Investigating the effects of environmental change on tropical montane butterflies and moths and their ecological interactions

栖息地退化是热带山地森林日益严重的威胁，再加上气候变化，正在造成前所未有的山地物种灭绝风险。鉴于马来西亚半岛的山地森林因农业扩张和城市化而迅速枯竭，评估环境变化对山地生物多样性的影响势在必行。然而，很少有研究试图评估昆虫群落如何应对马来西亚山地森林的退化；以及这些变化如何影响它们与其他昆虫分类群和植物的生态相互作用，以及对更广泛的生物多样性的影响。研究这些相互作用及其对其他物种的间接影响可以揭示生境退化和气候变化对山地生物多样性的更大影响。该项目将结合成熟的生态学研究方法，评估鳞翅目（蝴蝶和飞蛾）的多样性、分布和生态相互作用网络，跨越多个不同程度的干扰和破碎化的山地森林站点。这些分类群是一些最著名的分类群，经常被用作生物多样性调查的指示物种，并且与其他物种群有多种不同的相互作用。该项目的研究成果将为昆虫生物多样性热点地区的保护管理和缓解提供科学依据。

Habitat degradation is a growing threat in tropical montane forests, and combined with climate change, is causing an unprecedented risk of extinction of montane species [1]. Given that montane forests in Peninsular Malaysia have been rapidly depleted due to agricultural expansion and urbanisation, assessing the impact of environmental change on montane biodiversity is imperative [2].However, little research has attempted to assess how the insect communities respond to the degradation of Malaysian montane forests; and how these changes impact on their ecological interactions with other insect taxa, and plants, and the consequences for wider biodiversity. Studying these interactions and their indirect effects on other species could reveal an even greater impact of habitat degradation and climate change on montane biodiversity [3].This project will combine well-established ecological research methods to assess Lepidopteran (butterfly and moth) diversity, distribution, and ecological interaction networks across multiple montane forest sites with varying levels of disturbance and fragmentation. These taxa are some of the best-known taxonomic groups, frequently used as indicator species in biodiversity surveys, and have multiple different interactions with other groups of species. The outcome of this project will provide the scientific basis to inform conservation management and mitigation in insect biodiversity hotspots.