Data for: Sun, Ogushi, Tseng -Lepidoptera species richness and community composition in urban street trees

AbstractThe triple threats of climate change, habitat loss, and environmental pollution have stimulated discussion on how urban areas can be modified to both mitigate heat increases and provide habitat for wildlife such as insects. The strategy of using trees to reduce temperatures has been adopted by numerous cities. However, the majority of street trees planted around the world are non-native. Studies conducted in non-urban areas have demonstrated in comparison to native plants, non-native plants are less likely to support native insect diversity. Here we use a database approach to quantify the number of native Lepidoptera species associated with 76 of the most common street tree species planted in Vancouver, Canada. We tested the prediction that compared to non-native trees, native street trees will support a higher diversity and unique community of native Lepidoptera. As predicted, native street trees were associated with five times as many native Lepidoptera species, and the Lepidoptera communities supported by native vs. non-native street trees were distinct. There was no difference in native Lepidoptera associations between broadleaf vs. coniferous street trees. These results are consistent with studies that have used active sampling techniques to investigate insect richness on a smaller subset of native and non-native tree species. Collectively, these data provide good evidence that the planting native instead of non-native trees will help stem the loss of insect diversity in urban areas.

摘要
气候变化、栖息地丧失与环境污染这三重威胁，引发了学界关于如何改造城市区域，以同时缓解气温上升并为昆虫等野生动物提供栖息地的广泛讨论。诸多城市已采纳利用树木降温的策略。然而，全球范围内种植的绝大多数行道树均为非本土物种。在非城区开展的研究表明，相较于本土植物，非本土植物对本土昆虫多样性的支撑能力较弱。本研究采用数据库方法，对加拿大温哥华种植的76种最常见行道树所关联的本土鳞翅目（Lepidoptera）物种数量进行量化分析。我们验证了如下预测：相较于非本土行道树，本土行道树能够支撑更高多样性且具有独特群落结构的本土鳞翅目类群。正如预测结果所示，本土行道树所关联的本土鳞翅目物种数量是前者的五倍，且本土与非本土行道树所支撑的鳞翅目群落存在显著差异。行道树中阔叶树与针叶树在本土鳞翅目关联物种方面并无显著差异。本研究结果与此前采用主动采样技术、针对小范围本土与非本土树木类群开展的昆虫物种丰富度调查研究结果一致。综合来看，本研究数据充分证明，相较于种植非本土树木，推广本土行道树种植有助于遏制城市区域的昆虫多样性丧失。