Climate and plant structure determine the spatiotemporal butterfly distribution in a tropical mountain

Mountains are among the most powerful natural gradients for
testing ecological and evolutionary responses of biota to environmental
influences because differences in climate and plant structure occur over
short spatial scales. We describe the spatiotemporal distribution patterns
and drives of fruit-feeding butterfly diversity on the mountaineous region
of Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Seven elevations from 822 to 1388 m
were selected for evaluating the effects of abiotic factors and vegetation
characteristics on butterfly diversity. A total of 44 fruit-feeding
butterfly species were recorded in a two-years study. Species richness
(local and regional) of fruit-feeding butterflies decreased with increasing
elevation. The interaction between temperature or humidity and
precipitation influenced the abundance and β-diversity of butterflies in
the altitudinal gradient, while β-diversity decreased with increasing plant
richness. Butterfly richness (local and regional) and β-diversity va...

山地是检验生物群落对环境影响产生生态与进化响应的最强有力自然梯度之一，因为气候与植被结构的差异可在较短空间尺度内形成。本研究针对巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州锡波山脉（Serra do Cipó）山地生境，阐述了食果蝴蝶（fruit-feeding butterfly）多样性的时空分布格局及其驱动因子。研究选取了海拔822至1388米的7个海拔样点，以评估非生物因子与植被特征对蝴蝶多样性的影响。本研究为期两年，共记录到44种食果蝴蝶。食果蝴蝶的物种丰富度（局域与区域尺度）随海拔升高呈下降趋势。温度或湿度与降水的交互作用，会影响海拔梯度内蝴蝶的种群数量与β多样性（β-diversity）；而β多样性则随植物丰富度的提升而降低。食果蝴蝶的局域与区域物种丰富度及β多样性随……