Long-term changes to the frequency of occurrence of British moths are consistent with opposing and synergistic effects of climate and land-use changes.

ABSTRACT: Species' distributions are likely to be affected by a combination of environmental drivers. We used a data set of 11 million species occurrence records over the period 1970-2010 to assess changes in the frequency of occurrence of 673 macro-moth species in Great Britain. Groups of species with different predicted sensitivities showed divergent trends, which we interpret in the context of land-use and climatic changes.A diversity of responses was revealed: 260 moth species declined significantly, whereas 160 increased significantly. Overall, frequencies of occurrence declined, mirroring trends in less species-rich, yet more intensively studied taxa.Geographically widespread species, which were predicted to be more sensitive to land use than to climate change, declined significantly in southe

SUBMITTER: Fox R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4413814 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature