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Diversity and composition of larger moths in three different forest types of Southern Korea

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Moth assemblages in three habitat types were investigated to find differences in species richness and abundances and to find any specific moth group(s) in each habitat. Study areas were in southern Korea: lowlands of Muan-county, Jeollanam-do Province and mid-elevations to highlands of Mt. Jirisan National Park. Moth monitoring, conducted at eight sites, was comprised of three habitat types—native forest, regenerative forest and rural landscape. A total of 4,803 individuals, consisting of 583 species in 362 genera, were identified. Species richness did not differ significantly by habitat type or elevation. ANOVA indicated that site, location and elevation significantly affected the species abundances of Drepanidae, Epiplemidae, Limacodidae, Noctuidae and Zygaenidae, while habitat type was not a significant factor. The moth abundances of Geometridae, Lasiocampidae, Lymantriidae, Notodontidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae and Thyatiridae were not significantly associated with any independent variables. The diversity patterns of larger moths along environmental gradients and the relationship between moths and forest types were discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank to members of the Environmental Ecology Lab of Mokpo National University for aiding in field surveys. I am grateful to three anonymous referees for very helpful comments. This work was partly supported by a grant of the Korea Research Foundation funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD) (KRF-2006-311-C00590).

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  1. Department of Environmental Education, Mokpo National University, Muan-gun, Jeonnam, 534-729, South Korea

    Sei-Woong Choi

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Correspondence to Sei-Woong Choi.

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Choi, SW. Diversity and composition of larger moths in three different forest types of Southern Korea. Ecol Res 23, 503–509 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-007-0406-8

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