Positive shifts in species richness and abundance of moths over five decades coincide with community-wide phenotypic trait homogenisation

Abstract

While some species rapidly decline, compromising vital ecosystem services, others are stable or even increasing in abundance. We studied shifts in species richness and abundance of moths over five decades in Central Sweden and examined whether and how changes were associated with phenotypic traits. We combined information from captures in a light trap in historical time (the 1970s) and contemporarily (2019) with provincial colonisation records. Both community species richness and the abundance of moths increased between the time periods. A large fraction (38%) of the 410 species were not present in both periods, 101 species had colonised the area (an estimated influx of about 2.5 new species per year), and 51 species had disappeared (an estimated local extinction rate of about 1.16 species per year). Abundance increased with an increasing number of host plants and with increasing colour pattern variation. The composition of the community shifted towards species characterised by smaller wingspan and larger ranges. The functional trait variability of the moth community was homogenised from the historical to the contemporary period, in line with reports from other species communities in modern landscapes. However, our finding of a concomitant increase in species richness and total abundance differs from the results of many recent studies of insect communities in other geographic regions.Implication for insect conservationWe conclude that the entire boreal moth fauna is undergoing a substantial biogeographical shift, changing to the moth species historically occurring at more southern latitudes. The alterations in species composition, overall abundance, and community-wide trait distribution described here may cascade up and down in the ecosystem because moths are important pollinators, herbivores, and prey.