutan sekunder dan 6 ekor (11.8%) memilih berada dekat aliran air. Berdasarkan fungsi tumbuhan, 3 famili kupu-kupu menunjukkan preferensi terhadap tumbuhan penghasil nektar dan 4 famili kupu-kupu memilih tumbuhan penghasil daun untuk meletakkan telurnya. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa lapangan terbuka (mating area) dan hutan sekunder merupakan habitat yang paling disukai oleh kupu-kupu untuk perkembangannya. Caesalpinia pulcherrima dan Clerodendron japonicum dapat digunakan sebagai sumber nektar kupu-kupu di Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung. Untuk jangka panjang diperlukan kerjasama antara Perguruan Tinggi, pemerintah daerah dan instansi terkait dalam melakukan pelestarian lingkungan hidup kupu-kupu di Sulawesi Selatan.Kata kunci : Bantimurung, habitat, keanekaragaman hayati, kupu-kupu, tumbuhan pakan
Tropical forests have, and in many areas continue to experience both severe and subtle forms of human disturbance; most commonly from hunting, logging and clearance for agriculture. The ability to detect a full range of impacts is essential to understanding how biodiversity responds to human disturbance. Since monitoring the entire biodiversity of a tropical forest is an impossible task, specific groups of biodiversity are often used as biological indicators. Due to their relative ease in detection and identification, their sensitivity to environmental change and their short generation time, butterflies are suggested to be one of the most effective biodiversity indicators for tropical forest monitoring. However, most biodiversity monitoring of tropical ecosystems using butterflies relies only on one sub-group, the fruit-feeding butterflies, or Nymphalidae. Here we assess for the first time if the use of carrion-feeding butterfly communities might improve our ability to detect and monitor human impacts and conservation management outcomes in tropical forests. We analysed species richness, abundance and community composition of rainforest fruit and carrion butterfly communities to see how effectively they detect known differences in forest disturbance history, between three different vertical strata of rainforest, and assess whether they provide stable results across different seasons. We found that compared to fruit-feeding butterflies, sampling carrion-feeders detected greater species richness and abundance for the same survey effort, detected more pronounced effects of known differences in historic disturbance, and showed greater temporal stability in biodiversity patterns across the year. We also identify for the first time a series of indicator butterfly species and tribes that could be used as biological indicators to study biodiversity responses to human disturbance and differences across vertical strata of the rainforest. We therefore suggest that carrion-feeding butterfly communities will be a powerful addition to the family of indicators groups that are available for monitoring the impacts of human disturbance on tropical biodiversity.
Study examines the hypothesis, whether the diversity of Nymphalid butterflies in tropical primary forest of Chandubi is associated with vegetation structure and canopy openness and that this relationship differs between butterfly taxa in relation to phylogenetic differences in light and shade preferences. Study has emphasized whether the increasing diversity of butterflies in degraded tropical forest is associated with the loss of species with restricted geographical distribution. Study considered altogether eight habitat variables and the t-test using equal variance, Spearman rank correlation and multiple regressions were also used for statistical analyses. Species diversity was analyzed using Margalef’s D indices that indicate both the species richness and abundance. Bootstrap method was used to compare the diversity among samples. PCA was done to examine the relationship between vegetation structure and species diversity in primary and degraded forest. The relationship between vegetation factor scores and species diversity in each sampling station in primary and degraded forest was analyzed using stepwise multiple regression. Results indicates that the butterflies species sampled in closed canopy forest had more restricted geographical distribution than those being sampled in disturbed forest. The species with greater light preference had significantly wider geographical distribution, whereas the species with greater shade preferences had significantly narrower geographical range. The stepwise analysis of multiple regressions between the diversity indices of shade groups of butterflies and vegetation density (PRIN 1) of closed forest shows a significant positive relationship, but the relationship was negative when similar analysis was carried out between species diversity indices of light preferred groups and vegetation density. Majority of closed canopy forest butterflies are sensitive to changes in moisture availability and humidity. Thus, changes in canopy cover and light penetration through microclimatic effects on adult and larval survival does have an impact on butterfly distributions and abundance. While the species richness and diversity are higher in degraded forest, the conservation value of primary forest lies more in the presence of species with restricted ranges. Owing to loss of diverse vegetation in degraded forest, the dense canopy cover and transparent ground cover has been reduced and thus leading to decline of forest butterflies species. Study has clearly indicated the strong and significant relationship that exists between the species of narrow range of geographical distribution and species shade preference. The restricted ranges species are affected due to forest degradation. Thus, clearly bringing into light, that increasing diversity in degraded forest is associated with the loss of species with restricted geographical distribution.
