Lepidoptera research in Puerto Rico: Reconnecting with historical legacies to guide future priorities

Abstract

The Caribbean archipelago of Puerto Rico supports a diverse flora and fauna and is located in a region characterized by complex socio‐economic and environmental change. The diversity of entomofauna across Puerto Rico has received considerable attention in wide‐scale research over the last century, with particular emphasis on the order Lepidoptera as the subject of substantial taxonomic and ecological surveys. However, much of this work is incomplete, outdated, or has been obscured in gray literature. Thus, our primary objectives were to contextualize the role of past research in the current understanding of Puerto Rican Lepidoptera and to outline an agenda for future research. Specifically, we provide an overview of taxonomic, ecological, agricultural, and conservation Lepidoptera research in Puerto Rico and highlight key studies and historical datasets. We found that, despite a strong taxonomic legacy, native moth taxonomy remains poorly understood, except for a few major pests. Further, much of the recent Lepidoptera research has focused on short‐term evaluations of agricultural pests, necessitated by immediate economic needs. The current ecological status of Lepidoptera on the islands is unknown. Therefore, prioritizing ecological research could provide timely insight for understanding changing Lepidoptera diversity and distribution and for conserving this biologically and economically significant group. Greater emphasis on long‐term monitoring and digitization of museum collections would be particularly useful for quantifying past and forecasting future impacts of global change.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

Succession and seasonality drive tropical butterfly assembly after an extreme hurricane

“…Future monitoring should seek to record and integrate host plant data for a more complete understanding of fluctuations in herbivorous insect diversity and abundances. Additionally, although the butterfly fauna of Puerto Rico has been well studied from a taxonomic perspective (e.g., Davila & Asencio, 1992; Ramos, 1982; Torres & Medina‐Gaud, 1998), the ecology and life history of most species are less understood (Terry et al., 2023). Future studies should seek to fill this important gap, both locally and regionally, by continuing to measure trait variation for butterfly assemblages in the tropics, a region for which there is scarce trait data (Bonebrake et al., 2010).…”