Assessing the Use of Butterflies as Indicators of Logging in Borneo at Three Taxonomic Levels

Logging is an issue of major conservation concern. Less than 5% of tropical forests are currently protected, and many of these are in so-called “paper parks.” Many species may therefore depend on exploited forests, and management decisions concerning these forests will be a major determinant of thei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic entomology 2004-04, Vol.97 (2), p.429-435
Main Author: Cleary, Daniel F. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
biological assessment
Borneo
butterflies
Butterflies - classification
Classification
Conservation of Natural Resources - methods
Control
environmental impact
FOREST ENTOMOLOGY
forest insects
Forestry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Generalities
indicator species
Industry
insect communities
insect taxonomy
Kalimantan
Lepidoptera
logging
multidimensional scaling
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
Protozoa. Invertebrates
richness
species diversity
Trees
tropical forests
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Summary:Logging is an issue of major conservation concern. Less than 5% of tropical forests are currently protected, and many of these are in so-called “paper parks.” Many species may therefore depend on exploited forests, and management decisions concerning these forests will be a major determinant of their survival. An important aspect of forest management will entail the use of reliable, practical, and inexpensive indicator taxa to monitor exploitation. Here, butterflies are proposed as such indicators. Species, generic, and subfamily richness was significantly higher in logged than unlogged forest and community composition differed significantly at all three taxonomic levels (species, genus, and subfamily). Richness estimators were, furthermore, highly correlated among all three taxonomic levels. Significant individual indicator taxa were found at all three taxonomic levels, but the best overall taxa (highest indicator values) were found at the generic level and included the butterfly genera Ragadia and Paralaxita as indicators of unlogged forest and the genera Ypthima, Allotinus, and Athyma as indicators of logged forest. The use of genera instead of species presents a number of practical advantages. Identification is faster, easier, and more reliable. Genera can, furthermore, usually be identified “on the wing,” thereby preventing accidental mortality due to capture.
ISSN:0022-0493
1938-291X
DOI:10.1603/0022-0493-97.2.429