Butterfly assemblages along a human disturbance gradient in Ontario, Canada

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 739-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy L Hogsden ◽  
T C Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Environmental Variable ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Total Abundance ◽  
Disturbance Gradient ◽  
Butterfly Assemblages ◽  
Host Plant Use ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Scale Data

This study relates patterns of butterfly abundance and species richness to position along an urban disturbance gradient in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Observed assemblages along the gradient (N = 15) included butterflies from the Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, and Hesperiidae families. Of the total 26 observed species, 15 were noticeably absent from the disturbed sites. Butterfly assemblages had equal or higher number of individuals and species richness at moderately disturbed sites compared with the least disturbed sites. In relation to distribution patterns along the gradient, 28% of butterfly species were classified as disturbance adaptable and 58% as disturbance avoiders. These classifications were correlated with host-plant use and voltinism. Canonical correspondence analysis of local-scale data strongly associated disturbance avoiders with a specific environmental variable (e.g., Everes comyntas (Godart, 1824) with grasslands), whereas disturbance-adaptable species were weakly associated with any variable. One-time disturbances (i.e., mowing) during the survey resulted in pronounced changes in butterfly abundance and species composition at two sites, reducing species richness and total abundance by up to 80%. Species were patchily distributed along the gradient, suggesting that they respond differentially to disturbance in the landscape.

scholarly journals Long-term species richness-abundance dynamics in relation to species departures and arrivals in wintering urban bird assemblages

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Suhonen ◽  
Jukka Jokimäki
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Total Abundance ◽  
Bird Species Richness ◽  
Abundance Dynamics ◽  
Local Species Richness ◽  
Local Species ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Urban Bird ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Abstract Temporal dynamics of local assemblages depend on the species richness and the total abundance of individuals as well as local departure and arrival rates of species. We used urban bird survey data collected from the same 31 study plots and methods during three winters (1991–1992; 1999–2000 and 2009–2010) to analyze the temporal relationship between bird species richness and total number of individuals (abundance). We also evaluated local departures and arrivals of species in each assemblage. In total, 13,812 individuals of 35 species were detected. The temporal variation in bird species richness followed the variation in the total number of individuals. The numbers of local departure and arrival events were similar. Also, the mean number of individuals of the recently arrived species (8.6) was almost the same as the mean number of individuals of the departed species (8.2). Risk of species departure was inversely related to number of individuals. Local species richness increased by one species when the total abundance of individuals increased by around 125 individuals and vice versa. Our results highlight the important role of local population departures and arrivals in determining the local species richness-abundance dynamics in human-dominated landscapes. Local species richness patterns depend on the total number of individuals as well as both the departure-arrival dynamics of individual species as well as the dynamics of all the species together. Our results support the more individuals hypothesis, which suggests that individual-rich assemblages have more species.

scholarly journals Butterfly assemblages from Amazonian flooded forests are not more species-poor than from unflooded forests

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael M. Rabelo ◽  
William E. Magnusson
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Total Abundance ◽  
Terra Firme ◽  
Geological Age ◽  
Flooded Forests ◽  
Butterfly Assemblages ◽  
Nymphalid Butterfly ◽  
Terrain Elevation ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

AbstractThe Amazonian flooded and upland forests harbour distinct assemblages of most taxonomic groups. These differences can be mainly attributed to flooding, which may affect directly or indirectly the persistence of species. Here, we compare the density, richness and composition of butterfly assemblages in vaórzea and terra firme forests, and evaluate whether terrain elevation and flooding can be used to predict the assemblage structure. We found that the total abundance and number of species per plot is higher in vaórzea than in terra firme forests. Vaórzea assemblages showed a higher dominance of abundant species than terra firme assemblages, in which low-flying Haeterini butterflies had higher abundance. After standardizing species richness by sample size and/or coverage, species richness estimates for vaórzea and terra firme forests were similar. There was strong turnover in species composition across vaórzea and terra firme forests associated with terrain elevation, most likely due to differences in the duration of flooding. Despite a smaller total area, less defined vegetation strata, more frequent disturbances and the younger geological age of floodplain forests, Nymphalid butterfly assemblages are not more species poor there than in unflooded forests.

