Diversity and key traits of moths along a complete elevational gradient in the Peruvian Andes

• Applicant: Dr. Gunnar Brehm
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 460917861

The major objective of the project is to contribute to the understanding of the broad scale drivers of holometabolous insects and their microbiomes. Lepidoptera are among the “big four” clades of holometabolous insects, and they play key roles as pollinators, defoliators and prey, yet factors determining their diversity in the tropics are poorly understood. Elevational gradients offer “natural experiments” for diversity studies, and they are far less influenced by large-scale biogeographic patterns than latitudinal gradients. The species-rich Lepidoptera clades Geometridae and Arctiinae are selected as model groups because they are phylogenetically unrelated and that differ in many traits such as body size and colouration.For the first time, moths will be sampled quantitatively (attraction to light) along a nearly complete elevational gradient in the tropical Andes. A research collection with ca. 30,000 moth specimens and a DNA-barcode library with ca. 3,500 species will be established that will become available for long-term research. The data set will allow us to analyse diversity patterns and to investigate changes in selected functional traits of the moths along the elevation gradient. Body mass will be quantified with new and innovative methods.We will use UV photography and automated segmentation software for image analysis and determination of morphometric traits for all species. The planned study will allow to compile a high quality dataset (species level) and test four major hypotheses of species richness (species-energy h., species-area h., temperature-speciation h., temperature-mediated resource use h.). Considerable synergies are expected from close collaboration between ANDIV 1–4 projects and Peruvian counterparts in field work, and in diversity and trait analysis. We expect that results can be published in international top journals.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Peru
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Gerardo Lamas