Key words: Nymphalid butterflies, forest degradation, primary forests, conservation value, endemic species, geographic distribution range, light and shade groups, phylogeny, tropical forests.
Papilionidae butterflies with three subfamilies, including the species such as the Spot sword tail, Black tail, Common banded peacock and Crimson rose .This family includes the largest attractive, and endangered butterfly species. Three study sites i.e., Lankamalai of Kadapa district, Thalakona and Tirumala Hills of Chittoor district of Eastern Ghats of Southern Andhra Pradesh were chosen. Captive breeding method has been adopted for restocking the population. Nearly 11 species were identified from 3 sub families (Parnassiinae, Zerynthinae and Papilioninae). Species diversity was calculated by using Simpson’s diversity index along with the seasonality and population index, richness and evenness of the species and life stages of certain rare and very rare were also discussed.
Habitat selection by butterflies is examined by comparing the relative number of adults recorded in woodland rides with the overall level of direct shade, measured by hemispherical photography. Species that are typical of open grassland habitats were largely confined to the least shaded rides whilst other species were most abundant in either partially or heavily shaded rides. Overall, a far greater number of species occurred in the least shaded rides and only a few species actually preferred heavily shaded conditions. The apparent shade preferences of two species, Leptidea sinapis and Aphantopus hyperantus, were confirmed by local changes in their distribution over a period of several years when rides became increasingly shaded. Habitat selection by L. sinapis was also related to the abundance of certain resources, such as nectar sources and larval foodplants.The major factors which determine the level of direct shade in woodland rides (tree height, ride width and orientation) are discussed, and conclusions are drawn about the importance of ride management to the conservation of butterflies in woodland habitats.
Surveys of the microhabitat distribution of adult butterfly species were undertaken at three rain forest sites in North Queensland, Australia, encompassing a range of rain forest vegetation types. These surveys found little evidence for a specialist canopy fauna. Most species recorded in the canopy were often seen close to the ground. At all sites, most species were observed at the edge of the rain forest habitat; within the rain forest, more species were observed near the ground than in the canopy.
Five forest plots of differing disturbance levels were sampled qualitatively for termites in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve, southern Cameroon, using 100 m belt transects. Results showed a large reduction in species richness in two severely disturbed plots compared with a Near Primary plot, but little difference in two less disturbed regenerating plots; there is some evidence for a slight increase in species richness in the regenerating plots. Soil-feeders predominate in the primary and regenerating plots, but are greatly reduced in the severely disturbed plots. Wood-feeders appear to be more resilient to disturbance than soil-feeders, although their species richness is low in the most disturbed plots. The Termitinae are the dominant taxonomic group in the Near Primary plot, the Apicotermitinae in the less disturbed regenerating plots and the Macrotermitinae in the clear felled areas. There appears to be no secondary invasion of plots by savanna-associated species, and the small apparent increase in species richness in the less disturbed regenerating plots appears to be due to the influx of forest species usually associated with natural gaps.
Published work on the dynamics of forest tree recruitment, growth and mortality in natural tropical forest is reviewed. In most forests studied, annual mortality is between 1% and 2% and is independent of size class in trees >10 cm dbh; mortality is negatively correlated with growth rate and crown illumination; growth rate is highly variable between individual trees, but shows strong autocorrelation between successive measurements on the same tree.
Differences in the rate of dynamic processes can be detected between some species at a site, but data are presently insufficient to determine whether these differences are preserved at other sites where the species occur. None of the studies discussed are of sufficient duration to permit us to draw any conclusions about the equilibrium or non-equilibrium of floristic composition.
