1. We compared the performance of three common techniques for sampling butterflies in order to better understand any bias associated with each method. This information is still scarce for the Neotropics where butterfly diversity reaches a peak.2. These techniques included use of hand nets, carrion traps with fermented shrimp, and fruit traps with fermented bananas. We examined which taxonomic groups were sampled by each technique and determined the intra-annual and inter-annual (two continuous years) differences in the collection of butterflies from each approach.3. Surveys of butterflies were taken every 2 months, in dry and wet seasons, over a 2-year period, and were carried out in two forests (one wet and one dry) in western Ecuador. 4. A total of 2289 butterflies of 231 species were collected. Hand-netting collected the most species (57% and 60% of total species in the dry and the wet forest, respectively), followed by carrion traps (24% and 23%), and then fruit traps (19% and 16%). Methods differed with respect to the butterfly species they collected most frequently. Moreover, each sampling technique resulted in significant differences in species composition across seasons and years.5. Because our sampling techniques differed in their performance, our study suggests that implementing all the methods together can improve estimates of species diversity and result in more accurate characterisation of butterfly communities. 6. While budget and logistics might constraint the utilisation of multiple techniques, minimally we recommend using both carrion and fruit baits to alleviate the bias of each bait.

We analyzed the dynamics of multi-species butterfly communities along a climatic gradient with varying precipitation regimes for three consecutive years, and determine how climatic variables associate with observed butterfly seasonality. To provide a baseline for future studies of how climate change might affect these butterfly populations, we additionally explored the role of butterfly seasonality as a potential contributing factor for their susceptibility to climate variation. As far as we know, this represents the first study that simultaneously sampled and described seasonality patterns of tropical butterfly communities across ecosystems with varying climatic seasonality. A 3-year survey was carried out at three sites (i.e., wet, transition and dry forests) across a climatic gradient in western Ecuador. Butterflies were sampled using traps baited with rotting banana and prawn every two months from Nov 2010 to Sep 2013. Traps were set up at two heights, in the understory and canopy. In total, 7046 individuals of 212 species were sampled over 180 sampling days.Butterfly communities exhibited conspicuous intra and inter-annual variation in temporal dynamics with certain elements (e.g., maximum abundance recorded) of seasonality patterns likely synchronized in seasonal forests (i.e., transition and dry forest) across years but not in aseasonal forests (i.e., wet forest). In addition, the highest numbers of species and individuals occurred during the wet season across all study sites and years; indeed, rainfall was significantly positively associated with temporal abundance. Likewise, butterfly species displaying stronger seasonality were significantly associated with higher rainfall periods in seasonal forests. Variation in precipitation regimes might significantly affect more seasonal species.

Our goal was to test the hypothesis that assembly processes that limit species similarity (i.e., competition) predominantly occur in more 'stable' abiotic environments, whereas habitat filtering (i.e., habitat characteristics) is a major driver of community composition within more variable environments at regional (e.g., aseasonal vs seasonal forests) and local scales (e.g., understory vs. canopy). A combined approach of phylogenetic-and functional trait-based analyses using forewing length and aspect ratio as traits, were used to this hypothesis. A 3-year survey was carried out at three sites (i.e., wet, transition and dry forests) across a climatic gradient in western Ecuador. Transition and dry forests were considered as seasonal, whereas wet forest were considered aseasonal. Butterflies were sampled using traps baited with rotting banana and prawn every two months from Nov 2010 to Sep 2013. Traps were set up at two heights, in the understory and canopy. DNA was extracted to sequence the barcode' section of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) for phylogenetic analyses. Measurements of morphological traits, forewing length and aspect ratio were done using digital photographs of specimens. A total of 6466 specimens representing 142 species of Nymphalidae were recorded. Based on phylogenetic-and trait-based analyses, we rejected the hypothesis that assembly processes that limit species similarity (i.e., competition) are likely to predominantly occur in more 'stable' abiotic environments, whereas habitat filtering can be a major driver of community composition within more variable environments at regional (i.e., aseasonal forest vs seasonal forests) and local scales (i.e., understory vs. canopy). My study of assembly mechanisms revealed the opposite pattern, with stronger evidence for the action of ecological filters in the assembly of butterfly communities from the wet aseasonal forests, and competition likely to be a major assembly process within dry seasonal forests. The present study therefore provided new insights into community assembly mechanisms in one of the richest butterfly faunas worldwide.