Seasonal flooding decreases fruit-feeding butterfly species dominance and increases spatial turnover in floodplain forests of central Amazonia.

ABSTRACT: The seasonal flood pulse in Amazonia can be considered a primary driver of community structure in floodplain environments. Although this natural periodic disturbance is part of the landscape dynamics, the seasonal inundation presents a considerable challenge to organisms that inhabit floodplain forests. The present study investigated the effect of seasonal flooding on fruit-feeding butterfly assemblages in different forest types and strata in central Amazonia. We sampled fruit-feeding butterflies in the canopy and the understory using baited traps in adjacent upland (unflooded forests-terra firme), white and blackwater floodplain forests (várzea and igapó, respectively) during the low- and high-water seasons. Butterfly abundance decreased in the high-water season, espe

SUBMITTER: Oliveira IF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9817189 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature