# Butterfly Species List for Selected West Albertine Rift Forests

Authors: Patrice Kasangaki; Anne M. Akol; Gilbert Isabirye Basuta
Journal: Dataset Papers in Biology
 (2013)

---

## Abstract

This dataset gives details on a study which was conducted in seventeen forests in western Uganda (Albertine region) between 1993 and 1995. Different methods were used to sample butterflies from these forests.  A total of 630 butterfly species were collected in 5 main families. Key characteristics of the forests were recorded, and these were found to influence the butterfly species richness of the forests.


---

## Body

## 1. Introduction

Butterflies are known to respond to environmental changes, and there have been considerable amounts of data collected on how particular species contend with alteration in land use [1, 2] and thus may play a valuable role in ecological monitoring [3].In Uganda, some 1245 species of butterflies have been recorded [4] from a variety of habitats, and it is thus feasible to evaluate the butterfly fauna of the region as well as derive reasonably accurate comparisons of sites and subsequently identify conservation requirements. This dataset paper examines the butterfly species diversity and distribution in selected West Albertine Rift Forests.


## 2. Methodology

This study was based on secondary data collected by the former Forest Department, now National Forestry Authority (NFA), over a period of three years from January 1993 to December 1995 as part of a National Forestry Biodiversity in seventeen forests (see [5]). For the purposes of this study, West Albertine Rift Forests were taken to be those found within the geographical boundaries north of Lake Albert between Arua and Pakwach (West Nile) and the forests of western Uganda (Figure 1).Figure 1
Forests of the WARFs whose butterfly fauna was studied (adopted from [5]). NP: National Park; FR: Forest Reserve.Twelve fine-mesh cylindrical traps (approximately 70 × 40 cm diameter) were set at a range of heights from 1 to 10 m above ground level for the duration of the survey. A variety of baits including fermenting banana, dog feces, chicken offal, urine, and locally distilled alcohol were used in the traps. Traps were checked regularly, and representative specimens of each species were collected. For those species not usually attracted to traps, sweep netting was carried out daily in a range of habitat types within the forests. The average sampling efforts for each forest were measured in terms of man-days and the different forests’ characteristics recorded (Table1). Secondary data on the ecological attributes of interest (forest size, altitude, plant species richness, rainfall, and temperature) and the human activities in the forests recorded by the Forest Department were used to generate Table 1. We made visits to the forests in order to determine the levels of human activities in them. It was these activities which were regarded as forest disturbance. The activities considered for the purpose of this study were lumbering, agriculture (crop and livestock), hunting, charcoal burning, and settlement. These were arbitrarily scored within a range of 0–5, where 0 is nonexistent and 5 is the highest activity present. All the collected specimens were put in papers with their wing folded on the back and later identified. The species list was compiled as shown in Dataset Item 1 (Table).Table 1
Key characteristic of the study forests.
Number
Forests
Forest Size (Km2)
Average Altitude (Masl)
Number of Plant spp.
Disturbace Level
Mean Annual Rainfall (mm)
Mean Annual Temperature (°C)
Number of Butterfly Species
1
Kalinzu-Maramagambo
854
1380
414
13
1275
21.25
227
2
Itwara
87
1365
256
12
1325
21
119
3
Bugoma
401
1142.5
527
16
1225
22.7
278
4
Kisangi
54
1007
98
8
1350
21.5
41
5
Budongo
793
985
127
16
1325
22.3
254
6
Rwenzori
996
3404.5
195
5
1250
21.5
78
7
Echuya
34
2420
127
7
1650
17.25
54
8
Mafuga
34
2420
115
9
1650
17.25
32
9
Kagombe
113
1242
209
12
1350
21.3
190
10
Matiri
54
1363.5
115
6
1350
21.3
98
11
Kitechura
53
1280.5
114
7
1325
19.75
114
12
Kasyoha-Kitomi
399
1555.5
376
14
1325
21.25
235
13
Semliki
219
715
339
5
1350
20.5
309
14
Kibale
564
1350
351
5
1650
17.25
220
15
Bwindi
231
1898.5
324
5
1440
17.25
162
16
Mt. Kei
384
1123.5
229
13
1250
23
126
17
Era
74
945
261
13
1250
23
56


## 3. Dataset Description

The dataset associated with this Dataset Paper consists of one item which is described as follows.1
Species list for the different forests. Data presented in this table were based on the presence (1) or absence (0) of a butterfly species and used to establish the similarity among the forests. The species list was generated by recording representatives of each species. The number of individuals per species was not considered.
628
20
0
Butterfly Family
Butterfly  Subfamily
Butterfly  Species
Kalinzu-Maramagambo
Itwara
Bugoma
Kisangi
Budongo
Rwenzori
Echuya
Mafuga
Kagombe
Matiri
Kitechura
Kasyoha-Kitomi
Semliki
Kibale
Bwindi
Mt. Kei
Era


## 4. Concluding Remarks

This dataset paper was developed in order to come up with butterfly species list which can be used in the analysis of different factors responsible for their diversity and distribution. Although Era and Mt. Kei forest reserves are not part of the Albertine Rift Forests, they were included for comparison with those within the rift.



---

*Source: 451461-2012-08-09.xml*