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Delabye S, Storch D, Sedláček O, Albrecht T, Hořák D, Maicher V, Tószögyová A, Tropek R. Moth Diversity Increases along a Continent-Wide Gradient of Environmental Productivity in South African Savannahs. INSECTS 2022; 13:778. [PMID: 36135479 PMCID: PMC9500993 DOI: 10.3390/insects13090778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Environmental productivity, i.e., the amount of biomass produced by primary producers, belongs among the key factors for the biodiversity patterns. Although the relationship of diversity to environmental productivity differs among studied taxa, detailed data are largely missing for most groups, including insects. Here, we present a study of moth diversity patterns at local and regional scales along a continent-wide gradient of environmental productivity in southern African savannah ecosystems. We sampled diversity of moths (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) at 120 local plots along a gradient of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from the Namib Desert to woodland savannahs along the Zambezi River. By standardized light trapping, we collected 12,372 specimens belonging to 487 moth species. The relationship between species richness for most analyzed moth groups and environmental productivity was significantly positively linear at the local and regional scales. The absence of a significant relationship of most moth groups' abundance to environmental productivity did not support the role of the number of individuals in the diversity-productivity relationship for south African moths. We hypothesize the effects of water availability, habitat complexity, and plant diversity drive the observed moth diversity patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Delabye
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - David Storch
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University, Prague and the Czech Academy of Sciences, Jilská 1, 11000 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Sedláček
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Albrecht
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Studenec 122, 67502 Koněšín, Czech Republic
| | - David Hořák
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vincent Maicher
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 9 Circuit Dr., Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Anna Tószögyová
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University, Prague and the Czech Academy of Sciences, Jilská 1, 11000 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Robert Tropek
- Departments of Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 12844 Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Delabye S, Gaona FP, Potocký P, Foxcroft LC, Halamová P, Hejda M, MacFadyen S, Pyšková K, Sedláček O, Staňková M, Storch D, Pyšek P, Tropek R. Thirteen moth species (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Noctuidae) newly recorded in South Africa, with comments on their distribution. Biodivers Data J 2022; 10:e89729. [PMID: 36761554 PMCID: PMC9848558 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.10.e89729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Thanks to the high diversity of ecosystems and habitats, South Africa harbours tremendous diversity of insects. The Kruger National Park, due to its position close to the border between two biogeographic regions and high heterogeneity of environmental conditions, represents an insufficiently studied hotspot of lepidopteran diversity. During our ecological research in the Kruger National Park, we collected abundant moth material, including several interesting faunistic records reported in this study. New information We reported 13 species of moths which had not yet been recorded in South Africa. In many cases, our records represented an important extension of the species' known distribution, including two species (Ozarbagaedei and O.persinua) whose distribution ranges extended into the Zambezian biogeographic region. Such findings confirmed the poor regional knowledge of lepidopteran diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Delabye
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic,Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicInstitute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of SciencesCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Fernando P Gaona
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic,Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicInstitute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of SciencesCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Pavel Potocký
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicInstitute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of SciencesCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
| | - Llewellyn C Foxcroft
- Scientific Services, South African National Parks, Skukuza, South AfricaScientific Services, South African National ParksSkukuzaSouth Africa,Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaCentre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch UniversityStellenboschSouth Africa
| | - Pavla Halamová
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - Martin Hejda
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion Ecology, Pruhonice, Czech RepublicCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion EcologyPruhoniceCzech Republic
| | - Sandra MacFadyen
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaDepartment of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch UniversityStellenboschSouth Africa
| | - Klára Pyšková
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic,Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion Ecology, Pruhonice, Czech RepublicCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion EcologyPruhoniceCzech Republic
| | - Ondřej Sedláček
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - Markéta Staňková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - David Storch
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic,Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicCenter for Theoretical Study, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - Petr Pyšek
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic,Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion Ecology, Pruhonice, Czech RepublicCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion EcologyPruhoniceCzech Republic
| | - Robert Tropek
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic,Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech RepublicInstitute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of SciencesCeske BudejoviceCzech Republic
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