Germination success of Chlorocardium rodiei is low in large gaps. High light levels, however are beneficial for the survival of seedlings. (Partial) removal of cotyledons has a large negative impact on survival especially under low light conditions. Seedlings from large gaps are larger but not taller than those from the understorey, due to differential internode growth. Although growth of seedlings is improved by higher light levels caused for example by logging, great care should be taken with logging intensity, which may increase seed mortality.
Populations of the scorpion Cercophonius squama and the terrestrial amphipod, Family Tallitridae, were monitored by pitfall trapping in southeastern Australia for 8 yr as part of a field experiment to study the effects of habitat fragmentation and remnant habitat patch size an biological diversity, for 3 yr prior to the fragmentation treatment, and 5 yr thereafter. The abundance of scorpions did not change significantly with habitat fragmentation and there was no discernible effect of remnant size. The abundance of amphipods in the remnants relative to that in the controls decreased markedly after fragmentation, more so on smaller remnants than on larger ones. By reason of their ecological and biological characteristics, scorpions seem resistant to the changed ecological conditions brought about by habitat fragmentation, at least in the short term, whereas amphipods are more susceptible. It is not yet possible to generalize about the responses of species to habitat fragmentation. Management of fragmented ecosystems to maintain biological diversity should be directed at populations of species because different species respond differently.
Following selective timber logging, there is a significant overall decrease in bird species richness. Families such as Alcedinidae, Trogonidae, Timaliidae, Muscicapidae and Dicaeidae were much reduced, both in species richness and overall abundance. Many species of the Pycnonotidae, and migrant insectivores such as Hirundo rustica and Merops viridis were observed far more frequently in logged forest. Terrestrial and sallying insectivores appear particularly susceptible. These birds tend to be replaced by more robust species, often those able to feed opportunistically on a variety of foods. The presence of some colonizing birds in highly ephemeral, but long-term changes in patterns of species abundance are to be expected in logged forest.-from Author
Biologists are still trying to grasp the global dimensions of the phylum Arthropoda and its major class the Insecta, in spite of the fact that over a million species of arthropods have been described. The canopy of rain forest trees is believed by many to hold the key to the immense diversity of insects. In recent years the use of knock-down insecticides to sample insects from rain forest canopy has revealed information on the canopy's arthropod inhabitants and community structure. The sampling techniques involved are outlined and data reviewed on taxonomic and guild structure, species abundance, body size and biomass of insects, and the faunal similarity of trees. Calculations by Erwin 1982, based on knock-down insecticide studies of the beetle fauna of one species of Central American tree, suggest there may be 30 million species of tropical forest arthropods. Reanalysis of these calculations, using additional data, produces a range of possible estimates from about 10 to 80 million. The unknown range of plant host-specificities of tropical insects is the main weakness of this method of calculation. Assessment of the faunal importance of the canopy in relation to that of other rain forest biotopes requires comparative quantitative studies. The preliminary results of one such simple study suggest that over 42 million arthropods may be found in a hectare of Seram rain forest (at the time of study), and that 70% occur in the soil and leaf litter and 14% in the canopy. They also suggest that Collembola and Acarina are the dominant groups in this hectare, and that there are as many ants as all the other insects (excluding Collembola).
1. The butterfly fauna of lowland monsoon forest on Buru, Indonesia was compared in unlogged forest and forest that had been selectively logged 5 years previously. 2. Seven variables relating to vegetation structure were measured in each habitat. Tree density and percentage cover of vegetation in the canopy and understorey were significantly higher, and vegetation cover 2 m above the ground was significantly lower, in unlogged forest. There were no differences between sites in the mean heights or girths of trees, but the ranges of both heights and girths were lower in logged forest. Percentage cover of vegetation at ground level was similar at the two sites. 3. Species richness, abundance and evenness of butterflies and an index of taxonomic distinctiveness were all significantly higher in unlogged forest. Two endemic species and a further four species with distributions restricted to Maluku Province were recorded only in unlogged forest. 4. Species abundance data for butterflies at both sites fitted a log-series distribution. Data for unlogged forest also fitted a log-normal distribution, whereas those for logged forest did not. This indicated the presence of a more complex butterfly community in unlogged forest. 5. These results indicate that the distributional pattern of species abundance of tropical butterflies may be used as an indicator of forest disturbance, and that selective logging of tropical forests in SE Asia may be associated with a significant decrease in biodiversity of butterflies, at least during the first 5 years of forest regeneration.
