Study On The Fauna And Diversity Protection Of Papilionidae (Lepidoptera) In Yunnan

The swallowtails of family Papilionidae are a group of butterflies with high ecological,ornamental value,economic,and conservation values,which is widely found worldwide except the polar ecosystems.Yunnan Province is one of the provinces with the richest diversity of swallowtails,as well as very high endemicity.Although there are some reports on the research of this butterfly group in Yunnan,they are scattered in historical literature which lacks of systematic analysis and revision.The ecosystems of Yunnan are diverse but fragile,and the diversity,background resources and geographical distribution of the swallowtails are still not clear to date.In 2016,the former Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China initiated the National Biodiversity Observation(Butterfly)Project in response to the call of President Xi Jinping,taking butterflies including the swallowtails as one of the indicator species for ecosystem monitoring.This study was launched under the background of environment protection and ecological barrier construction in Yunnan.The preliminary work of this study can be traced back to 2012,while the major part was started in 2016.A comprehensive study on the swallowtails of Yunnan was carried out from five aspects,including taxonomic classification,molecular phylogeny,fauna and regionalization,adaptation and adaptation,as well as habitat status and protection strategies.The major findings are as follows.1.Through field investigation,collection,observation,and literature review,the systematics and taxonomic classification of the swallowtails of Yunnan were studied.Morphological characteristics of 80 species and 97 subspecies in 12 genera were described in detail.Photos of male genitalia of all species and female genitalia of the vast majority species were shown for the first time,which provided a new basis for identification of these butterflies.The species diversity of family Papilionidae in Yunnan is very rich,which is in the forefront of China.2.Using the DNA barcoding technology,the molecular systematics of the swallowtails of Yunnan was studied to verify the aforementioned taxonomic classification.The phylogenetic tree of family Papilionidae was constructed,and the relationship among species was analysed,which supported the taxonomic status of all subfamilies,all genera,all species,and part of subspecies,and provided new evidence for the phylogeny of family Papilionidae of Yunnan.3.Based on taxonomic study,the fauna and regionalization of the swallowtails of Yunnan Province were analyzed.The results showed that these species were mainly found in the Oriental Realm,closely related to the Palearctic Realm,but less related to the Nearctic and Ethiopian Realms,and not related to the Neotropical Realm at all.Based on the analysis of zoogeographical regionalization in China,it is found that Papilionidae in Yunnan are mostly in the Southwest China Zone,followed by the South China Zone and the least in the Northeast China Zone.Based on the comprehensive natural regionalization of Yunnan Province,the spatial differentiation of the swallowtails of Yunnan Province was analyzed by using multivariate statistical cluster analysis method for the first time,and the regional distribution characteristics of species richnesswas also clarified for the first time.The results showed that the highest species richness was found in the Hengduan Mountains of Western Yunnan,and the lowest in the montane-plateau area of Zhaotong and Xuanwei.The distribution pattern of the swallowtials of Yunnan can be divided by the Yunling Mountains and its southern branch connecting the Yuanjiang-Red River Valley.The species richness was higher in the West and South near the country border,and lower in the East and North adjacent to Sichuan and Guizhou.The discovery of this rule greatly deepened our understanding of the diversity and distribution pattern of the swallowtails of Yunnan,and provided a scientific basis for the conservation.4.In light of the higher abundance of subspecies,the origin and distribution of many subspecies were analyzed.From the perspective of adaptability,the close relationship among the present distribution pattern,subspecies differentiation,and the complex physical environment and ecosystems of Yunnan was discussed.The results showed that the geographical distribution pattern of the subspecies of some swallowtails of Yunnan was not spatially uniform,mainly concentrated in the South,Northwest and Northeast of Yunnan.The areas with the highest number of subspecies are the low-mountains in South to Southeast Yunnan,as well as the valleys of Hengduan Mountains in the West.However,the areas with the lowest number of subspecies are the red-rock plateau in Chuxiong and the montane plateau in Zhaotong and Xuanwei.The subspecies are only found in separated narrow ranges,but less likely in a wider area.The number of subspecies decreased with the increase of distribution span.The narrow range species are mainly concentrated in Northwest Yunnan,the northern edge of the tropical zone in South Yunnan,and the medianmountains and basins in Northeast Yunnan.The origin of subspecies may be attributed to local divergence and diffusion.Local divergence mainly appeared in the Northwest Yunnan where the physical environment is complex with dramatic geological and geomorphological changes.Diffusion was more likely in South and Northeast Yunnan as both areas are geographically connected to adjacent Indochina and Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces in China.The complexity of the physical environment and ecosystems in Yunnan is the major cause of high diversity of family Papilionidae.5.Through participating in a number of research programmes related to the swallowtails of Yunnan and carrying out field surveys,the authorhas accumulated abundant first-hand information.This thesis also analyzed the current status of some major habitats of the swallowtails of Yunnan,discussed the surviving conditions of these butterflies,and provided some suggestions for enforcing the conservation of these butterflies in Yunnan,and provides theoretical support for deepening the cognition and protection of the swallowtails of Yunnan.It must be pointed out that the protection of total environment and all representative ecosystems should be prioritized in the lowand median-mountains in South and Southeast Yunnan and in valleys of the Hengduan Mountains in West Yunnan.In this study,the number of known species of Papilionidae in Yunnan includes12 genera,80 species and 97 subspecies.A new species,Graphium confucius,was described and published.The fauna of the swallowtails of Yunnan was analyzed in depth,and the plan of dividing these species into 13 zones was proposed for the first time.The spatial distribution characteristics of subspecies were systematically studied,and the views of adaptability of these subspecies in Yunnan were also proposed for the first time,which provided a new perspective for understanding the high diversity of butterflies in Yunnan.