Dinâmica sazonal de borboletas frugívoras do Parque Estadual das Dunas, Natal (RN)

• Main Author: Costa, Daniela Cícera Gomes da
• Publication Date: 2017
• Format: Bachelor thesis
• Language: por
• Source: Repositório Institucional da UFRN
• Download full: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/43361
• topic: Lepidoptera; Lepidoptera; Riqueza de espécies; Species richness; Variação sazonal; Seasonal variation

The climatic Seasonality can interfere in the structure of herbivorous insect communities by altering the distribution of species and is therefore of great relevance for understanding ecological patterns. In addition, the characterization of these communities in conservation units provides an instrument for public awareness about the necessity to conserve the species therein. Therefore, this work aims to characterize a community of frugivorous butterflies from an urban conservation unit of the Atlantic Forest biome and also test the variation in the richness and abundance of this community in respect to the temporal variation (dry and rainy period). The field collection was carried out in a period of one year, in six sectors of the Parque das Dunas, Natal, Brazil. Each sector was sampled once in each season of the year, having one sample in the dry period and another sample in the rainy season. The procedure performed in the field was adapted from the global protocol of collection of butterflies. In total, 400 individuals from 11 species were registered and 4 subfamilies were represented. The species captured during the collection were incorporated into the entomological collection of the Parque das Dunas. Seasonality analysis showed that groups and subfamilies respond differently to seasons and climatic variables. These results highlight the importance of seasonal studies for the Knowledge about community dynamic of frugivorous butterflies by means of the study in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in the Northeast of Brazil. The characterization of this community of frugivorous butterflies allowed the integration of new information about the fauna of frugivorous butterflies of this Park, an important initiative for the conservation of these organisms.