Altitudinal variation in butterfly community associated with climate and vegetation

Abstract

Elevation creates a variety of physical conditions in a relatively short distance, which makes mountains suitable for studying the effects of climate change on biodiversity. We investigated the importance of climate and vegetation for the distribution of butterfl ies from 800 to 1400 m elevation. We sampled butterfl ies, and woody and rosette plants and measured air temperature and humidity, wind speed and gust, and solar radiation. We partitioned diversity to assess the processes underlying community shifts across altitudes -species loss versus replacement. We assessed the strength of the association among butterfl y, vegetation, and climate. Butterfl y richness and abundance decreased with altitude, and species composition changed along the elevation. Changes in butterfl y composition with altitude were mainly through species replacement and by abundance increases in some species being compensated by decreases in others. Since the fl oristic diversity decreased with altitude due to soil conditions, and butterfl ies are closely related to their host plants, this could explain species replacement with altitude. Overall, we found a stronger association of butterfl y community with vegetation than climate, but plant community and climate were also strongly associated between them. Butterfl y richness was more strongly associated with plant richness than with temperature, while the reverse was true for butterfl y abundance, which was more strongly associated with temperature than with plant richness. We must consider the complementary roles of resource and conditions in species distribution.

Is elevation a strong environmental filter? Combining taxonomy, functional traits and phylogeny of butterflies in a tropical mountain

“…Butterfly richness and abundance exhibited a linear decrease with increasing elevation, and similar results were found in other studies in elevational gradients (Carneiro et Pires et al, 2020). Community distribution was strongly influenced by the abiotic variables, as climatic conditions at higher elevations in a mountain might restrict the occurrence and survival of certain less tolerant species (Hodkinson, 2005;McCain & Grytnes, 2010;Pires et al, 2020). Lower temperatures at the mountain top, for example, negatively influence species diversity, limiting productivity, food resources and population size, leading to a decrease in species richness and abundance with increasing elevation (McCain & Grytnes, 2010), as we observed in our community.…”

“…The strong effect of elevation as an environmental filter was observed in the smaller butterfly diversity at higher elevations, in agreement with our predictions. Butterfly richness and abundance exhibited a linear decrease with increasing elevation, and similar results were found in other studies in elevational gradients (Carneiro et al, 2014; Dar et al, 2022; Fernandes et al, 2016; Leingärtner et al, 2014; Pires et al, 2020). Community distribution was strongly influenced by the abiotic variables, as climatic conditions at higher elevations in a mountain might restrict the occurrence and survival of certain less tolerant species (Hodkinson, 2005; McCain & Grytnes, 2010; Pires et al, 2020).…”

Environmental variation associated with topography explains butterfly diversity along a tropical elevation gradient

“…Various studies have revealed marked patterns of species turnover in butterfly communities with increasing elevation (Acharya & Vijayan, 2015;Beirão et al, 2020;Fleishman et al, 1998;Kocher & Williams, 2000;Maicher et al, 2020;Molina-Martínez et al, 2016;Pires et al, 2020;Pyrcz & Wojtusiak, 2002;Pyrcz et al, 2009;Wagner et al, 2013), as well as an effect of topography on butterfly composition (Binz et al, 2015;Fleishman & Nally, 2002). Due to the greater influence of species replacement on beta-diversity in riverbeds, we found that the butterfly community at this topographic position became segregated as elevation increased, with two sets of species: one associated with the low parts of the gradient and the other associated with the high parts.…”

Communities of Lepidoptera along an elevational gradient in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)

“…These insects are considered excellent biological indicators because they have short life cycle, show high sensitivity to environmental changes, are easy to sample at all times of the year, and are well known taxonomically (BROWN, 1991;FREITAS et al, 2006;BOGIANI et al, 2012). Lepidoptera are also important pollinators, sometimes more efficient than bees in high-altitude environments (GIULIETTI et al, 1987;MOTA et al, 2016;PIRES et al, 2020), being used as flag species for biodiversity conservation (HENRIQUES et al, 2019).…”

“…An increase in elevation influences abiotic conditions such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, among others, affecting the development, feeding, and general behaviour of insects (HODKINSON, 2005). The most commonly observed pattern for insect communities is a reduction in richness and abundance at higher elevations, with greater diversity in low or mid zones (FERNANDES et al, 2016;PIRES et al, 2020), and such trend also applies to Lepidoptera. Studies carried out in different environments demonstrated that low elevations host a greater diversity of Lepidoptera, with more uniform species distribution (SPARROW et al, 1994;ISMAIL et al, 2018).…”