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<p>Urbanization has increasingly altered suburban ecosystems, which act as transitional zones between rural and urban landscapes. These areas face rapid habitat modification, leading to biodiversity declines, yet the ecological responses of human-modified suburban environments remain understudied. While the impacts on rural and urban biodiversity are well studied, little is known about how human-modified suburban ecosystems respond, particularly for sensitive fauna. Butterflies, being highly responsive to habitat and climatic changes, are effective indicators of ecosystem health. Therefore, this study investigated biodiversity variation in four selected suburban ecosystems in the Katana Municipal Area, Gampaha District, Sri Lanka using butterfly species composition and distribution. Butterfly surveys were conducted using a standardized plot sampling method at each site, with observations made during three daily intervals (10:00–10:30 am, 12:00–12:30 pm, and 2:00–2:30 pm) over eleven sampling days between October 2019, and April, 2020. A total of 51 species representing five families; Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae, and Hesperiidae were recorded. Family-level dominance varied by habitat: Pieridae prevailed in both home gardens, Nymphalidae in the coconut estate, and Hesperiidae in the paddy field. Diurnal patterns revealed peak activity of Pieridae and Nymphalidae during most time intervals, except in the paddy field, where Hesperiidae remained dominant throughout all three-time intervals. The large home garden exhibited the highest diversity, with a Shannon–Wiener index (H′) of 2.95 and Simpson’s index (D) of 0.94. Pielou’s evenness (J = 0.88) was highest in both the large home garden and paddy field, while species richness peaked in the coconut estate (32 species). The findings of this research indicate that butterflies tend to favor large home garden habitats over agricultural mono-cultivated sites, as home gardens offer more favorable conditions for their survival, providing feeding grounds, courtship, and mating sites for butterflies. Thus, it is important to implement conservation strategies and raise awareness among the public to promote urban home gardening, thereby contributing to the conservation of declining butterfly populations.</p>

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Butterfly composition and diversity as indicators of biodiversity in human-modified suburban habitats

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月5日

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  • M. P. Gunawardena,
  • R. A. C. N. Karunarathne,
  • I. J. J. U. N. Perera,
  • B. K. A. Bellanthudawa

摘要

Urbanization has increasingly altered suburban ecosystems, which act as transitional zones between rural and urban landscapes. These areas face rapid habitat modification, leading to biodiversity declines, yet the ecological responses of human-modified suburban environments remain understudied. While the impacts on rural and urban biodiversity are well studied, little is known about how human-modified suburban ecosystems respond, particularly for sensitive fauna. Butterflies, being highly responsive to habitat and climatic changes, are effective indicators of ecosystem health. Therefore, this study investigated biodiversity variation in four selected suburban ecosystems in the Katana Municipal Area, Gampaha District, Sri Lanka using butterfly species composition and distribution. Butterfly surveys were conducted using a standardized plot sampling method at each site, with observations made during three daily intervals (10:00–10:30 am, 12:00–12:30 pm, and 2:00–2:30 pm) over eleven sampling days between October 2019, and April, 2020. A total of 51 species representing five families; Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae, and Hesperiidae were recorded. Family-level dominance varied by habitat: Pieridae prevailed in both home gardens, Nymphalidae in the coconut estate, and Hesperiidae in the paddy field. Diurnal patterns revealed peak activity of Pieridae and Nymphalidae during most time intervals, except in the paddy field, where Hesperiidae remained dominant throughout all three-time intervals. The large home garden exhibited the highest diversity, with a Shannon–Wiener index (H′) of 2.95 and Simpson’s index (D) of 0.94. Pielou’s evenness (J = 0.88) was highest in both the large home garden and paddy field, while species richness peaked in the coconut estate (32 species). The findings of this research indicate that butterflies tend to favor large home garden habitats over agricultural mono-cultivated sites, as home gardens offer more favorable conditions for their survival, providing feeding grounds, courtship, and mating sites for butterflies. Thus, it is important to implement conservation strategies and raise awareness among the public to promote urban home gardening, thereby contributing to the conservation of declining butterfly populations.