BayCEER Workshop 2020

Beta diversity of moths along latitudinal gradients in Mongolia

Insects in high latitude are regarded vulnerable to climate change since their activity period is short and they are sensitive to high temperature in this period. However, little is yet known about the current diversity and distribution pattern of moths along extensive latitudinal gradient in Mongolia. We studied macro moth community composition from south to north in ten sites along 800 km climatic gradient. We identified them in laboratory and then used DNA barcoding for verification. Our result shows that community composition of moths changed along the gradient with high species replacement. In southern sites species diversity was very low with less unique species and with few dominant species in high abundance. The lowest species diversities were found in transitional zones between southern and northern sites. In contrast in northern sites species diversity was high with more unique species mirroring the spatial and vegetation heterogeneity. 

Moreover, we found different determining factors for these distinct moth community patterns. In most species poor transitional sites, the local unique moth species have been replaced by few generalist and mobile species. High temperature and low precipitation together with livestock grazing was accelerating the process. This calls for conservation management for the vulnerable local species in these transitional areas.