Effects of Selective Logging on the Butterflies of a Bornean Rainforest

Abstract

Selective logging has been the main cause of disturbance to tropical forests in Southeast Asia, so the extent to which biodiversity is maintained in selectively logged forest is of prime conservation importance. We compared the butterfly assemblages of Bornean primary rainforest to those of rainforest selectively logged 6 years previously. We sampled by means of replicated transects stratified into riverine and ridge forests and we included roads in the logged forest. There was a three‐fold variation in species richness and abundance over the 8‐month sampling period. More species and individuals were observed in the logged forest, although between‐replicate variability was high. Rarefied species richness was positively correlated with canopy openness within the range of disturbance levels encountered at our forest sites. Within families, there was no significant difference in the number of species between primary and logged forest. There was a significant difference in the relative abundance of species, but this was due largely to the abundance of one or two species. Community ordination separated the sites along a gradient of disturbance and revealed strong differences between riverine and ridge‐forest butterfly assemblages in primary forest that were obscured in logged forest. There was no evidence that logging has resulted in a change in the composition of the butterfly assemblages from species with a local distribution to more widespread species. We conclude that at a logged forest site in close proximity to primary forest, low intensities of logging do not necessarily reduce the species richness or abundance of butterflies, although assemblage composition is changed.

Rainfall but not selective logging affect changes in abundance of a tropical forest butterfly in Sabah, Borneo

“…Although there were significant differences in vegetation structure between the logged and unlogged study sites 8-9 y after selective logging (Hill 1999), there were no differences between selectively logged and unlogged forest in R. makuta distribution or abundance either during or following the drought, or during the monthly surveys. Results from this study support other studies in the same area showing little effects of selective logging on butterflies (Willott et al 2000). In this study there were, however, significant differences in butterfly abundance among transects in all surveys; transect 4 in selectively logged forest had lowest abundance, and transect 3 (also in logged forest) had highest abundance.…”

Degraded lands worth protecting: the biological importance of Southeast Asia's repeatedly logged forests

“…In Southeast Asia, it is the premature re-entry into these areas for a second rotation of logging that takes away most of the remaining large-and medium-diameter trees, causes further residual damage, sharply reduces the future timber value of the site and increases the probability that an area will be classified as degraded. It is therefore critical to evaluate the biodiversity value of selectively logged rainforests that have undergone a second rotation [18,19].…”

Alpha and beta diversity of plants and animals along a tropical land‐use gradient

“…In particular, because trees are the main structural elements of forests and represent crucial food resources for many vertebrates and insects (Daniels et al 1992, Davis and Sutton 1998, Fermon et al 2000, Greenberg et al 2000, Willott et al 2000, Green et al 2005, they are commonly used to determine overall forest biodiversity (e.g., Oliver et al 1998, Williams-Linera et al 2005. Birds were included because they are the best-known major group of organisms and are much-used biodiversity indicators (Garson et al 2002, Schulze et al 2004, Jetz et al 2007.…”