Effect of habitat loss and fragmentation on fruit-feeding butterflies in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Author(s)

Melo, D. H. A. ^[1] ; Filgueiras, B. K. C. ^[2] ; Iserhard, C. A. ^[3] ; Iannuzzi, L. ^[4] ; Freitas, A. V. L. ^{[5, 6]} ; Leal, I. R. ^[7]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Pernambuco, Programa Posgrad Biol Anim, BR-50670901 Recife, PE - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Pernambuco, Programa Posgrad Biol Vegetal, BR-50670901 Recife, PE - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Pelotas, Dept Ecol Zool & Genet, CP 354, BR-96160000 Pelotas, RS - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Pernambuco, Dept Zool, BR-50670901 Recife, PE - Brazil

^[5] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Biol Anim, CP 6109, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Campinas, Museu Zool, CP 6109, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[7] Univ Fed Pernambuco, Dept Bot, BR-50670901 Recife, PE - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY; v. 97, n. 7, p. 588-596, JUL 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Habitat loss and fragmentation have drastically altered the availability and quality of tropical forest habitats, but information on how such changes influence local biodiversity is still insufficient. Here, we examine the effects of both patch and landscape metrics on fruit-feeding butterfly assemblages in a fragmented landscape of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Our study was carried out in three habitat types: eight fragments (ranging from 8 to 126 ha), eight areas of forest edge (50 m from forest border), and eight areas of forest interior (>200 m from forest border) of the largest remnant (3500 ha) of the Atlantic Forest of northeast Brazil. Our results demonstrated that fragment area is negatively correlated with observed and estimated richness and abundance of butterflies, whereas habitat type is correlated with estimated richness and abundance of butterflies. Species composition responded to habitat type, fragment area, and distance between sample units. These findings illustrated (i) fruit-feeding butterfly sensitivity to habitat loss and fragmentation, (ii) that species composition and abundance are adequate parameters to access the responses of fruit-feeding butterflies to habitat loss and fragmentation, and (iii) the relevance of a heterogeneous and connected landscape for conservation of butterflies, where small fragments are important for generalist or open-habitat specialists and large remnants are key for disturbance-sensitive and threatened taxa. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/50225-3 - Natural history, phylogeny and conservation of Neotropical Lepidoptera
• Grantee: André Victor Lucci Freitas
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50297-0 - Dimensions US-BIOTA São Paulo: a multidisciplinary framework for biodiversity prediction in the Brazilian Atlantic forest hotspot
• Grantee: Cristina Yumi Miyaki
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants