Abstract:

In order to understand the butterfly diversity status and analyze its effective factors in the Gaowangjie National Nature Reserve, Hunan Province, we conducted a line-transect counting study for butterflies in 6 habitats (4 in protected reserve and 2 outside). We recorded a total of 13,956 individual butterflies and recorded 239 different species using the five-family classification system, which comprises 5 families and 113 genera. Seventeen species were newly recorded in the Hunan Province. Our analysis of zoogeography showed that Oriental species were dominant (139 species accounting for 58.1% of individuals), followed by the Widespread species (97 species, accounting for 40.6%) and the Palearctic species (3 species, accounting for 1.3%). We found that similarity in butterfly community was highly correlated with the degree of human disturbance and habitat heterogeneity. For three years, the butterfly diversity indices showed similar trends in monthly variation, and the species number and diversity index was positively correlated with mean monthly temperature rather than monthly rainfall. This indicates that butterfly diversity is directly correlated with human disturbance and meteorological factors. Therefore, we suggest that reduction of human disturbance and maintaining habitat quality may contribute to butterfly conservation of protected areas.

Key words: butterfly diversity, community structure, human disturbance, meteorological factors, Gaowangjie National Nature Reserve