Genetic Diversity of Paryphthimoides poltys (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Euptychiina) in a Fragmented Agricultural Landscape in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Abstract

The species-level response of organisms to habitat loss and fragmentation relies on their dispersal ability, as well as trophic level, degree of habitat specialization and landscape structure. For butterflies, community composition is affected by the landscape configuration, by the surrounding habitat and by the matrix composition scattered around forest fragments, whereas higher dispersal ability is a significant advantage for persistence in highly fragmented landscapes. However, species of butterflies are highly variable in their dispersion capabilities, which affects their genetic variability as a whole and in how it is distributed within and between subpopulations in remaining fragments. In the present study, the genetic variability in subpopulations of Paryphthimoides poltys distributed through forest fragments was evaluated. Low diversity and the absence of genetic structure was found through eight fragments of semideciduous Atlantic Forest, surrounded by agricultural matrices, in Southeastern Brazil. Although P. poltys was the most common species found in the area in a previous study, its high abundance was not accompanied by high genetic variability. The species is usually found flying in forest edges and open environments and, although low, its genetic variability is expected to be preserved even if some of the investigated forest fragments are lost in the near future.