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Relationship between moth (night active Lepidoptera) diversity and vegetation characteristics in southern Sweden

Tyler, Torbjörn LU (2020) In Journal of Insect Conservation
Abstract
The diversity and community composition of moths (both macro- and micromoths) at 32 sites, representing a wide range of habitat types (forests, grasslands, wetlands, agricultural and urban areas) within a restricted region in central Scania,
southern-most Sweden, was investigated by use of light moth traps and compared with vascular plant species richness and habitat characteristics. The results revealed a highly significant general association between vegetation composition and the
composition of the moth community and multivariate (CCA) analyses indicated light availability and soil fertility parameters (pH and macronutrients) to be the habitat characteristics that best correlated with moth community composition. Less... (More)
The diversity and community composition of moths (both macro- and micromoths) at 32 sites, representing a wide range of habitat types (forests, grasslands, wetlands, agricultural and urban areas) within a restricted region in central Scania,
southern-most Sweden, was investigated by use of light moth traps and compared with vascular plant species richness and habitat characteristics. The results revealed a highly significant general association between vegetation composition and the
composition of the moth community and multivariate (CCA) analyses indicated light availability and soil fertility parameters (pH and macronutrients) to be the habitat characteristics that best correlated with moth community composition. Less strong,
but still significant, positive relationships between moth abundance and local vascular plant diversity were also revealed. Moth species richness was positively correlated with diversity of woody plant genera in the neighborhood, but not with local
vascular plant diversity in general. As for more general site characteristics, there were tendencies for higher moth richnessand abundance at sites with more productive soils (well-drained, high pH, high nutrient availability), while shading/tree canopy cover, management, soil disturbance regimes and nectar production appeared unrelated to moth community parameters. It is concluded that local moth assemblages are strongly influenced by site characteristics and vegetation composition. Implications for insect conservation: The results show that obtaining moth data on a local scale is useful for conservation planning and does not need to be very cumbersome. Local moth assemblages monitored are indeed related to local site characteristics of conservation relevance. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Conservation, Macrolepidoptera, Microlepidoptera, Light trap, Species diversity, Vegetation
in
Journal of Insect Conservation
pages
11 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85092202707
ISSN
1366-638X
DOI
10.1007/s10841-020-00270-y
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e1b9e9e9-a3d6-40df-babc-b7e9acc37860
date added to LUP
2020-10-08 13:54:37
date last changed
2022-04-19 01:11:01
@article{e1b9e9e9-a3d6-40df-babc-b7e9acc37860,
  abstract     = {{The diversity and community composition of moths (both macro- and micromoths) at 32 sites, representing a wide range of habitat types (forests, grasslands, wetlands, agricultural and urban areas) within a restricted region in central Scania,<br/>southern-most Sweden, was investigated by use of light moth traps and compared with vascular plant species richness and habitat characteristics. The results revealed a highly significant general association between vegetation composition and the<br/>composition of the moth community and multivariate (CCA) analyses indicated light availability and soil fertility parameters (pH and macronutrients) to be the habitat characteristics that best correlated with moth community composition. Less strong,<br/>but still significant, positive relationships between moth abundance and local vascular plant diversity were also revealed. Moth species richness was positively correlated with diversity of woody plant genera in the neighborhood, but not with local<br/>vascular plant diversity in general. As for more general site characteristics, there were tendencies for higher moth richnessand abundance at sites with more productive soils (well-drained, high pH, high nutrient availability), while shading/tree canopy cover, management, soil disturbance regimes and nectar production appeared unrelated to moth community parameters. It is concluded that local moth assemblages are strongly influenced by site characteristics and vegetation composition. Implications for insect conservation: The results show that obtaining moth data on a local scale is useful for conservation planning and does not need to be very cumbersome. Local moth assemblages monitored are indeed related to local site characteristics of conservation relevance.}},
  author       = {{Tyler, Torbjörn}},
  issn         = {{1366-638X}},
  keywords     = {{Conservation, Macrolepidoptera, Microlepidoptera, Light trap, Species diversity, Vegetation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Journal of Insect Conservation}},
  title        = {{Relationship between moth (night active Lepidoptera) diversity and vegetation characteristics in southern Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10841-020-00270-y}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10841-020-00270-y}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}