The dynamic influence of spatial and temporal changes on Lepidopteran communities in Chapultepec Forest Urban Park, Mexico

Urban parks play a crucial role in conserving biodiversity, particularly for sensitive taxa such as butterflies and moths. This study compared two areas within Chapultepec Forest Urban Park in Mexico City—differing in landscape features and levels of human activity— comparing whether these factors influence the temporal and spatial patterns of lepidopteran diversity and composition. Weekly surveys were conducted from October 2021 to July 2022 in two sections with contrasting visitor frequency. Methods included rank-abundance curves, species richness estimation, and alpha and beta diversity analyses using Hill’s numbers and dissimilarity components, respectively. Results revealed that the area with higher visitor traffic harbored greater Lepidopteran diversity (67% of all species), especially during the dry season, contradicting our initial hypothesis. In contrast, the less frequented area had lower species richness. Spatially, dissimilarity was below 50% (mainly due to nestedness), while abundance-based dissimilarity exceeded 50%, with balanced variation in abundance as the main contributor. Temporally, total dissimilarity was higher than 50%, showing an inverse trend to the spatial pattern: turnover and abundance gradients played a more significant role. Overall, the findings did not support our expectation that Lepidopteran diversity would be lower in more urbanized areas. Instead, greater diversity was found in zones with higher human activity. These results emphasize the need for long-term biodiversity monitoring and the implementation of conservation strategies to safeguard ecological stability in urban environments.