Eur. J. Entomol. 110 (3): 509-517, 2013 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2013.067

Forest moth assemblages as indicators of biodiversity and environmental quality in a temperate deciduous forest

Jeong-Seop AN, Sei-Woong CHOI*
Department of Environmental Education, Mokpo National University, Muan, Jeonnam 534-729, South Korea; e-mails: naneon@nate.com; choisw@mokpo.ac.kr
* Corresponding author.

The aim of the present study was to find groups of moths suitable for estimating changes in the abundance and richness of local and regional biodiversity in a temperate forest. We captured macro-moths from May to October over a 5-year period (2005-2009) at various sites in Mt. Jirisan National Park (JNP) in southern Korea. Six taxa were selected based on a strong correlation between the number of species in these taxa and total number of species of large moths: Ennominae (Enn), Arctiinae (Arc), Hermininae (Her), Notodontidae (Not), Drepanidae (Dre) and Ophiderinae (Oph). Of these, combinations of four groups were found to have the best predictive capability. We determined whether these indicator groups could be used to reveal mean differences in species abundance according to spatial (forest type, altitude) and temporal variables (monsoon season) since moth composition and abundances were closely related with these variables. The mean differences in the groups of moths in the two types of forest (Arc, Dre, Enn, Not), two altitudes (Dre, Enn, Her, Oph) and two seasons (Dre, Enn, Oph) were significant. Overall, it was revealed that a set of four groups, including two taxa (Dre and Enn), could be used to show differences in local and regional biodiversity of moths in southern Korean temperate forest.

Keywords: Moth, biodiversity, indicators, abundance, richness, temperate deciduous forest, elevation, season

