Diversity and Distribution Patterns of Geometrid Moths (Geometridae, Lepidoptera) in Mongolia

Geometrids are a species-rich group of moths that serve as reliable indicators for environmental changes. Little is known about the Mongolian moth fauna, and there is no comprehensive review of species richness, diversity, and distribution patterns of geometrid moths in the country. Our study aims to review the existing knowledge on geometrid moths in Mongolia. We compiled geometrid moth records from published scientific papers, our own research, and from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to produce a checklist of geometrid moths of Mongolia. Additionally, we analyzed spatial patterns, species richness, and diversity of geometrid moths within 14 ecoregions of Mongolia and evaluated environmental variables for their distribution. In total, we compiled 1973-point records of 388 geometrid species. The most species-rich ecoregion in Mongolia was Daurian Forest Steppe with 142 species. Annual precipitation and maximum temperature of the warmest month were the most important environmental variables that correlated with NMDS axes in an analysis of geometrid assemblages of different ecoregions in Mongolia

Alpha and beta diversity patterns of macro-moths reveal a breakpoint along a latitudinal gradient in Mongolia

Little is known about the diversity and distribution patterns of moths along latitudinal gradients. We studied macro-moths in Mongolia along an 860 km latitudinal climatic gradient to gain knowledge on community composition, alpha, beta, and gamma diversity as well as underlying factors, which can be used as baseline information for further studies related to climate change. We identified 236 species of moths of ten families. Our study shows that the diversity of moths increased with the latitude, i.e., low species richness in the south and higher richness in the north. Moth community composition changed along the gradient, and we revealed a breakpoint of beta diversity that divided grassland and desert communities. In the desert, beta diversity was driven by species loss (i.e., nestedness), and few tolerant species existed with high abundance. In contrast, in the grassland, beta diversity was driven by species replacement with more unique species, (i.e., species which occurred only in one site). We found the lowest species diversity in the transitional zones dominated by few generalist species such as Agrotis ripae and Anarta trifolii. Low precipitation and an increasing number of grazing goats are drivers of species loss. We suggest different conservation strategies regarding the contrasting patterns of beta diversity in desert and grassland

Diversity of Moths (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) in North-Central Mongolia

In this study, was aimed at 1) collecting baseline data in order to study distribution of moths in the future, and 2) estimating diversity of moths distributed in central and northern Mongolia. For this study were collected specimens from 266 species, representing 15 families from 7 study sites during 92 nights spanning over two years. Samples were collected around the research stations Tunkhel and Khonin Nuga in Selenge Aimag, Ikhtamir in Arkhangai Aimag, Mungunmorit and Undurshireet Soums in Tuv Aimag, as well from Shargamorit near Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, and from Tsenkhermandal Soum in Khentii Aimag. So were found more species at Tunkhel (121) and Khonin Nuga (100) compared to the other five study sites; also the diversity measures were higher at these sites and moth communities were most similar to each other