A comparative analysis of butterfly richness detection capacity of Pollard transects and general microhabitat surveys

2012 ◽  
Vol 144 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-731
Author(s):  
Isabelle Létourneau ◽  
Maxim Larrivée ◽  
Antoine Morin
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Conservation Biology ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
High Quality ◽  
High Quality Data ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Butterfly Assemblages ◽  
Number Of Individuals

AbstractAssessing biodiversity is essential in conservation biology but the resources needed are often limited. Citizen science, by which volunteers gather data at low cost, represents a potential solution for the lack of resources if it produces usable data for scientific means. Scientific inventories for butterflies are often performed with a Pollard transect, a standardised surveying technique that generates high-quality data. General microhabitat surveys (GMSs) are potentially more appealing to amateurs participating in citizen science projects because they are less constrained. We compare estimates of butterfly species richness acquired by Pollard transects to those obtained by GMSs. We demonstrate that GMSs allow surveyors to detect more butterfly species and a more complete portrait of local butterfly assemblages for the same number of individuals captured.

scholarly journals Butterfly species’ responses to urbanization: differing effects of human population density and built-up area

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikko Kuussaari ◽  
Marjaana Toivonen ◽  
Janne Heliölä ◽  
Juha Pöyry ◽  
Jorge Mellado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Total Abundance ◽  
Habitat Specificity ◽  
Human Population Density ◽  
Mobile Species ◽  
Human Density

Abstract Good knowledge on how increasing urbanization affects biodiversity is essential in order to preserve biodiversity in urban green spaces. We examined how urban development affects species richness and total abundance of butterflies as well as the occurrence and abundance of individual species within the Helsinki metropolitan area in Northern Europe. Repeated butterfly counts in 167 separate 1-km-long transects within Helsinki covered the entire urbanization gradient, quantified by human population density and the proportion of built-up area (within a 50-m buffer surrounding each butterfly transect). We found consistently negative effects of both human population density and built-up area on all studied butterfly variables, though butterflies responded markedly more negatively to increasing human population density than to built-up area. Responses in butterfly species richness and total abundance showed higher variability in relation to proportion of built-up area than to human density, especially in areas of high human density. Increasing human density negatively affected both the abundance and the occurrence of 47% of the 19 most abundant species, whereas, for the proportion of built-up area, the corresponding percentages were 32% and 32%, respectively. Species with high habitat specificity and low mobility showed higher sensitivity to urbanization (especially high human population density) than habitat generalists and mobile species that dominated the urban butterfly communities. Our results suggest that human population density provides a better indicator of urbanization effects on butterflies compared to the proportion of built-up area. The generality of this finding should be verified in other contexts and taxonomic groups.

Distribution Patterns and Climatic Explanations of Species Richness of Vascular Plants in Xinjiang, China

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-ping LI ◽  
Nurbay Abdusalih ◽  
Shao-peng WANG ◽  
Zhi-heng WANG ◽  
Zhi-yao TANG
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Distribution Patterns

scholarly journals Marked Differences in Butterfly Assemblage Composition between Forest Types in Central Amazonia, Brazil

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 942
Author(s):  
Isabela Freitas Oliveira ◽  
Fabricio Beggiato Baccaro ◽  
Fernanda P. Werneck ◽  
Thamara Zacca ◽  
Torbjørn Haugaasen
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
High Water ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Terra Firme ◽  
Central Amazonia ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Contrasting Habitats ◽  
Seasonally Flooded

Amazonia comprises a mosaic of contrasting habitats, with wide environmental heterogeneity at local and regional scales. In central Amazonia, upland forest (terra firme) is the predominant forest type and seasonally flooded forests inundated by white- and black-water rivers (várzea and igapó, respectively) represent around 20% of the forested areas. In this work, we took advantage of a natural spatial arrangement of the main vegetation types in central Amazonia to investigate butterfly assemblage structure in terra firme, várzea and igapó forests at the local scale. We sampled in the low- and high-water seasons, combining active and passive sampling with traps placed in both the understory and canopy. Terra firme supported the highest number of butterfly species, whereas várzea forest provided the highest number of butterfly captures. The high species richness in terra firme may reflect that this forest type is floristically richer than várzea and igapó. Várzea is a very productive environment and may thus support a higher number of butterfly individuals than terra firme and igapó. Most butterfly species (80.2%) were unique to a single forest type and 17 can be considered forest type indicator species in this landscape. Floodplain forest environments are therefore an important complement to terra firme in terms of butterfly species richness and conservation in Amazonia.

scholarly journals Roles of Spatial Scale and Rarity on the Relationship between Butterfly Species Richness and Human Density in South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e0124327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Mecenero ◽  
Res Altwegg ◽  
Jonathan F. Colville ◽  
Colin M. Beale
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Human Density

Countryside Stewardship Scheme and Butterflies: A Study of Plant and Butterfly Species Richness

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Field ◽  
T. Gardiner ◽  
C. F. Mason ◽  
J. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Butterfly Species
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document