The Butterflies of Barro Colorado Island, Panama: Local Extinction since the 1930s.

ABSTRACT: Few data are available about the regional or local extinction of tropical butterfly species. When confirmed, local extinction was often due to the loss of host-plant species. We used published lists and recent monitoring programs to evaluate changes in butterfly composition on Barro Colorado Island (BCI, Panama) between an old (1923-1943) and a recent (1993-2013) period. Although 601 butterfly species have been recorded from BCI during the 1923-2013 period, we estimate that 390 species are currently breeding on the island, including 34 cryptic species, currently only known by their DNA Barcode Index Number. Twenty-three butterfly species that were considered abundant during the old period could not be collected during the recent period, despite a much higher sampling effort in recent times

SUBMITTER: Basset Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4549329 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature