DOI: 10.5061/dryad.j0zpc86bz
title: Climate and plant structure determine the spatiotemporal butterfly distribution in a tropical mountain

description: Mountains are among the most powerful natural gradients for testing
 ecological and evolutionary responses of biota to environmental influences
 because differences in climate and plant structure occur over short
 spatial scales. We describe the spatiotemporal distribution patterns and
 drives of fruit-feeding butterfly diversity on the mountaineous region of
 Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Seven elevations from 822 to 1388 m
 were selected for evaluating the effects of abiotic factors and vegetation
 characteristics on butterfly diversity. A total of 44 fruit-feeding
 butterfly species were recorded in a two-years study. Species richness
 (local and regional) of fruit-feeding butterflies decreased with
 increasing elevation. The interaction between temperature or humidity and
 precipitation influenced the abundance and β-diversity of butterflies in
 the altitudinal gradient, while β-diversity decreased with increasing
 plant richness. Butterfly richness (local and regional) and β-diversity
 varied with the sampling period, with fewer species in July (2012 and
 2013), dry period, as expected for Neotropical insects. β-diversity in
 space and time was due to species replacement (turnover), indicating that
 butterfly composition differs throughout the mountain and over time. In
 summary, climate and plant richness largely influenced butterfly diversity
 in the altitudinal gradient. Climatic changes in conjunction with
 increasing anthropic impacts in mountainous regions of southeast Brazil
 will likely influence the community of mountaintop butterflies in
 Espinhaço Mountain Range.
description: In Serra do Cipó (Minas Gerais, Brazil), seven elevations were
 selected as sampling units along the western slope of Serra do Cipó
 ranging approximately from 800 to 1400 m, and separated by at least 2 km.
 Three transects (about 500 m apart) with four Van-Someren Rydon (VSR)
 traps were marked at each elevation to attract fruit-feeding butterflies.
 At each transect, the four traps were separated by about 50 m, baited with
 fermented banana with sugar cane juice . The data for each transect per
 period is a set of four days sampling with four traps. There were eight
 periods of sampling in two years. The diversity parameters calculated
 were:  i) abundance (number of individuals per elevation), ii) gamma
 diversity (the accumulation of species richness by elevation – γ
 diversity), (iii) alpha diversity (average species richness by elevation –
 α diversity), and (iv) spatial and temporal beta diversity (variation of
 the species composition - β-diversity, obtained through the formula β = γ
 / α<sub>mean</sub>, according to Wittaker, 1972). 
 The abiotic variables (humidity, precipitation, and temperature)
 were obtained from meteorological towers (Onset HOBO® U30 data-logger)
 arranged adjacent to the transects of each sampling elevation. So the
 butterfly diversity parameters were accumulated per elevation per sampling
 period. The vegetation was obtained in the paper of
 Motta et al. 2018, that were done in the same elevation area. For the
 vegetation analysis the butterfly diversity parameters were accumulated
 only per elevation.  
description: The abiotic variables are not complete. The meteorological towers
 suffered from lightning or burning, so we don't have all the data for
 all altitudes and sampling period.