Diversity patterns and chronobiology of hawkmoths (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest

Abstract

As biodiversity loss rapidly increases through habitat degradation in the Amazon rainforest, the need to characterize and understand the species diversity becomes even more important. In this study we used empirical and published datasets to assess the diversity patterns and produce the first overview of the sphingid fauna in the Brazilian Amazon. We compared the diversity patterns in distinct areas in the biome by analyzing hawkmoth assemblages considering both species composition and abundance, and asked whether these communities are structured according to environmental factors. Additionally, we provide information of diel activity pattern of sphingids and evaluated the importance of time in sampling effort. We found that the Brazilian Amazon may harbor more than 80 % of the hawkmoth species that occur in Brazil and more than half of the species recorded in South America. Species composition and assemblage structure is determined by the quality of the habitat (disturbed or undisturbed vegetation), temperature and relative humidity. Finally, we show that the temporal activity of sphingids presents distinct patterns at different taxonomic levels, highlighting the importance of full night collections to better characterize the fauna. Our results show that habitat alteration can be an important factor affecting sphingid assemblages, illustrating the importance of Protected Areas in species maintenance.

From dusk till dawn: camera traps reveal the diel patterns of flower feeding by hawkmoths

“…It has not been clear whether these represent primary or secondary peaks in activity and whether there is variation in activity patterns among different hawkmoth functional groups. There are also some data on general activity rhythms of hawkmoths from laboratory studies (Hoballah et al ., ; Broadhead et al ., ) and light‐trapping (Beck & Linsenmair, ; de Camargo et al ., ), but it has been uncertain whether these data reflect actual patterns of periodicity of flower feeding in the wild.…”

Long-term stability of the hawkmoth fauna (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) in a protected area of Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest

“…Despite the growing human-induced landscape changes that have occurred in the region surrounding the study area (within a radius of less than 50 km) during the last 6 decades, the large size of the forest within which the BBS is located may have provided ideal conditions for long-term maintenance of the hawkmoth fauna. Since habitat disturbance is known to affect the species composition and community structure of hawkmoths in the Brazilian Amazon Forest (Camargo et al 2016), it is reasonable to infer that small fragments of Atlantic Forest might be under similar pressure, resulting in loss of biodiversity and changes in the faunistic composition and community structure, as observed for other insect groups (Gonçalves et al 2014;Justino et al 2016;Shuey et al 2017).…”

“…Hawkmoths can be easily sampled and identified, facilitating their use as indicators in biodiversity assessments at local, regional and global scales (see Beck et al 2006a, b, c, d;Amorim et al 2009;Ignatov et al 2011;Ballesteros-Mejia et al 2013;Camargo et al 2016). However, despite the indisputable importance of long-term assessments for understanding and monitoring temporal changes in biodiversity (Wolfe et al 1987;Nilsson et al 2008;Magurran et al 2010), hawkmoths have seldom been surveyed for this purpose, particularly in the Neotropical region (Wolda 1983;Wolfe et al 1987;Conrad et al 2004;Magurran et al 2010).…”

First record of Xylophanes ploetzi (Möschler, 1876) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from Brazil

“…This makes it surprising that X. ploetzi has never been reported in Brazil. Camargo et al (2016) did not mention the occurrence of X. ploetzi in their work on the hawkmoths of the Brazilian Amazon, and neither did Kitching (2017) in his taxonomic inventory of the Sphingidae. The new data are important because this species has never been reported in the numerous surveys, usually with light traps in the state of Amazonas (e.g., Motta et al 1998, Motta and Andreazze 2001, Motta and Xavier Filho 2005, Motta 2009).…”