Atlantic butterflies: a data set of fruit-feeding butterfly communities from the Atlantic forests

• Main Author: Santos, Jessie Pereira dos
• Publication Date: 2018
• Other Authors: Freitas, André Victor Lucci, Brown, Keith Spalding, Carreira, Junia Yasmin Oliveira, Gueratto, Patrícia Eyng, Rosa, Augusto Henrique Batista, Lourenço, Giselle Martins, Accacio, Gustavo Mattos, Uehara-Prado, Márcio, Iserhard, Cristiano Agra, Richter, Aline, Gawlinski, Karine, Romanowski, Helena Piccoli, Mega, Nicolás Oliveira, Teixeira, Melissa Oliveira, Moser, Alfred, Ribeiro, Danilo Bandini, Araujo, Poliana Felix, Filgueiras, Bruno Karol Cordeiro, Melo, Douglas Henrique Alves, Leal, Inara Roberta, Beirão, Marina do Vale, Ribeiro, Sérvio Pontes, Cambuí, Elaine Cristina Barbosa, Vasconcelos, Rodrigo Nogueira, Cardoso, Márcio Zikán, Paluch, Marlon, Greve, Roberto Rezende, Voltolini, Júlio Cesar, Galetti, Mauro [UNESP], Regolin, André Luis [UNESP], Sobral-Souza, Thadeu [UNESP], Ribeiro, Milton Cezar [UNESP]
• Format: Other
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Download full: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2507; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/189856
• topic: Atlantic Forest; biodiversity hotspot; butterfly communities; Lepidoptera; Neotropical region; Nymphalidae

Butterflies are one of the best-known insect groups, and they have been the subject of numerous studies in ecology and evolution, especially in the tropics. Much attention has been given to the fruit-feeding butterfly guild in biodiversity conservation studies, due to the relative ease with which taxa may be identified and specimens sampled using bait traps. However, there remain many uncertainties about the macroecological and biogeographical patterns of butterflies in tropical ecosystems. In the present study, we gathered information about fruit-feeding butterfly species in local communities from the Atlantic Forests of South America. The ATLANTIC BUTTERFLIES data set, which is part of ATLANTIC SERIES data papers, results from a compilation of 145 unpublished inventories and 64 other references, including articles, theses, and book chapters published from 1949 to 2018. In total, the data set contains 7,062 records (presence) of 279 species of fruit-feeding butterflies identified with taxonomic certainty, from 122 study locations. The Satyrini is the tribe with highest number of species (45%) and records (30%), followed by Brassolini, with 13% of species and 12.5% of records. The 10 most common species correspond to 14.2% of all records. This data set represents a major effort to compile inventories of fruit-feeding butterfly communities, filling a knowledge gap about the diversity and distribution of these butterflies in the Atlantic Forest. We hope that the present data set can provide guidelines for future studies and planning of new inventories of fruit-feeding butterflies in this biome. The information presented here also has potential use in studies across a great variety of spatial scales, from local and landscape levels to macroecological research and biogeographical research. We expect that such studies be very important for the better implementation of conservation initiatives, and for understanding the multiple ecological processes that involve fruit-feeding butterflies as biological indicators. No copyright restrictions apply to the use of this data set. Please cite this Data paper when using the current data in publications or teaching events.