Data and analyses from pilot studies in the Danum area of Sabah, East
Malaysia, and elsewhere in the Indo-Australian tropics are used to
measure the effects of logging and other human disturbance, such as
conversion to plantation, on insect diversity. The two insect groups
studied have very different trophic requirements: moths, with
floristically specific herbivory, and dung and carrion beetles,
exploiting resources of much more uniform quality over different forest
systems. Moths show significant loss of diversity and taxonomic quality
with disturbance and conversion to plantation. The beetles show much
less change in diversity and faunistic composition. The implications for
conservation of biodiversity are discussed, and suggestions for further
work are made.
A method based on transect count has been developed to assess changes in abundance of butterflies from year to year. The method involves weekly walks around atransect route making counts of butterflies seen within defined limits. The transects are divided into sections related to habitat or management units. Walks are made only when weather conditions satisfy specified minimum requirements. The method has been tested for three years at Monks Wood and for two years at a number of other sites.The basis for annual comparisons is an index of abundance which is produced for each brood of each species, except when separation of broods is not possible. This index is correlated with abundance, although the precise nature of the relationship will vary from species to species. Evidence on this presented for two species.The method makes it possible to monitor the abundance of butterflies at selected sites, using recorders, such as nature reserve wardens, who can fit in one or two hours recording each week when the weather is suitable. Such a scheme, based on the methods described in this paper, began in 1976. In addition to the monitoring of fluctuations of abundance, the method provides considerable information on the phenology and ecology of butterflies. The division of the transects into sections makes some assessment of the effects of habitat change, due to management or other factors, possible.
Long-term monitoring of selected species can identify changes in biological diversity, permitting the timely adjustment of management activities to reverse or avoid undesired trends. This paper addresses several related issues bearing on the development of inexpensive and easily implemented monitoring programs for tropical butterflies. First, we discuss the use of butterflies as ecological indicators. Next, we present field evaluations of butterfly sampling techniques, indicating that: (1) light-gap size greatly affects sampling results in forests and should be of critical concern in site selection and sampling design; (2) baited traps and visual censuses provide complementary data on butterfly abundances; (3) monitoring a subset of locally common butterfly species can provide data for comparing community composition and relative abundance of species in areas where species inventories are incomplete. Drawing on these results, we develop guidelines for designing monitoring programs. These address the formulation of explicit questions to be addressed through monitoring and the selection of appropriate study sites, study species, sampling techniques, and sampling frequency. A protocol for the ongoing butterfly monitoring program that emerged from these studies is appended. The techniques and guidelines presented here are intended to serve as an adaptable model for biologists designing monitoring projects to help guide applied conservation efforts in the tropics.
The composition and structure of the bird community were investigated in French Guiana (northeastern Amazonia) 1 year and 10 years after selective logging and compared with bird community composition and structure in undisturbed primary forest. A point-count method was used in which 937 0.25-ha sample quadrats were censused for 20 minutes each. Whereas logging removed little more than 3 trees/ha, 38% of the forest undergrowth was destroyed and a proportion of the canopy was opened or damaged. An overall 27–33% decrease of species richness, frequency, and abundance occurred after logging, with a less marked decline of diversity and evenness indices, a substantial increase in the proportion of dominant species, and a 45% difference in species composition, weighed by frequency, between logged and undisturbed forest communities. Forty-two percent of the species from the primary forest decreased sharply or disappeared after logging and only 34% increased or remained unchanged. Microhabitat selection was the main correlate of sensitivity to disturbance. Most affected by logging were species associated with the understory of tall mature stands especially terrestrial species, members of mixed flocks, and solitary sallying insectivores, all of which decreased by 70% to over 90%. Most birds associated with canopy, small gaps, and vine tangles declined by only 10–30%. Small frugivores and species associated with clearings or edges increased. Among other factors, physiological intolerance of understory species to open forest microclimatic conditions (light, heat, or water stress) might influence their avoidance of logged areas. Timber harvesting generated a high level of disturbance, which depressed the bird diversity. After over 10 years of regeneration, the dense regrowth produced a uniform habitat type that still had not recovered the high species richness exhibited by the primary forest under an intermediate level of disturbance.
