Communities of Lepidoptera along an elevational gradient in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)

Abstract

The diversity and composition of Lepidoptera communities vary along an elevational gradient, with richness and abundance generally decreasing as elevation increases. In Brazil, however, there is a lack of data on the topic and many elevation zones remain unexplored. This study aimed to examine the effect of elevation variation on the richness, frequency, abundance, and composition of Lepidoptera in an Atlantic Forest region in southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and we also present the first species list of Lepidoptera of the Fernão Dias Environmental Protection Area. The study was conducted between October 2019 and March 2020, and sampling was performed with the same sampling effort at three elevation levels by active (nets) and passive (bait trap) methods. A total of 622 Lepidoptera individuals, belonging to 154 species, were sampled. The family Nymphalidae exhibited thehighest richness and abundance. The highest elevation zone showed the greatest number of exclusive species. Richness and abundance were highest at middle elevation, but differences between elevation zones were not statistically significant. Richness estimators indicated a mean sampling efficiency of 64.97%. In contrast to the expected pattern, species richness was highest in middle and high elevation zones, which might reflect the greater degree of conservation of these areas. The findings reported here contribute to a better understanding of the diversity of Lepidoptera in higher elevation zones of Atlantic Forest regions in Brazil.