FOREST MANAGEMENT AND BIODIVERSITY: A STUDY OF AN INDICATOR INSECT GROUP IN SOUTHERN MEXICO

SUMMARY Previous studies on succesional dynamics of insect communities have revealed important changes along succesional stages among community structures and insect life histories. This work evaluates the changes and diversity of a butterfly fauna in a forest-managed landscape in Southern Mexico. One-hundred and forty three species were collected belonging to 102 genera in five families. Nymphalidae was the most diverse family with 54 species (38%). Rarefaction and rank abundance curves recorded in each forest stand suggested important differences for species richness values at comparable levels of sampling effort. Species abundances were positively correlated with their landscape distribution sizes. Based on field observations and on li terature review, a designation of habitat preferences for a set of species was given. A significant association between habitat use and geographic range for 63 butterfly species was detected (χ²= 13.26, df= 1, p<0.005). Species with narrow geographic ranges were usually grouped in unmodified habitats, whereas widespread species were much more likely to make some use of human-modified habitats. A declining proportion of species restricted to unmodified, or primary, habitats with increasing geographic range was quantified. Forest-management practices on local habitats as well as differences among species’ habitat preferences and geographical distributions can account for an increasing proportion of widespread species in the study landscape and comparable sites. Monitoring of insect indicator groups in extractive landscapes is needed to establish guidelines for ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable forest zoning and use regimes.