Study On Butterfly Diversity In Different Habitats In Simian Mountain Nature Reserve,China

The species diversity of butterflies in different habitats in Simian Mountain was investigated according to the methods of “Poolard route”.A field surveys was conducted in the five habitats from April to October from 2016 to 2018.Eighteen surveys were conducted for each sampling site during the three years.A total of 3004 individuals of 151 species belonging to 82 genera in 11 families were recorded in the survey.Among them,two families,22 genera and 67 species were not recorded in Simian Mountain before our study.Up to now,219 species of butterflies belonging to 107 genera in 11 families were recorded in Simian Mountain.Among butterflies in the five habitats,Celastrina argiolus(Linnaeus,1758),with 646 recorded individuals,was the dominant species in Simian Mountain.It was closely followed by Pieris canidia(Sparrman,1768),with 418 individuals recorded,and then by Talbotia naganum(Moore,1884),Dercas lycorias(Doubleday,1842),Pieris melete Ménétriès,1857,Papilio bianor Cramer,1777,Eurema hecabe(Linnaeus,1758),Zemeros flegyas(Cramer,[1780]),Pseudergolis wedah(Kollar,1848)and P.paris Linnaeus,1758,with 56~154 individuals recorded;Pseudergolis wedah(Kollar,1848),Papilio protenor Cramer,[1775],Ypthima multistriata Butler,1883,ect.,with 2~47 individuals recorded.A total of 93 species,such as Papilio protenor Cramer,[1775],Argyreus hyoerbius(Linnaeus,1763),Udara albocaerulea(Moore,1879).And a total of 48 species,such as G.cloanthus(Westwood,1841)?G.leechi(Rothschild,1895)?P.machaon Linnaeus,1758,etc.,had only one individual observed in the three years,were very rare in this area.Among the 11 families,Nymphalidae,with 19 genera and 50 species recorded in the survey,was the most speciose group in Simian Mountain.It was followed by Lycaenidae with 17 genera and 20 species,Hesperiidae with 16 genera and 20 species,Satyridae with 10 genera and 23 species,Pieridae with 6 genera and 9 species,Papilionidae with 4 genera and 13 species,Riodinidae with 4 genera and 8 species,Amathusiidae with 3 genera and 4 species,Danaidae with 1 genera and 2 species,and Libytheidae and Acraeidae with 1 genera and 1 species.The species richness(R),species diversity(H'(S)),genus diversity(H'(G))and total diversity(H'(GS))of Nymphalidae were higher than those of the other families.The results showed that Nymphalidae was the dominant group and that its community composition was more stable than that of the other families in Simian Mountain.In terms of butterflies in different habitats,the family diversity(H?(F))in Sample III was the highest,the genus diversity(H?(G))in Sample II was the highest,the species diversity(H?(S))in Sample V was the highest,the total diversity(H'(FGS))in Sample III was the highest.And the metrics of butterfly diversity were all the lowest in Sample IV,including the family diversity,genus diversity,species diversity,total diversity,evenness index and species richness.In summary,the habitat environment of Samples I,II,III and V were better and stable,with abundant vegetation,so that they are suitable for butterflies survival;Samples IV,with serious human interference,had decreased environment and single vegetation,was not a suitable habitat for buttflies.It indicated that the better the ecological environment,the higher the butterfly diversity generally;while areas with intact ecological environment,dense vegetation and little interference did not necessarily have the highest butterfly diversity;strong human interference could significantly reduce the diversity of butterfly;and various factors in habitats,such as vegetation,water resources,sunlight could influence the diversity of butterfly.Therefore,the most effective way to protect the diversity of butterflies is to protect the environment in which they live.According to the principles of the Jaccard similarity coefficient,the species similarity coefficient(SI)between Samples I and II,II and III,III and V are all between 0.50~0.75,indicating the species in the two habitats were similar;and the SI between the other two Samples were 0.25~0.50,indicating the species in the two habitats were moderately dissimilar.In addition,the SI between Sample IV and each of the other four Samples was distinctly lower than that between any two of the other four Samples,which may be related to the human interference and the deterioration of butterfly habitat in Sample IV.