Anthropogenic pressures coincide with Neotropical biodiversity hotspots in a flagship butterfly group
2022
Doré, M. | Willmott, Keith | Leroy, Boris | Chazot, Nicolas | Mallet, James | Freitas, André, V L | Hall, Jason, P W | Lamas, Gerardo | Dasmahapatra, Kanchon, K | Fontaine, Colin | Elias, Marianne | Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB) ; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA) | Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation (CESCO) ; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | University of Florida [Gainesville] (UF) | Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques (BOREA) ; Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN) ; Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA) | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences = Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) | Harvard University | Universidade Estadual de Campinas = University of Campinas (UNICAMP) | Smithsonian Institution | Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) | University of York [York, UK] | Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) ; Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier ; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM) | FLMNH Museum Associates | Brazilian CNPq. Grant Numbers: 563332/2010-7, 303834/2015-3 | French Ministry of Research (MENSR) | Leverhulme Trust | Darwin Initiative | National Geographic Society. Grant Number: 5751-96 | National Science Foundation. Grant Numbers: 0103746, 0639977, 0639861, 0847582 | U.S. National Academy of Sciences | United States Agency for International Development | Human Frontier Science Program. Grant Number: RGP0014/2016 | Fundação Amazônia Paraense de Amparo à Pesquisa. Grant Numbers: 2011/50225-3, 2012/50260-6 | ANR-16-CE02-0012,CLEARWING,La transparence : origine physique, fonctions adaptatives et évolution chez les papillons transparents(2016)
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. The biodiversity crisis has highlighted the need to assess and map biodiversity in order to prioritize conservation efforts. Clearwing butterflies (tribe Ithomiini) have been proposed as biological indicators for habitat quality in Neotropical forests, which contain the world's richest biological communities. Here, we provide maps of different facets of Ithomiini diversity across the Neotropics to identify areas of evolutionary and ecological importance for conservation and evaluate their overlap with current anthropogenic threats.Location: Neotropics.Methods: We ran species distribution models on a data set based on 28,986 georeferenced occurrences representing 388 ithomiine species to generate maps of geographic rarity, taxonomic, phylogenetic and Müllerian mimetic wing pattern diversity. We quantified and mapped the overlap of diversity hotspots with areas threatened by or providing refuge from current anthropogenic pressures.Results: The eastern slopes of the Andes formed the primary hotspot of taxonomic, phylogenetic and mimetic diversity, with secondary hotspots in Central America and the Atlantic Forest. Most diversity indices were strongly spatially correlated. Nevertheless, species-poor communities on the Pacific slopes of the Andes also sheltered some of the geographically rarest species. Overall, tropical montane forests that host high species and mimetic diversity as well as rare species and mimicry rings appeared particularly under threat.Main conclusions: Remote parts of the Upper Amazon may act as refuges against current anthropogenic pressures for a limited portion of Ithomiini diversity. Furthermore, it is likely that the current threat status may worsen with ongoing climate change and deforestation. In this context, the tropical Andes occupy a crucial position as the primary hotspot for multiple facets of biodiversity for ithomiine butterflies, as they do for angiosperms, tetrapods and other insect taxa. Our results support the role of ithomiine butterflies as a suitable flagship indicator group for Neotropical butterfly diversity and reinforce the position of the tropical Andes as a flagship region for biodiversity conservation in general, and insect and butterfly conservation in particular.
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