Received: October 4, 2012; Revised: February 25, 2013; Accepted: February 25, 2013; Published: July 11, 2013  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
AN, J., & CHOI, S. (2013). Forest moth assemblages as indicators of biodiversity and environmental quality in a temperate deciduous forest. EJE, 110(3), 509-517. doi: 10.14411/eje.2013.067
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. AN J.S., PARK M., KANG E.S. & CHOI S.W. 2008: Moth (Insecta: Lepidoptera) biodiversity on island Oenarodo, Goheung-gun. Jeonnam. - Korean J. Environ. Biol. 26: 192-202 [in Korean, English abstr.]
    2. AXMACHER J.C., HOLTMANN G., SCHEUERMANN L., BREHM G., MULLER-HOCHENSTEIN K. & FIEDLER K. 2004: Diversity of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) along an afrotropical elevational rainforest transect. - Divers. Distrib. 10: 293-302 Go to original source...
    3. BECK J., KITCHING I.J. & LINSENMAIR K.E. 2006: Effects of habitat disturbance can be subtle yet significant: biodiversity of hawkmoth-assemblages (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in Southeast Asia. - Biodivers. Conserv. 15: 465-486 Go to original source...
    4. BREHM G. & FIEDLER K. 2005: Diversity and community structure of geometrid moths of disturbed habitat in a montane area in the Ecuadorian Andes. - J. Res. Lepid. 38: 1-14 Go to original source...
    5. BURFORD L.S., LACKI M.J. & COVELL C.V. JR 1999: Occurrence of moths among habitats in a mixed mesophytic forest: implications for management of forest bats. - Forest Sci. 45: 323-329
    6. CARO T. & O'DOHERTY G. 1999: On the use of surrogate species in conservation biology. - Conserv. Biol. 13: 805-814 Go to original source...
    7. CHAO A. 1984: Nonparametric estimation of the number of classes in a population. - Scand. J. Stat. 11: 265-270
    8. CHOI S.W. 2008: Effects of weather factors on the abundance and diversity of moths in a temperate deciduous mixed forest of Korea. - Zool. Sci. 25: 53-58 Go to original source...
    9. CHOI S.W. & AN J.S. 2010: Altitudinal distribution of moths (Lepidoptera) in Mt. Jirisan National Park, South Korea. - Eur. J. Entomol. 107: 229-245 Go to original source...
    10. CHOI S.W. & NA S.D. 2004: Diversity and faunal changes of the macrolepidoptera in Mt. Duryunsan and its neighboring area, Jeonnam, Korea. - Korean J. Ecol. 28: 79-83 Go to original source...
    11. COLWELL R.K. 2009: Estimates: Statistical Estimation of Species Richness and Shared Species from Samples. Ver. 8.2. User's guide and application published at: http://purl.oclc.org/estimates
    12. CRISP P., DICKINSON K. & GIBBS G. 1998: Does native invertebrate diversity reflect native plant diversity? A case study from New Zealand and implications for conservation. - Biol. Conserv. 83: 209-220 Go to original source...
    13. GUSTAFSSON L. 2000: Red-listed species and indicators: vascular plants in woodland key habitats and surrounding production forests in Sweden. - Biol. Conserv. 92: 35-43 Go to original source...
    14. HAWKSWORTH D. & KALIN-ARROYO M. 1995: Magnitude and distribution of biodiversity. In Heywood V.H. & Watson R.T. (eds): Global Biodiversity Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 107-192
    15. HILT N. & FIEDLER K. 2006: Arctiid moth ensembles along a successional gradient in the Ecuadorian montane rain forest zone: how different are subfamilies and tribes? - J. Biogeogr. 33: 108-120 Go to original source...
    16. HOLLOWAY J.D. 1985: Moths as indicator organisms for categorizing rain-forest and monitoring changes and regeneration processes. In Chadwick A.C. & Sutton S.L. (eds): Tropical Rain-Forest: The Leeds Symposium. Special Publ. of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, Leeds, pp. 235-242
    17. IGNATOV I.I., JANOVEC J.P., CENTENO P., TOBLER M.W., GRADOS J., LAMAS G. & KITCHING I.J. 2011: Patterns of richness, composition, and distribution of Sphingid moths along an elevational gradient in the Andes-Amazon region of Southeastern Peru. - Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 104: 68-76 Go to original source...
    18. INTACHAT J., HOLLOWAY J.D. & STAINES H. 2001: Effects of weather and phenology on the abundance and diversity of geometroid moths in a natural Malaysian tropical rain forest. - J. Trop. Ecol. 17: 411-429 Go to original source...
    19. KATI V., DEVILLERS P., DUFRENE M., LEGAKIS A., VOKOU D. & LEBRUN P. 2004: Testing the value of six taxonomic groups as biodiversity indicators at a local scale. - Conserv. Biol. 18: 667-675 Go to original source...
    20. KATO M., INOUE T., HAMID A.A., NAGAMITSU T., MERDEK M.B., NONA A.R., ITINO T., YAMANE S. & YUMOTO T. 1995: Seasonality and vertical structure of light-attracted insect communities in a dipterocarp forest in Sawawak. - Res. Popul. Ecol. 37: 59-79 Go to original source...
    21. KIM S.S., BELJAEV E.A. & OH S.H. 2001: Illustrated Catalogue of Geometridae in Korea (Lepidoptera: Geometrinae, Ennominae). Insects of Korea, Ser. 8. Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology & Center for Insect Systematics, Daejeon, 278 pp
    22. KITCHING R., ORR A., THALIB L., MITCHELL H., HOPKINS M. & GRAHAM A. 2000: Moth assemblages as indicators of environmental quality in remnants of upland Australian rain forest. - J. Appl. Ecol. 37: 284-297 Go to original source...
    23. KONONENKO V.S., AHN S.B. & RONKAY L. 1998: Illustrated Catalogue of Noctuidae in Korea (Lepidoptera). Insects of Korea, Ser. 3. Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology & Center for Insect Systematics, Daejeon, 507 pp
