Abstract
BackgroundInterspecific interactions play an important role in determining species richness and persistence in a given locality. However at some sites, the studies, especially for interaction networks on adult butterflies are scarce. The present study aimed the following objectives: (1) determine butterfly species richness and diversity that visit flowering plants, (2) compare species richness and diversity in butterfly-plant interactions among six different vegetation types and (3) analyze the structure of butterfly-flowering plant interaction networks mediated by flowers.MethodsThe study was developed in six vegetation types within the natural reserve of La Mancha, located in Veracruz, Mexico. In each vegetation type, we recorded the frequency of flower visits by butterflies monthly in round plots (of radius 5 m) for 12 months. We calculated Shannon diversity for butterfly species and diversity of interactions per vegetation type. We determined the classic Jaccard similarity index among vegetation types and estimated parameters at network and species-level.ResultsWe found 123 species of butterflies belonging to 11 families and 87 genera. The highest number of species belonged to Hesperiidae (46 species), followed by Nymphalidae (28) and Pieridae (14). The highest butterfly diversity and interaction diversity was observed in pioneer dune vegetation (PDV), coastal dune scrub (CDS) and tropical deciduous flooding forest and wetland (TDF-W). The same order of vegetation types was found for interaction diversity. Highest species similarity was found between PDV-CDS and PDV-TDF. The butterfly-plant interaction network showed a nested structure with one module. The species Ascia monuste, Euptoieta hegesia and Leptotes cassius were the most generalist in the network, while Horama oedippus, E. hegesia, and L. cassius were the species with highest dependencies per plant species.DiscussionOur study is important because it constitutes a pioneer study of butterfly-plant interactions in this protected area, at least for adult butterflies; it shows the diversity of interactions among flowering plants and butterflies. Our research constitutes the first approach (at a community level) to explore the functional role of pollination services that butterflies provide to plant communities. We highlighted that open areas show a higher diversity and these areas shared a higher number of species that shaded sites. In the interaction networks parameters, our results highlighted the higher dependence of butterflies by the flowers on which they feed than vice versa. In conclusion, the plant species (as a feeding resource) seem to limit the presence of butterfly species. Thus, this protected area is highly relevant for Lepidoptera diversity and the interaction between these insects and flowering plants. We suggest that studying plant and butterfly diversity in tropical habitats will provide insight into their interspecific interactions and community structure.
Highlights
Interspecific interactions play an important role in determining species richness and persistence in a given locality (Benadi et al, 2013), as well as providing structure to biotic communities
The second most diverse vegetation type was the coastal dune scrub (CDS; 52 species), followed by tropical deciduous flooding forest and wetland (TDF-W; 51 species), tropical deciduous forest (TDF; 45 species) and tropical sub-deciduous forest (TSF; 8 species). For this latter vegetation type, it should be recalled that we merged the data from the tropical sub-deciduous forest in young soil (TSF-Y) and tropical sub-deciduous forest in old soil (TSF-O) since both transects of tropical sub-deciduous forest presented a low number of Lepidoptera species, as well as similarities in vegetation
The cluster analysis based on Jaccard similarity index showed three groups of vegetation types, one with CDS, pioneer dune vegetation (PDV), and TDF and the other two composed of just one vegetation type each (TDF-W and TSF, respectively) (Fig. 1)
Summary
Interspecific interactions play an important role in determining species richness and persistence in a given locality (Benadi et al, 2013), as well as providing structure to biotic communities. Butterflies as pollination providers in the tropics are considered somewhat effective or solely effective in a few plant species (De Araújo, Quirino & Machado, 2014) This insect group plays an important role as secondary pollinators when primary pollinators are missing (Rosas-Guerrero et al, 2014; Ashworth et al, 2015) and few studies have addressed this aspect. The plant species (as a feeding resource) seem to limit the presence of butterfly species This protected area is highly relevant for Lepidoptera diversity and the interaction between these insects and flowering plants.
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