The effect of sample size and species diversity on a variety of similarity indices is explored. Real values of a similarity index must be evaluated relative to the expected maximum value of that index, which is the value obtained for samples randomly drawn from the same universe, with the diversity and sample sizes of the real samples. It is shown that these expected maxima differ from the theoretical maxima, the values obtained for two identical samples, and that the relationship between expected and theoretical maxima depends on sample size and on species diversity in all cases, without exception. In all cases but one (the Morisita index) the expected maxima depend strongly to fairly strongly on sample size and diversity. For some of the more useful indices empirical equations are given to calculate the expected maximum value of the indices to which the observed values can be related at any combination of sample sizes. It is recommended that the Morisita index be used whenever possible to avoid the complex dealings with effects of sample size and diversity; however, when previous logarithmic transformation of the data is required, which often may be the case, the Morisita-Horn or the Renkonen indices are recommended.
In the wet lowlands of Costa Rica, butterfly species with narrow geographic ranges are less able to make use of human-modified environments than are more widely distributed species. The restriction of endemic butterflies to unmodified habitats means that tropical deforestation is most likely to affect endemic species adversely, and that the butterfly faunas of different regions will become increasingly similar as local endemics are exterminated. The biogeographical regions and zones of endemism in Costa Rica, as defined by butterflies, correspond well to those defined by the vegetation, vertebrate distributions, and climatic data. Because of this, effective conservation of the flora and vertebrates will usually serve butterflies well, provided that a scattering of additional, relatively small reserves (probably of the order of several hundred to several thousand hectares) are established within each biological region to conserve patchily distributed insect populations, particularly those occurring in unusual habitats.
Dung and carrion beetle communities in 1 ha and 10 ha forest fragments differed from those in contiguous forest, even though the fragments had been isolated by <350 m for an ecologically short time (2-6 yr). At a study site 80 km N of Manaus, Brazil, 55 species in 15 genera were trapped. Pitfall samples from clear-cut areas separating forest fragments from intact forest indicated that beetles rarely moved from intact forest into fragments. The apparent barrier imposed by clearcuts diminished with the invasion of second growth. Except for the 4 species in the genus Glaphyrocanthon, all species were found more frequently in forested areas than in clearcuts. Glaphyrocanthon constituted 97% of the 717 individuals captured in clearcuts and was never captured in contiguous forest or 10 ha fragments. Forest fragments had fewer species, sparser populations and smaller beetles than comparable intact forest areas. The changes in dung and carrion beetle communities help explain the low rate at which dung decomposed in 1 ha fragments. -from Author
Presents a simple protocol based on ordination techniques for establishing the indicator properties of a group of organisms and for selecting an indicator species subset for more intensive monitoring. The indicator properties of a butterfly taxocene in a rain forest in Madagascar were established. Butterflies have been suggested as particularly good environmental indicators due to their sensitivity to micro-climate and light level changes, and their interactions as larvae and adults with different sets of host plants. The indicator properties of butterfly assemblages were evaluated with respect to a known pattern of environmental heterogeneity along topographic/moisture and disturbance gradients. Butterfly assemblages were excellent indicators of heterogeneity due to the topographic moisture gradient, limited indicators of heterogeneity due to anthropogenic disturbance, and poor indicators of plant diversity. -from Author
The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state
which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community. This may not happen if gradual
changes in climate favor different species. If equilibrium is reached, a lesser degree of diversity may be sustained by niche
diversification or by a compensatory mortality that favors inferior competitors. However, tropical forests and reefs are subject
to severe disturbances often enough that equilibrium may never be attained.
