Long-term dynamics of rainforest moths post-hurricane: data and code for analyzing temporal change and ecological stability

In this study, we investigate how moth communities respond to and recover over five years following extreme hurricane disturbance, and we assess ecological stability across multiple dimensions to better understand post-disturbance dynamics.This repository includes the R project and all of the associated code and data used for the analyses. Rscripts are numbered to aid in running the codes.Reference to associated manuscript:Alonso-Rodríguez et al. 2025. Moth communities reveal high stability despite ongoing compositional shifts over five years following hurricane disturbance. Ecology and Evolution. DOI:10.1002/ece3.72278 Abstract:Extreme climatic events are expected to increase in frequency and severity under climate change, with lasting consequences for ecological communities worldwide. Global insect declines have raised concerns for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem stability, as shifts in insect communities can trigger cascading effects across trophic levels. Yet insect responses to large-scale disturbances remain poorly understood, particularly in tropical forests where long-term datasets are scarce and taxonomic knowledge is limited. We examined the response trajectories and stability of moth communities in two forest types in Puerto Rico following the September 2017 hurricanes Irma and María. Using monthly surveys conducted five months before and six months after the storms, followed by annual surveys over five years, we tracked changes in moth abundance, richness, and composition. We also evaluated ecological stability across multiple dimensions (i.e., resistance, resilience, recovery, and temporal stability) for the entire community and separately for Crambidae, Erebidae, and Geometridae. Despite initial declines, abundance and richness surpassed baseline levels within the first year, especially in old-growth tabonuco stands, which may have provided more stable microhabitats and resources than palm stands. Resistance varied by family, with grass-feeding crambids increasing in abundance and arboreal-feeding geometrids experiencing the greatest species loss. Abundance and richness stabilized within two years, likely influenced by trophic interactions that regulated insect outbreaks. Species composition continued to shift over time, reflecting ongoing reassembly, while compositional and functional stability metrics suggested recovery within five years. This highlights both the resilience of the moth community and the dynamic nature of post-disturbance reassembly. Our findings underscore the value of multi-year, post-disturbance datasets for uncovering recovery pathways and enhancing our understanding of ecological stability. As extreme events intensify across biomes, insights into resilience dynamics will be critical for sustaining insect biodiversity and the ecological functions they provide.