Altitudinal and seasonal distribution of butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) in Cerro Bufa El Diente, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Abstract

Butterflies are one of the most recognized and useful groups for the monitoring and establishment of important conservation areas and management policies. In the present study, we estimate the richness and diversity, as well as the association value of submontane scrub, oak forest, and cloud forest species at Cerro Bufa El Diente, within the Sierra de San Carlos priority land region, located in the Central-western region of Tamaulipas, Mexico. Three sampling sites were established based on criteria of vegetation distribution per altitudinal floor. One site for each altitudinal floor and vegetation type. Sampling was carried out in permanent transects on a monthly basis at each site, using an aerial entomological net and ten Van Someren-Rydon traps, during four sampling periods: early dry season, late dry season, early wet season and late wet season. In total, 7,611 specimens belonging to six families, 20 subfamilies, 32 tribes, 148 genera and 243 species of the study area were collected. Nymphalidae was the most abundant family with 3,454 specimens, representing 45.38% of total abundance in the study area. Lower abundance was recorded in Hesperiidae (19.17%), Pieridae (16.41%), Lycaenidae (10.17%), Papilionidae (5.12%), and finally Riodinidae (3.74%). The highest species richness was presented in the family Hesperiidae with 34.57% of the total obtained species followed by Nymphalidae (30.45%), Lycaenidae (15.23%), Pieridae (9.88%), Papilionidae (5.76%), and Riodinidae (4.12%). Twenty-seven species were categorized as abundant, these species, Anaea aidea (Guérin-Méneville, 1844), Libytheana carinenta larvata (Strecker, 1878), Pyrgus oileus (Linnaeus, 1767), Mestra amymone (Ménétriés, 1857) and Phoebis agarithe agarithe (Boisduval, 1836) presented the highest number of specimens. Sixty-five species were considered common, constituting 41.73% of the total number of butterflies, 63 frequent (9.76% of the total abundance), 55 limited (2.54%) and 33 rare (0.43%). The greatest number of specimens and species, as well as alpha diversity, were presented on the lowest altitudinal floor, made up of submontane scrub, and decreased significantly with increasing altitude. According to the cluster analysis, low and intermediate altitude sites constitute an area of distribution of species that prefer tropical conditions, while the third-floor site forms an independent group of high mountain species. The greatest abundance and richness of species, as well as alpha diversity, was obtained during the last wet season, decreasing significantly towards the early dry season. Moreover, through the use of the association value, 19 species were designated as indicators, three for the last altitudinal floor, three for the intermediate and 13 for the first. The present work represents the first report of the altitudinal variation in richness, abundance and diversity of butterflies in the northeast of Mexico. These results highlight the importance of the conservation of this heterogeneous habitat and establish reference data for the diurnal Lepidoptera fauna of the region.

Composition and diversity of butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) along an atmospheric pollution gradient in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area, Mexico

“…In the MMZ , the butterflies showed a highest species richness during the dry season with 88% of the total species observed during the evaluation period. This finding is contrary to other studies, which report higher numbers in the rainy season ( Devries et al 1997 ; Hamer et al 2005 ; Hernández-Mejía et al 2008 ; Meléndez-Jaramillo et al 2019 ). This can be attributed to human intervention, when irrigation provides higher food resources for butterflies and also attracts a higher number of species than normal during the dry season.…”

Mariposas bioindicadoras ecológicas en México. Artículo de revisión

“…Los otros 21 estudios sustentan sus propuestas con base en análisis estadísticos, en su mayoría multivariables. De estos últimos, solo uno se desarrolló con enfoque de indicadoras ambientales relacionando mariposas con el gradiente de contaminación en áreas urbanas y suburbanas (Meléndez-Jaramillo et al, 2021), cuatro son estudios con enfoque de indicadoras de diversidad; los dos primeros identifican especies exclusivas de selvas altas y medianas perennifolias y subperennifolias del Golfo de México y la península de Yucatán (Maya-Martínez et al, 2005;Flores-Contreras & Luna-Reyes, 2017); el tercero relaciona especies indicadoras y su fenología con cambios climáticos (Pozo et al, 2008), y el cuarto identifica especies indicadoras de cambios en los gradientes altitudinales desde el matorral submontano y bosque de encino hasta el bosque mesófilo de montaña (Meléndez-Jaramillo et al, 2019). Los 16 estudios restantes tienen enfoque de bioindicadoras ecológicas, realizados en su mayoría en el sur de México donde destacan los estados de Campeche y Chiapas.…”

Individual growth of the Flathead Knob‐scaled Lizard, Xenosaurus platyceps, from tropical and temperate populations

“…Frequently, insect and invertebrate abundances are positively correlated with precipitation (Karban et al, 2017; Kaspari & Valone, 2002), including for some taxa in a variety of habitats in Mexico (Corona‐López et al, 2017; González‐Hernández et al, 2015; Noguera et al, 2018; Perez Hernández & Zarargoza Caballero, 2016). In addition, some potentially important insect prey items decrease in abundance with elevation in Mexico, especially near elevations of the El Madroño population (e.g., Longino et al, 2014; Meléndez‐Jaramillo et al, 2019; Sánchez‐Reyes et al, 2016). Thus, it is possible prey availability is greater in Gómez Farías than at El Madroño.…”