Moth community composition in urbanized landscapes
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Few studies have compared the community composition of urban and exurban moth faunas, and fewer still have sought to quantify their difference in biomass. Moths are critical to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, including as a main food resource for most terrestrial bird species. I trapped adult moths at 15 sites along an urban to forest gradient in the Boston, Massachusetts, US area to determine the effects of urbanization on moth community composition, diversity, and biomass. I found that small forest fragments well under 1 km2 in area contained densities of small- to medium-sized moths similar to those in larger forests, whereas large woody plant-feeding moths occurred mainly in larger forests. My findings indicate that urban woodlots dominated by native plants are comparable to forests in their density of moth biomass except for large species. This is a hopeful sign that urban habitat restoration has greater potential conservation value than is often assumed.
Description
Keywords
Urban woodlots, Bird species, Conservation value, Plant-feeding moths