Species richness, composition and abundance of fruit-feeding butterflies in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: comparison between a fragmented and a continuous landscape

Abstract

Aim To evaluate frugivorous butterflies as indicators of forest disturbance in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. LocationThe study area is located in the municipality of Cotia, São Paulo State, south-eastern Brazil (23 ° 35 ′− 23 ° 50 ′ S, 46 ° 45 ′− 47 ° 15 ′ W). MethodsSampling was done at four sites inside a large forest block, the Morro Grande State Reserve, and in five forest fragments in an adjacent fragmented landscape. Butterflies were sampled with portable traps, baited with a fermented mixture of banana and sugar cane juice. Sampling was carried out during the period most favourable for the capture of frugivorous butterflies in south-eastern Brazil.Results All richness-related results indicated no effect of forest fragmentation on the frugivorous butterfly guild, concurring with the suggestion of appreciable resistance of Atlantic Forest butterflies to habitat modification. However, species composition discriminated between the two landscapes, indicating that fragmentation may have effects beyond simple species richness. When species were analysed individually, clear patterns of distribution emerged, with some species that were very abundant in the fragmented landscape being practically absent in the continuous landscape, and vice versa. This pattern seems consistent even for some subfamilies. Main conclusionOur findings support the usefulness of the frugivorous butterfly guild as a biological indicator of forest disturbance effects in one of the world's most threatened ecosystems. BIOSKETCHESMarcio Uehara-Prado is interested in bioindicators and conservation. Recently his research has focused mainly on arthropods as bioindicators of anthropogenic disturbance in the Atlantic Forest.Keith S. Brown, Jr has worked on the chemistry, systematics, biogeography and ecology of Neotropical butterflies over the past 40 years. He has done fieldwork in all Neotropical biomes, but most especially in the Brazilian Amazon and Atlantic Forests, and in the Andes. More recently he has focused his research on biodiversity and conservation.André V. L. Freitas has worked on the biology, ecology conservation and systematics of butterflies, mostly with Neotropical species. His is also interested in butterfly behaviour, most especially ant-butterfly interactions and the anti-predatory behaviour of caterpillars. Recently, he has been interested in the distribution patterns of butterflies.

Species diversity and community structure of fruit-feeding butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in an eastern amazonian forest

“…The most representative subfamilies of fruitfeeding butterflies at SAG were Biblidinae and Satyrinae, two of the richest and most abundant subfamilies of Nymphalidae in different regions of Brazil (Ramos, 2000;Uehara-Prado et al, 2007;Santos et al, 2011;Ribeiro et al, 2012). In fact, two species of Biblidinae (H. februa and H. feronia) and one of Satyrinae (H. cf.…”

“…atalanta) were the most abundant species in the study area. These species are common in forest edges, disturbed tropical forests, plantations, and urban environments, probably due their low biological constraints (Brown Jr., 1992;Ramos, 2000;Uehara-Prado et al, 2007); Cosmo et al, 2014). Therefore, their high abundances are an indication that human disturbances have favored population increases of tolerant and opportunist organisms.…”

“…Indeed, decreases in fruit-feeding butterfly richness after human disturbances have been demonstrated by different studies (Vedeller et al, 2005;Barlow et al, 2007), although the type of disturbance appears to be important for determining this pattern. For example, Fermon et al (2005) and Uehara-Prado et al (2007) demonstrated that secondary forests and fragmented landscapes may harbor as many or more butterfly species than continuous primary forests, while plantations and urban forests apparently harbor fewer and generalist species (Brown Jr. & Freitas, 2000;Barlow et al, 2007).…”

“…Among this group, fruit-feeding butterflies have been widely used as bioindicators because of their sensitivity to environmental modifications (Brown Jr. & Freitas, 2000;Fermon et al, 2005;Barlow et al, 2007;Uehara-Prado et al, 2007). This guild feeds on rotten fruits, plant exudates, carcasses, and mammal excrement (Devries, 1987;Devries et al, 1997;Freitas et al, 2014), and it includes four Nymphalidae subfamilies (Biblidinae, Satyrinae, Charaxinae and Nymphalinae [only the tribe Coeini]) (Wahlberg et al, 2009).…”

Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) of the "Baixada Santista" region, coastal São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

“…Butterflies have been considered one of the most appropriate taxonomic groups for assessment of environmental disturbances in many parts of the world (Brown 1991;Freitas et al 2006;Uehara-Prado et al 2007 and references therein). They are excellent indicators in conservation planning (see Caldas & Robbins 2003 for examples) and are seen as valuable biodiversity indicators (McGeoch 1998).…”