Lepidopteran herbivory in restored and successional sites in a tropical dry forest

Abstract

Abstract To determine if ecological restoration is a feasible practice that can accelerate the recovery of biodiversity and ecological processes, we evaluated the reestablishment of the lepidopteran larval community and rates of herbivory in a site in secondary succession and a restored site in the Chamela-Cuixmala Region, Mexico. Species richness and abundance of lepidopterans were similar at both sites; however, there was a strong difference in composition of species. Only 27% of species were shared between sites; however, Simpson's diversity indices were not different between sites. Rates of herbivory and percentage of consumption of leaves by herbivores in two species of trees, Apoplanesia paniculata (Leguminosae) and Heliocarpus pallidus (Tiliaceae), were equivalent between sites. Restoration of tropical dry forests appears to be feasible, and this practice is helping to reestablish the lepidopteran larval community associated with the vegetation and, more importantly, also is reestablishing the ecol...