Biometry Techniques and Guidelines for Monitoring Neotropical Butter¯ies The eects of man made gaps on germination, early survival, and morphology of Chlorocardium rodiei seedlings in Guyana Insect diversity: facts, ®ction and speculation
- R R Sokal
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- C Bokdam
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- Verburg
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. (1981) Biometry, 2nd edn. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. Sparrow, H.R. (1994) Techniques and Guidelines for Monitoring Neotropical Butter¯ies. Cons. Biol. 8, 800±9. Steege, H.T., Bokdam, C., Boland, M., Dobbelsteen, J. and Verburg, I (1994) The eects of man made gaps on germination, early survival, and morphology of Chlorocardium rodiei seedlings in Guyana. J. Trop. Ecol. 10, 245±60. Stork, N.E. (1988) Insect diversity: facts, ®ction and speculation. Biol. J. Linnaen Soc. 35, 321±37.
Assessing the Indicator Properties of Species Assemblages for Natural Areas Monitoring Edge and other eects of isolation on Amazon forest fragments
- C Kremen
- T E Lovejoy
- R O Bierregaard
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- A B Rylands
Kremen, C. (1992) Assessing the Indicator Properties of Species Assemblages for Natural Areas Monitoring. Ecol. Applic. 2, 203±17. Lovejoy, T.E., Bierregaard, R.O. Jr, Rylands, A.B. et al. (1986) Edge and other eects of isolation on Amazon forest fragments. In Conservation Biology: the Science of Scarcity and Diversity (M.E. SouleÂ, ed.) pp. 257±85. Mass: Sinauer Associates Inc.
Eects of selective logging on tropical forest butter¯ies on Buru, Indonesia The response of some rain forest insect groups to logging and conversion to plantation
- J K Hill
- K C Hamer
- L A Lace
- W M T Banham
Hill, J.K., Hamer, K.C., Lace, L.A. and Banham, W.M.T. (1995) Eects of selective logging on tropical forest butter¯ies on Buru, Indonesia. J. Appl Ecol. 32, 754±60. Holloway, J.D., Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. and Khen, C.V. (1992) The response of some rain forest insect groups to logging and conversion to plantation. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. 335, 425±36.
Land use and conservation in Panama: a study of butter¯y density and species diversity A case study of natural forest management in Trinidad The eect of logging on termite (Isoptera) diversity and decomposition pro-cesses in lowland dipterocarp forests
- M R Cheverton
- C D. C. P Thomas
- S Jhilmit
Cheverton, M.R. and Thomas, C.D. (1982) Land use and conservation in Panama: a study of butter¯y density and species diversity. Proceedings of the 3rd Congress of European Le-pidopterology. Cambridge, 30±46. Clubbe, C.P. and Jhilmit, S. (1992) A case study of natural forest management in Trinidad. In The Wise Management of Tropical Forests, pp. 201±209. Oxford: Oxford Forestry Institute, OUP. Collins, N.M. (1980) The eect of logging on termite (Isoptera) diversity and decomposition pro-cesses in lowland dipterocarp forests. In Tropical Ecology and Development (J.I. Furtado, ed.) pp. 113±21, Kuala Lumpur: International Society of Tropical Ecology.
Butter¯ies of Trinidad and Tobago Conservation of neotropical environments: insects as indicators. In The Con-servation of insects and their habitats
- M Barcant
Barcant, M. (1970) Butter¯ies of Trinidad and Tobago, 1st edn. London: Collins. Brown, K.S. (1991) Conservation of neotropical environments: insects as indicators. In The Con-servation of insects and their habitats, 15th Symposium of the Royal Entomological Society of London, pp. 350±404. New York: Academic Press.
A case study of natural forest management in Trinidad
- C P Clubbe
- S Jhilmit
Butterflies of the Neotropical Region
- D Abrera
Land use and conservation in Panama: a study of butterfly density and species diversity
- M R Cheverton
- C D Thomas
Conservation of neotropical environments: insects as indicators. In The Conservation of insects and their habitats, 15th Symposium of the Royal Entomological Society of London
- K S Brown
Beetles and other insects of tropical forest canopies at Manaus, Brazil, sampled by insecticidal fogging
- T L Erwin
Butterfly Monitoring Scheme: instructions for independent recorders
- M L Hall
Bosbouwkundike foto interpretatie
- D Heinsdijk
A review of the Trinidad butterflies hitherto placed in the genus Prepona (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
- H Papworth