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Diversity
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Biodiversity and Ecology of Butterflies
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Biodiversity and Ecology of Butterflies

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 9979

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Karina Lucas Silva-Brandão

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Zoology Museum, Leibniz Institute | LIB, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Interests: Lepidoptera; butterfly ecology; phylogeny; biogeography; insects; population genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Insects in the order Lepidoptera are among the most studied animals throughout all research fields. Butterflies, for instance, were model lepidopterans in many studies of evolution, behaviour, ecology, mimicry, biogeography, conservation, genetics and more recently genomics, as well as an inspiration for aerodynamics and other technological fields. In fact, many studies on these areas are anchored in butterflies’ data. This Special Issue on the “Biodiversity and Ecology of Butterflies” aims to revise and illustrate all levels of diversity of this fascinating group, from genetics to community-level diversity, in as many world biomes as possible in order to permit a broad discussion of what we already know about the group and what we need to focus on in the following years. We are undoubtedly living in a genomic-data-driven era where sequencing and computational aimed analysis technologies enable a new row of questions that can be answered given enough financial and skilled resources, whereas several basic questions are still awaiting to be answered. Both reviews and new unpublished data are welcome to be submitted to this Special Issue.

Dr. Karina Lucas Silva-Brandão
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • butterfly
  • community
  • diversity
  • ecology
  • genetics
  • molecular
  • morphology
  • population

