Publication Date

Spring 2025

Abstract

Ecuadorian cloud forests are crucial water sources and biodiversity hotspots, often inhabited by various butterfly species. However, as telltale bioindicators, butterfly populations react to changes in their environment by demonstrating fluctuations in their abundance (Horn, 2017). Changes to the environment are often induced in the present day through human impact, such as the installation of agricultural land, deforestation, ecotourism, and the residual effects of climate change caused by these activities. This study aimed to investigate butterfly abundance and species diversity in La Hesperia Cloud Forest Reserve in the western slope of the Ecuadorian Andes and the response of butterfly assemblages to climate change scenarios (like global warming). The study was conducted at two different altitudinal zones in three habitat types: open area, forest edge, and forest. Field data collected in 2025 were compared to datasets from similar studies in 2014 and 2022. Rank abundance curves revealed increasingly steep slopes in recent years, specifically in Elevation A (~1350 meters above sea level), suggesting a possible decline in species evenness and increase in the dominance of a few species. Shannon-Weiner diversity values revealed moderate levels of diversity at both elevations, but Elevation B (~1500 meters above sea level), was slightly more diverse. Sørensen-Jaccard Dissimilarity values indicated moderate to low species overlap, and endemism calculations showed that 56% of species were unique to Elevation B, despite Elevation A containing a higher abundance of individuals. The results of this study emphasize the need for conservation strategies that account for altitudinal uniqueness and habitat preservation in the wake of climate change for vulnerable ecosystems such as tropical montane cloud forests.

Disciplines

Life Sciences

Download

Included in

Life Sciences Commons

Share

Article Location

 
COinS