Effects of Patch Size and Type of Coffee Matrix on Ithomiine Butterfly Diversity and Dispersal in Cloud‐Forest Fragments

Abstract

Determining the permeability of different types of landscape matrices to animal movement is essential for conserving populations in fragmented landscapes. We evaluated the effects of habitat patch size and matrix type on diversity, isolation, and dispersal of ithomiine butterflies in forest fragments surrounded by coffee agroecosystems in the Colombian Andes. Because ithomiines prefer a shaded understory, we expected the highest diversity and abundance in large fragments surrounded by shade coffee and the lowest in small fragments surrounded by sun coffee. We also thought shade coffee would favor butterfly dispersal and immigration into forest patches. We marked 9675 butterflies of 39 species in 12 forest patches over a year. Microclimate conditions were more similar to the forest interior in the shade-coffee matrix than in the sun-coffee matrix, but patch size and matrix type did not affect species richness and abundance in forest fragments. Furthermore, age structure and temporal recruitment patterns of the butterfly community were similar in all fragments, independent of patch size or matrix type. There were no differences in the numbers of butterflies flying in the matrices at two distances from the forest patch, but their behavior differed. Flight in the sun-coffee matrix was rapid and directional, whereas butterflies in shade-coffee matrix flew slowly. Seven out of 130 recaptured butterflies immigrated into patches in the shade-coffee matrix, and one immigrated into a patch surrounded by sun coffee. Although the shade-coffee matrix facilitated movement in the landscape, sun-coffee matrix was not impermeable to butterflies. Ithomiines exhibited behavioral plasticity in habitat use and high mobility. These traits favor their persistence in heterogeneous landscapes, opening opportunities for their conservation. Understanding the dynamics and resource requirements of different organisms in rural landscapes is critical for identifying management options that address both animals' and farmers' needs.

The effects of land-use change on arthropod richness and abundance on Santa Maria Island (Azores): unmanaged plantations favour endemic beetles

“…Similarly, other studies have found that habitat types other than pristine forest, such as agricultural fields and secondary forest can support certain species and help to maintain biodiversity (Burel et al 1998;Toth and Kiss 1999;Grill et al 2005). Our results support the notion that the quality of the matrix is important in species conservation, as suggested by several other studies (Ricketts 2001;Vandermeer and Carvajal 2001;Perfecto and Vandermeer 2002;Watson et al 2005;Prugh et al 2008;Muriel and Kattan 2009).…”

Flying between Sky Islands: The Effect of Naturally Fragmented Habitat on Butterfly Population Structure

“…Some species can travel through patches of unfavorable habitat even if they prefer a particular habitat type. A study on butterflies of the subfamily Ithomiinae (Family Nymphalidae) in the cloud forest fragments in the Columbian Andes showed that butterflies moved through the coffee plantations around forests, flying faster through sunny rather than shady patches, but still being able to move through unsuitable habitats [51].…”

Movement and population size of two dung beetle species in an Andean agricultural landscape dominated by sun-grown coffee

“…In the Colombian Andes, the appearance of sungrown coffee plantations has not been uniform in space or time (Guhl 2004) and so these crops are immersed in environmental mosaics with differing degrees of spatial heterogeneity (complexity), some of which favors the persistence in the landscape of species tolerant to the agricultural matrix (Muriel and Kattan 2009). For example, in the Central Andes of Colombia Muriel and Kattan (2009) found that the sun-grown coffee matrix was not impenetrable to butterflies belonging to the Ithomiinae family. Their flight in sun-grown coffee plantations was fast and directional, while in shaded areas such as the forest and shade-grown coffee these butterflies fly slowly, suggesting that there are also behavioral changes in their habitat use and a high degree of mobility in the sun-grown coffee matrix.…”

“…However, at the landscape level the response of the communities and populations are not only modulated by the presence of sun-grown coffee, but also by the spatial context and the management context in which these crops are immersed (De La Mora et al 2013;Muriel and Kattan 2009). In the Colombian Andes, the appearance of sungrown coffee plantations has not been uniform in space or time (Guhl 2004) and so these crops are immersed in environmental mosaics with differing degrees of spatial heterogeneity (complexity), some of which favors the persistence in the landscape of species tolerant to the agricultural matrix (Muriel and Kattan 2009). For example, in the Central Andes of Colombia Muriel and Kattan (2009) found that the sun-grown coffee matrix was not impenetrable to butterflies belonging to the Ithomiinae family.…”