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3300 KiB  
Article
What Do Butterflies Tell Us about an Intermediate Disturbance in a Dry Tropical Forest Context?
by Yarlenis L. Mercado-Gómez, Jorge D. Mercado-Gómez and Carlos E. Giraldo-Sánchez
Diversity 2023, 15(8), 927; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080927 - 14 Aug 2023
Viewed by 2207
Abstract
Montes de María is the best-preserved tropical dry forest fragment in the Colombian Caribbean, making it an ideal location for studying the impacts of human disturbance on local ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed the community structure of diurnal butterflies in both forested [...] Read more.
Montes de María is the best-preserved tropical dry forest fragment in the Colombian Caribbean, making it an ideal location for studying the impacts of human disturbance on local ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed the community structure of diurnal butterflies in both forested and disturbed areas using 16 circular plots to identify relationships between alpha and beta diversity, and the geographic distance between disturbed areas and native forests, using a range of metrics, including range–abundance and rarefaction curves, nonlinear models, and the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index. The results revealed three distinct species assemblages associated with forests, intermediate disturbed areas (IDAs), and disturbed areas (DAs). Nonlinear models show that IDAs are more diverse than forests and DAs. However, forests have more beta diversity in plots than IDAs and DAs. Indicator species for each butterfly assemblage were also identified. Thus, although new butterfly species assemblages emerge from a new human landscape, it is clear that species that only occur within dry forest fragments are lost when forest fragments disappear. Overall, these findings have important implications for conservation efforts and understanding how human disturbance affects biodiversity in tropical ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity and Ecology of Butterflies)
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16 pages, 3508 KiB  
Article
Butterfly Assemblages Differ among Vegetation Types in Southern Amazonia
by Luísa L. Mota, Jessie P. Santos, Keith R. Willmott and André V. L. Freitas
Diversity 2023, 15(5), 624; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15050624 - 4 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2674
Abstract
Environmental heterogeneity is considered an important factor supporting the evolution and maintenance of biodiversity. At small scales, such heterogeneity is thought to promote species co-existence through an increase in niche opportunities. Amazonia, the largest and most biodiverse rainforest in the world, presents a [...] Read more.
Environmental heterogeneity is considered an important factor supporting the evolution and maintenance of biodiversity. At small scales, such heterogeneity is thought to promote species co-existence through an increase in niche opportunities. Amazonia, the largest and most biodiverse rainforest in the world, presents a large number of vegetation types within its territory. Here, we tested the hypothesis that butterfly assemblages differ among five vegetation types at a small scale (less than 1 km2) in a region of Southern Amazonia. The vegetation types studied were forest gap, terra firme, igapó, semi-deciduous forest, and bamboo forest. The richest and most abundant community was in forest gap; igapó was the least rich, but held the second most abundant community and the only one with nine indicator species instead of two or three. Assemblage composition differed among all vegetation types, with the exception of forest gap and bamboo forest. Different light levels, temperatures, humidity, and host plant availability among vegetation types are likely relevant factors influencing these butterfly assemblages. The results suggest that the presence of various vegetation types in the region promotes the coexistence of butterfly species, and that specific threats to each vegetation type should be addressed to conserve the region’s biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity and Ecology of Butterflies)
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14 pages, 2504 KiB  
Article
Microclimatic Fluctuation throughout the Day Influences Subtropical Fruit-Feeding Butterfly Assemblages between the Canopy and Understory
by Aline Richter, Milton de Souza Mendonça, Jr., Karine Gawlinski and Cristiano Agra Iserhard
Diversity 2023, 15(4), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15040560 - 16 Apr 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1580
Abstract
Vertical stratification is a recognized pattern in tropical forests; however, biotic and abiotic factors driving this pattern are little explored. We investigated the influence of daily climatic variation in the vertical stratification of fruit-feeding butterfly assemblages sampled with bait traps in the understory [...] Read more.
Vertical stratification is a recognized pattern in tropical forests; however, biotic and abiotic factors driving this pattern are little explored. We investigated the influence of daily climatic variation in the vertical stratification of fruit-feeding butterfly assemblages sampled with bait traps in the understory and canopy of a subtropical Atlantic Forest. Overall, 1347 individuals belonging to 38 species of fruit-feeding butterflies were recorded. The canopy and understory are distinct concerning diurnal but not nocturnal microclimatic conditions, leading to different responses in community structure. Richness did not differ between strata, but we observed an effect of stratum in interaction with variation in microclimatic conditions, with the canopy increasing in abundance compared to the understory. Temperature homogenization at night can hinder vertical stratification in richness, while microclimatic variation influences species abundance. The species composition was affected by strata with high turnover in the understory, without an effect of microclimatic variables in beta diversity. In addition to the difference in composition, our study shows that the understory was represented mainly by species from Satyrinae, while the canopy presented species from different clades. This could be an artefact of habitat structure, and the species adapted to the closed forest have a dispersal limitation compared to in the canopy. These findings help us to better understand the mechanisms generating distinct patterns of vertical stratification of fruit-feeding butterflies in the Neotropics and provide new insights into the role of microclimatic conditions in the structure of insect assemblages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity and Ecology of Butterflies)
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17 pages, 770 KiB  
Article
Experimental Suppression of Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta) Has Little Impact on the Survival of Eggs to Third Instar of Spring-Generation Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) Due to Buffering Effects of Host-Plant Arthropods
by Kalynn L. Hudman, Misty Stevenson, Kelsey Contreras, Alyx Scott and Jeffrey G. Kopachena
Diversity 2023, 15(3), 331; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030331 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2456
Abstract
The eastern migratory population of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) has shown evidence of declines in recent years. During early spring, when the population is at its smallest, red imported fire ants (RIFA) (Solenopsis invicta) have been implicated as [...] Read more.
The eastern migratory population of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) has shown evidence of declines in recent years. During early spring, when the population is at its smallest, red imported fire ants (RIFA) (Solenopsis invicta) have been implicated as having devastating effects on monarch egg and larval survival, but there are no conclusive experimental data to support this contention. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of RIFA on the survival of spring monarch eggs to third instar larvae. Three treatments were analyzed: control plots, RIFA-suppressed plots, and RIFA-enhanced plots. Other host-plant arthropods were also documented. In control plots, monarch survival was unrelated to RIFA abundance on or around the plants. For both years combined, RIFA suppression had little impact on monarch survival. In one of the two years, higher survival occurred in the suppressed treatment, but confidence in this difference was low. In control plots, monarch survival increased with increasing numbers of other arthropods (not including RIFA) on the host plant. Predator pressure did not vary relative to arthropod abundance, and RIFA only occupied plants in large numbers when large numbers of other arthropods were also present. The presence of RIFA did not affect predator pressure. RIFA artificially drawn onto host plants created artificially high predator pressure, and monarch survival was low. Long-term use of bait to control RIFA may not be cost-effective provided surrounding biodiversity is high. Efforts to promote spring monarchs should focus on promoting biodiversity in addition to planting milkweed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity and Ecology of Butterflies)
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