Abstract
The capital of China, Beijing, has a history of more than 800 years of urbanization, representing a unique site for studies of urban ecology. Urbanization can severely impact butterfly communities, yet there have been no reports of the species richness and distribution of butterflies in urban parks in Beijing. Here, we conducted the first butterfly survey in ten urban parks in Beijing and estimated butterfly species richness. Subsequently, we examined the distribution pattern of butterfly species and analyzed correlations between butterfly species richness with park variables (age, area and distance to city center), and richness of other bioindicator groups (birds and plants). We collected 587 individual butterflies belonging to 31 species from five families; 74% of the species were considered cosmopolitan. The highest butterfly species richness and abundance was recorded at parks located at the edge of city and species richness was significantly positively correlated with distance from city center (p < 0.05). No significant correlations were detected between the species richness and park age, park area and other bioindicator groups (p > 0.05). Our study provides the first data of butterfly species in urban Beijing, and serves as a baseline for further surveys and conservation efforts.
Highlights
Ring roads and urban biodiversity: distribution of butterflies in urban parks in Beijing city and correlations with other indicator species
With the continuous expansion of urban land across the country, the Chinese government has recognized the key role of urban green spaces, such as urban parks, in the preservation of biodiversity
Similar to other urban butterfly studies, decreasing butterfly species richness in parks along a rural-urban gradient was observed in Beijing.Parks located at the edges of Beijing city supported the highest butterfly species richness and abundance, suggesting that preservation of natural landscape adjoining the city will likely be necessary for effective urban butterfly conservation
Summary
Ring roads and urban biodiversity: distribution of butterflies in urban parks in Beijing city and correlations with other indicator species. Urbanization can severely impact butterfly communities, yet there have been no reports of the species richness and distribution of butterflies in urban parks in Beijing. We examined the distribution pattern of butterfly species and analyzed correlations between butterfly species richness with park variables (age, area and distance to city center), and richness of other bioindicator groups (birds and plants). Our study provides the first data of butterfly species in urban Beijing, and serves as a baseline for further surveys and conservation efforts. China is a megadiverse country but is rapidly losing biodiversity as a consequence of socioeconomic development and expansion of urban land since the 1990s1,2. Cities” policy[4] required city developers to build gardens and parks; use native plant species in parks and gardens; and conserve natural landscapes, vegetation, water systems and wetlands as a component of urban planning[4]
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