    24. LASZLO G.M., RONKAY G., RONKAY L. & WITT T. 2007: The Thyatiridae of Eurasia including the Sundaland and New Guinea (Lepidoptera). Esperiana 13: 7-220
    25. LINDENMAYER D., MARGULES C. & BOTKIN D. 2000: Indicators of biodiversity for ecologically sustainable forest management. - Conserv. Biol. 14: 941-950 Go to original source...
    26. MARGULES C. & PRESSEY R. 2000: Systematic conservation planning. - Nature 405: 243-253 Go to original source...
    27. MCGEOCH M. 1998: The selection, testing and application of terrestrial insects as bioindicators. - Biol. Rev. 73: 181-201 Go to original source...
    28. NIBR 2008: Biological Resources Date. National Institute of Biological Resoruces, Incheon
    29. NOSS R. 1990: Indicators for monitoring biodiversity: a hierarchical approach. - Conserv. Biol. 4: 355-364 Go to original source...
    30. PARK M., OH S.G., AN J.S., KIM K.I. & CHOI S.W. 2007: Biodiversity of Lepidopteran insects of Mt. Seungsal-san, Muan, Jeonnam, Korea. - Korean J. Environ. Biol. 25: 42-55 [in Korean, English Abstr.]
    31. PART T. & SODERSTROM B. 1999: Conservation value of seminatural pastures in Sweden: contrasting botanical and avian measures. - Conserv. Biol. 13: 755-765 Go to original source...
    32. PEARSON D. & CARROLL S. 1998: Global patterns of species richness: spatial models for conservation planning using bioindicator and precipitation data. - Conserv. Biol. 12: 809-821 Go to original source...
    33. PEARSON D. & CASSOLA F. 1992: World-wide species richness patterns of tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae): indicator taxon for biodiversity and conservation studies. - Conserv. Biol. 6: 376-391 Go to original source...
    34. PHARO E., BEATTIE A. & BINNS D. 1999: Vascular plant diversity as a surrogate for bryophyte and lichen diversity. - Conserv. Biol. 13: 282-292 Go to original source...
    35. PRESSEY R., HUMPHRIES C., MARGULES C., VANE-WRIGHT R. & WILLIAMS P. 1993: Beyond opportunism: key principles for systematic reserve selection. - Trends Ecol. Evol. 8: 124-128 Go to original source...
    36. RICKETTS T., DINERSTEIN E., OLSON D. & LOUCKS C. 1999: Who's where in North America? - BioScience 49: 369-381 Go to original source...
    37. SAETERSDAL M., LINE J. & BIRKS H. 1993: How to maximize biological diversity in nature reserve selection: vascular plants and breeding birds in deciduous woodlands, Western Norway. - Biol. Conserv. 66: 131-138 Go to original source...
    38. SAMWAYS M.J. 1994: Insect Conservation Biology. Chapman and Hall, London, xv + 358 pp
    39. SCOBLE M.J. 1995: The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 416 pp
    40. SOBERON J., RODRIGUEZ P. & VAZQUEZ-DOMINGUEZ E. 2000: Implications of the hierarchical structure of biodiversity for the development of ecological indicators of sustainable use. - Ambio 29: 136-142 Go to original source...
    41. SPELLERBERG I.F. 2005: Monitoring Ecological Change. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, 391 pp Go to original source...
    42. SPSS INC. 2009: SPSS for Windows. Ver. 17.0. SPSS Inc. SUMMERVILLE K. & CRIST T. 2002: Effects of timber harvest on forest Lepidoptera: community, guild, and species responses. Ecol. Appl. 12: 820-835 Go to original source...
    43. SUMMERVILLE K., METZLER E. & CRIST T. 2001: Diversity of Lepidoptera in Ohio forests at local and regional scales: How heterogeneous is the fauna? - Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 94: 583-591 Go to original source...
    44. SUMMERVILLE K., RITTER L. & CRIST T. 2004: Forest moth taxa as indicators of lepidopteran richness and habitat disturbance: a preliminary assessment. - Biol. Conserv. 116: 9-18 Go to original source...
    45. VANE-WRIGHT R., HUMPHRIES C. & WILLIAMS P. 1991: What to protect? Systematics and the agony of choice. - Biol. Conserv. 55: 235-254 Go to original source...
    46. VAN JAARSVELD A., FREITAG S., CHOWN S., MULLER C., KOCH S., HULL H., BELLAMY C., KRUGER M., ENDRODY-YOUNGA S. & MANSELL M. 1998: Biodiversity assessment and conservation strategies. Science 279: 2106-2108 Go to original source...
    47. VAN NIEUKERKEN E.J., KAILA L., KITCHING I.J., KRISTENSEN N.P., LEES D.C., MINET J., MITTER C., MUTANEN M., REGIER J.C., SIMONSEN T.J., WAHLBERG N., YEN S.H., ZAHIRI R., ADAMSKI D., BAIXERAS J., BARTSCH D., BENGTSSIN B.A., BROWN J.W., BUCHELI S.R., DAVIS D.R., DE PRINS J., DE PRINS W., EPSTEIN M.E., GENTILO-POOLE P., GIELIS C., HATTENSCHWILER P., HAUSMANN A., HOLLOWAY J.D., KALLIES A., KARSHOLT O., KAWAHARA A.Y., KOSTER S., KOZLOV M.V., LAFONTAINE J.D., LAMAS G., LANDRY J.F., LEE S., NUSS M., PARK K.T., PENZ C., ROTA J., SCHINTLMEISTER A., SCHMIDT B.C., SOHN J.C., SOLIS M.A., TARMANN G.M., WARREN A.D., WELLER S., UAKOVLEV R.V., ZOLOTUHIN V.V. & ZWICK A. 2011: Order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In Zhang Z.Q. (ed.): Animal Biodiversity: An Outline of Higher-Level Classification and Survey of Taxonomic Richness. Zootaxa 3148. Magnolia Press, Auckland, pp. 212-221 Go to original source...
    48. VESSBY K., SODERSTROM B., GLIMSKAR A. & SVENSSON B. 2002: Species-richness correlations of six different taxa in Swedish seminatural grasslands. - Conserv. Biol. 16: 430-439 Go to original source...
    49. WIENS J.A., HAYWARD G.D., HOLTHAUSEN R.S. & WIDSOM M.J. 2008: Using surrogate species and groups for conservation planning and management. - Bioscience 58: 241-252 Go to original source...
    50. YIM Y. 1977: Distribution of forest vegetation and climate in the Korean Peninsula. IV. Zonal distribution of forest vegetation in relation to thermal climate. - Jpn. J. Ecol. 27: 269-278

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content