Eur. J. Entomol. 122: 173-183, 2025 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2025.022

Complementary roles of agricultural and natural habitats in supporting moth diversity in semi-arid landscapes of MoroccoOriginal article

Nidal FETNASSI ORCID...1, 2, 3, Stênio Italo Araújo FOERSTER ORCID...1, Erki ÕUNAP ORCID...1, 4, Mohamed GHAMIZI ORCID...2, 3, Toomas TAMMARU ORCID...1
1 Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Tartu, 50409 Tartu, Estonia; e-mails: fetnassi.ndl@gmail.com, stenio.foerster@ut.ee, erki.ounap@ut.ee, toomas.tammaru@ut.ee
2 Cadi Ayyad University, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, AquaBioTech Laboratory, Marrakech, Morocco; e-mail: ghamizi@uca.ac.ma
3 Cadi Ayyad University, Museum of Natural History of Marrakech (MHNM), Morocco
4 Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia

Human activities, particularly those exacerbated by climate change, are major drivers of biodiversity change. While many human actions degrade biodiversity, some anthropogenic habitats can provide refuges for certain species, insects in particular. Research on the human impact on biodiversity remains uneven both geographically and taxonomically. In this study, nocturnal moth assemblages were compared across three habitat types (forest, riverbanks and olive groves) representing a gradient from natural to heavily human-altered environments in a semi-arid landscape of Morocco. Moths were systematically sampled across an altitudinal gradient ranging from 900 to 1600 m using automatic sugar-bait traps. We recorded 105 macroheteroceran species, most of which belonged to the families Noctuidae and Erebidae. The differences in moth assemblages among the studied habitats were statistically significant, with magnitudes comparable to those observed among the study sites. Altitude had a relatively weak influence on abundance and species richness. Olive groves exhibited the highest moth abundance and species richness, though they were dominated by common and widespread species. Forests supported a greater number of rare species, while riverbanks had lower abundance and species richness. In conclusion, while traditional agriculture can support species-rich insect communities in semi-arid landscapes, maintaining natural vegetation remains crucial, as forests, though less species-rich, still enhance overall moth diversity.

Keywords: Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Erebidae, species composition, abundance, sugar bait, agriculture, conservation, High Atlas Mountains, North Africa

Received: April 5, 2025; Revised: July 1, 2025; Accepted: July 1, 2025; Published online: August 19, 2025  Show citation

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FETNASSI, N., FOERSTER, S.I.A., ÕUNAP, E., GHAMIZI, M., & TAMMARU, T. (2025). Complementary roles of agricultural and natural habitats in supporting moth diversity in semi-arid landscapes of Morocco. EJE, 122, Article 173-183. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2025.022
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