Environmental controls on butterfly occurrence and species richness in Israel: The importance of temperature over rainfall.

ABSTRACT: Butterflies are considered important indicators representing the state of biodiversity and key ecosystem functions, but their use as bioindicators requires a better understanding of how their observed response is linked to environmental factors. Moreover, better understanding how butterfly faunas vary with climate and land cover may be useful to estimate the potential impacts of various drivers, including climate change, botanical succession, grazing, and afforestation. It is particularly important to establish which species of butterflies are sensitive to each environmental driver. The study took place in Israel, including the West Bank and Golan Heights. To develop a robust and systematic approach for identifying how butterfly faunas vary with the environment, we analyzed the occurrence

SUBMITTER: Comay O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8427576 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature