Butterfly community assemblages in relation to human disturbance in a tropical upland forest in Ghana, and implications for conservation

Abstract

The present study determined butterfly diversity, species composition and abundance in different forests of varying human disturbance intensities in the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, Ghana (i.e. non-disturbed, moderately disturbed and heavily disturbed forests). Vegetation characteristics and butterflies were sampled within ten 50 m × 50 m plots in each forest type. The study revealed that butterfly Shannon diversity index was similar in the non-disturbed and moderately disturbed forests although it was significantly lower in the heavily disturbed forest. Butterfly abundance differed significantly among all the forest types. Significant relationships were detected between some vegetation characteristics, and butterfly diversity and abundance (P<0.001). Using Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) and cluster analysis, three main butterfly assemblages were identified on the basis of species composition, with each one in a particular forest type. Furthermore, butterfly species composition differed significantly among the forest types (ANOSIM; P<0.0001). The intermediate form of human disturbance in the moderately disturbed forest maintained butterfly diversity, suggesting that management efforts aimed at butterfly conservation should be geared towards protecting forests from excessive human disturbance; selective logging is recommended.