DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqnrm
title: Data from: Butterfly and moth communities differ in their response to habitat structure in rainforests of Mount Cameroon

description: Mechanisms structuring tropical communities are still under-studied,
 especially in Afrotropical rainforests. Although insect herbivores are
 considered to depend on plant diversity, we hypothesized that vegetation
 structure, together with other microhabitat characteristics, can be more
 important for some insects. Here, we compared habitat associations of
 fruit-feeding butterflies and moths, two ecologically different groups of
 Lepidoptera, in three rainforest localities in foothills of Mount
 Cameroon, West/Central Africa. Based on a comprehensive dataset of 16,040
 specimens of 398 species systematically collected by 240 traps at 48 plots
 (altogether 9.68 ha), we analyzed how plant community composition, habitat
 openness, and forest structure affect communities of butterflies and
 moths. We expected different habitat descriptors to predict communities of
 the two insect groups. Habitats of tropical fruit-feeding moth communities
 have never been studied before. In both analyses of species richness and
 community structure, butterfly communities depended mostly on forest
 openness. Moth species richness depended on plant diversity and forest
 openness, whilst the latter substantially influenced their community
 composition. Additionally, we revealed differences in habitat associations
 between understory and canopy communities of both groups. Whilst species
 richness of understory communities was not influenced by any habitat
 characteristics, it generally followed the general patterns in canopies.
 By contrast, composition of understory communities followed the general
 patterns, whilst effects of habitat characteristics on canopy communities
 were minor for butterflies and none for moths. The differences between
 such closely related groups of herbivorous insects warn against
 generalization based on single-taxon studies and highlight the need of
 community-wide research of tropical rainforests.
description: The table
 'Species_abundance' corresponds to the number of Lepidoptera
 specimens of each species collected in understory and canopy layers at
 each locality. The three other tables 'Forest_structure',
 'Forest_openness', and 'Plant_diversity' correspond to
 the three categories of habitat characteristics measured or estimated at
 each plot. Here is a table with the different variables, their
 corresponding code in the dataset, and their definition.
  
 
 Variable Code
 Definition/way of evaluation 
 <strong>Forest structure</strong>
     
 Tree number Tnb Number
 of all trees &gt;10 cm DBH (individuals/plot) 
 Live tree number LTnb
 Number of live trees &gt;10 cm DBH
 (individuals/plot) Dead tree
 number DTnb Number of dead trees
 &gt;10 cm DBH (individuals/plot) 
 Tree basal area TBA
 Cumulative area of all tree trunks and stems &gt;10 cm DBH;
 calculated from measured DBH (m<sup>2</sup>)
 Live tree basal area
 LTBA Cumulative area of all live tree
 trunks and stems &gt;10 cm DBH; calculated from measured DBH
 (m<sup>2</sup>) 
 Dead tree basal area DTBA
 Cumulative area of all dead tree trunks and stems &gt;10 cm
 DBH; calculated from measured DBH (m<sup>2</sup>)
 Stand wood volume
 SWV Calculated from tree height and basal
 area of all trees (m<sup>3</sup>) 
 Live tree wood volume
 LTWV Calculated from tree height and basal
 area of all living trees (m<sup>3</sup>)
 Dead tree wood volume
 DTWV Calculated from tree height and basal
 area of dead trees (m<sup>3</sup>) 
 Mean Diamteter at Breast Height (DBH)
 MnDBH DBH measured at 1.3 m above ground
 (cm) Maximum Diameter at
 Breast Height MxDBH Maximum DBH
 from all trees at the plot (cm) 
 Mean tree height MnTH
 Calculated from estimated heights of individual trees
 (m) Maximum tree
 height MxTH Estimated height of
 the highest tree at plot (m) 
 Mean Stem Slenderness Index SSI
 Ratio of estimated tree height to measured DBH for each tree,
 averaged per plot 
 <strong>Forest openness</strong>
     
 Maximum canopy openness MxCO
 Maximum percentage of open sky from beneath a forest canopy
 determined from hemispherical photographs 
 Mean canopy openness
 MnCO Mean percentage of open sky from
 beneath a forest canopy determined from hemispherical photographs
 (%) Herb layer
 cover E1 Herbs defined as all
 non-woody plants rooted in the soil; visually estimated over the entire
 plot area by the same observer (%) 
 Shrub layer cover E2
 Shrubs defined as all woody plants not exceeding the height of 4
 m and with DBH &lt; 10 cm rooted in the soil and not classified as
 climbers; visually estimated over the entire plot area by the same
 observer (%) Herb and shrub
 layer cover E1+E2 Combined cover
 of herb and shrub layers as described above (%) 
 Maximum Leaf Area Index
 MxLAI Maximum effective leaf area index
 integrated over the zenith angles 0 to 75° 
 Mean Leaf Area Index
 MnLAI Mean effective leaf area index
 integrated over the zenith angles 0 to 75° 
 Maximum amount of transmitted direct solar
 radiation MxTDr Maximum amount
 of direct solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%)
 Mean transmitted direct solar
 radiation MnTDr Mean amount of
 direct solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%)
 Maximum amount of transmitted diffuse
 solar radiation MxTDf Maximum
 amount of diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%)
 Mean transmitted diffuse solar
 radiation MnTDf Mean amount of
 diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%)
 Maximum of total solar
 radiation MxTT Maximum sum of
 direct and diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy
 (%) Mean total solar
 radiation MnTT Mean sum of
 direct and diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy
 (%) <strong>Plant
 diversity</strong>  
   Tree species
 richness TSR Number of tree
 species Herb species
 richness HSR Number of herb
 species Tree DCA1
 score TDCA1 Case scores derived
 from the tree count produced by a detrended correspondence analysis–Axis
 1 Tree DCA2 score
 TDCA2 ditto–Axis 2 
 Tree DCA3 score TDCA3
 ditto–Axis 3 Tree
 DCA4 score TDCA4 ditto–Axis
 4 Herb DCA1 score
 HDCA1 Case scores derived from the herb
 count produced by a detrended correspondence analysis–Axis 1
 Herb DCA2 score
 HDCA2 ditto–Axis 2 
 Herb DCA3 score HDCA3
 ditto–Axis 3 Herb
 DCA4 score HDCA4 ditto–Axis
 4