Diel Versus Seasonal Butterfly Community Partitioning in a Hyperdiverse Tropical Rainforest.

ABSTRACT: Ecological theory suggests that interspecific interactions and environmental heterogeneity promote temporal niche partitioning, whereby species segregate their activity along diel and seasonal axes. For ectotherms, temperature is a critical niche dimension because heat availability regulates activity and phenology. Here, we used data from a hyperdiverse rainforest in the Ecuadorian Amazon to compare community dynamics across two temporal scales and to test their relationship with temperature fluctuations. Butterflies were periodically sampled using Pollard walks in a permanent plot over eight field campaigns spanning two years. We compared environmental temperature fluctuations, diversity metrics, and niche-overlap estimates of community assemblages at both diel and seasonal scales. We rec

SUBMITTER: Mena S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12733456 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature