Biodiversity of noctuid moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Ark Protected Area, East Iran

Abstract

Determination of the insect biodiversity in protected areas is very important for effective conservation and ecosystem management. The present study was carried out to investigate distribution and diversity of noctuid moths in mountainous and plain regions in the Ark Protected Area, eastern Iran, on the sites with very diverse altitudinal gradients and different environmental conditions. Samplings were carried out during spring and summer of 2023 and 2024. Three pairs of sampling sites were chosen from areas composed of plains and mountains in Ark Protected Area in the province of Khorasan-e Jonoubi, Iran. Semi-monthly samplings were carried out at selected sites using light traps. Biodiversity was analyzed using non-parametric and parametric methods. A total of 1948 specimens belonging to 56 species of noctuid moths were caught in the study areas. Dysmilichia bicyclica (Staudinger, 1888) comprising 20.7% of the fauna proved to be the most dominant noctuid species of the area. Analysis of species dominance categories reveals that most noctuid species (66.1%) have subrare dominance in this region. Results indicate that biodiversity indices differed significantly between plain and mountainous areas. Mountainous regions were more species-rich (Menhinick index: 1.86 and 1.68) and abundant while plains were more species-even (Buzas and Gibson index: 0.75 and 0.65) and dominated by some species. Differences in both species richness, evenness, and dominance, between plains and mountains, underline the need for habitat-specified conservation actions to preserve moth communities. Also, our findings point out the crucial implementation of conservation in this area, as it is a habitat for many subrare moth species.