Notes on the occurrence of Chitoria sordida sordida (Moore, 1866) (Nymphalidae: Apaturinae) in Tsirang District, Bhutan

Observations on the distribution of Nymphalid butterfly, Sordid Emperor (Chitoria sordida sordida (Moore, 1866) in southern Bhutan are presented in this paper.  The confirmation is based on four years of observation of species in the warm broadleaf forest of Tsirang during July to October.  The species is legally protected under Schedule II of the Indian (Wildlife) Protection Act, 1997. </div

Geography of Indian Butterflies: Patterns Revealed by Checklists of Federal States

Butterflies are widely used to analyze biogeographical patterns, both at the global and regional scales. Thus far, most of the latter originated from well-surveyed northern regions, while the species-rich tropical areas lag due to a lack of appropriate data. We used checklists of 1379 butterfly species recorded in 36 federal states of the Republic of India (1) to explore the basic macroecological rules, and (2) to relate species richness and the distribution of endemics and geographic elements to geography, climate, land covers and socioeconomic conditions of the states. The area, land covers diversity and latitude did not affect species richness, whereas topographic diversity and the precipitation/temperature ratio (energy availability) were positive predictors. This is due the geographic and climatic idiosyncrasies of the Indian subcontinent, with its highest species richness in the small, densely forested mountainous northeast that receives summer monsoons. The peninsular effect that decreases the richness towards the tip of subcontinent is counterbalanced by the mountainous forested Western Ghats. Afrotropical elements are associated with savannahs, while Palearctic elements are associated with treeless habitats. The bulk of Indian butterfly richness, and the highest conservation priorities, overlap with global biodiversity hotspots, but the mountainous states of the Western Himalayas and the savannah states of peninsular India host distinctive faunas

Cross-continental phylogeography of two Holarctic Nymphalid butterflies, Boloria eunomia and Boloria selene

International audiencePleistocene glaciations had significant effects on the distribution and evolution of species inhabiting the Holarctic region. Phylogeographic studies concerning the entire region are still rare. Here, we compared global phylogeographic patterns of one boreo-montane and one boreo-temperate butterflies with largely overlapping distribution ranges across the Northern Hemisphere, but with different levels of range fragmentation and food specialization. We reconstructed the global phylogeographic history of the boreo-montane specialist Boloria eunomia (n = 223) and of the boreo-temperate generalist Boloria selene (n = 106) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers, and with species distribution modelling (SDM). According to the genetic structures obtained, both species show a Siberian origin and considerable split among populations from Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. According to SDMs and molecular data, both butterflies could inhabit vast areas during the moderate glacials. In the case of B. selene, high haplotype diversity and low geographic structure suggest long-lasting interconnected gene flow among populations. A stronger geographic struc-turing between populations was identified in the specialist B. eunomia, presumably due to the less widespread, heterogeneously distributed food resources, associated with cooler and more humid climatic conditions. Populations of both species show opposite patterns across major parts of North America and in the case of B. eunomia also across Asia. Our data underline the relevance to cover entire distribution ranges to reconstruct the correct phylogeographic history of species

Life History Traits Reflect Changes in Mediterranean Butterfly Communities Due to Forest Encroachment

<div><p>The biodiversity of the Southern Balkans, part of the Mediterranean global biodiversity hot-spot, is threatened by land use intensification and abandonment, the latter causing forest encroachment of formerly open habitats. We investigated the impact of forest encroachment on butterfly species richness, community species composition and the representation of life history traits by repeated seasonal visits of 150 one-hectare sites in five separate regions in three countries—Greece, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM—the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)— 10 replicates for each habitat type of grasslands, open formations and scrub forest within each region. Grasslands and open formations sites hosted in average more species and more red-listed species than scrub forest, while no pattern was found for numbers of Mediterranean species. As shown by ordination analyses, each of the three habitat types hosted distinct butterfly communities, with Mediterranean species inclining either towards grasslands or open formations. Analysing the representation of life history traits revealed that successional development from grasslands and open formations towards scrub forest shifts the community composition towards species overwintering in earlier stages, having fewer generations per year, and inhabiting large European or Eurosiberian (e.g. northern) ranges; it decreases the representation of Mediterranean endemics. The loss of grasslands and semi-open formations due to forest encroachment thus threatens exactly the species that should be the focus of conservation attention in the Mediterranean region, and innovative conservation actions to prevent ongoing forest encroachment are badly needed.</p></div

Results of Redundancy analyses analyzing butterfly species composition.

<p>Summary of single-term ordinations of predictors of interest (<i>Forest encroachment</i> and <i>Canopy)</i> and potential covariates (site characteristics and visit circumstances) as well as partial RDA ordinations assessing the effect of predictors of interest on butterfly species community composition (BSC) after controlling for site characteristics and visit circumstances (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#sec002" target="_blank">Methods</a> for details).</p

Ordination diagrams showing life-history traits interpretation of analyses of the effects of <i>Forest encroachment</i> and <i>Canopy</i> on butterfly community composition.

<p>Partial redundancy analysis, computed after including covariates (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#pone.0152026.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a> for formulation of covariate model) and removing the effects of phylogeny. The arrows in panels (A–D) stand for horizontal (“<i>Scrub forest</i>”) and vertical (“<i>Open formations</i>”) ordination axes in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#pone.0152026.g003" target="_blank">Fig 3(A)</a>, whereas panels (E–H) refer to ordination diagrams in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#pone.0152026.g003" target="_blank">Fig 3(B)</a>. Statistical tests in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#pone.0152026.t003" target="_blank">Table 3</a>.</p

Impact of <i>Forest encroachment</i> and <i>Canopy</i> on butterfly species richness (A-B) and Red-listed species (C-D) recorded during 2012–2013 from 150 sites in the Southern Balkans.

<p>The box plots show values of species richness (A) and Red-listed species (C) predicted by the generalised linear model (glm) with <i>Forest Encroachment</i> treated as 3-level factors, no covariates included. The lines in (B–D) show glm predicted values with <i>Canopy</i> covers treated as linear predictor after inclusion of covariates for Species Richness (B) and without covariates for Red-listed species (D). See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#pone.0152026.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a> for details.</p

A map of the Southern Balkans showing the five study regions where impacts of Forest encroachment on butterflies were studied.

<p>R1 –foothills of Paramythia Mts, NW Greece (Epirus province); R2 –foothills of Taygetos Mts., S Greece (Lakonia); R3 –southern foothills of Giona Mts, Greece (Sterea Ellada); R4 –Macedonia, Prilep environs; R5 –SE Bulgaria (Kardzhali environs). Average aerial distance among regions was 220 km (range 143–320 km).</p

Ordination diagrams (partial redundancy analysis), showing the effect of (A) <i>Forest encroachment</i>, and (B) <i>Canopy</i> on butterfly species community composition.

<p>Both diagrams refer to analyses that statistically controlled for effects of covariates, and removed the effects of phylogeny (covariate model as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#pone.0152026.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>). See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0152026#pone.0152026.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a> for results of statistical tests. Species with Mediterranean ranges written in bold, Red-listed species in CAPITALS.</p