Application of species distribution modelling in butterfly conservation in Taiwan

物種分布模式應用於臺灣蝴蝶保育之研究

Butterflies provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Considering the threat to global biodiversity posed by climate change and habitat fragmentation, the establishment of a comprehensive nature reserve network to ensure the species richness of butterflies is imperative. This study applied species distribution modelling to simulate the distribution of 233 butterfly species in Taiwan and assessed the effectiveness of a nature reserve network for protecting butterfly species. A species distribution model (SDM) was built for each species, and all the SDMs were stacked together to obtain the species richness and distribution of butterfly species. Furthermore, buffer zones were laid around existing nature reserves to compare their richness in species. The results indicated that the SDMs exhibited reliable performance, but when overlaid with existing nature reserves, the mean species richness in nature reserves was significantly lower than that in buffer zones 5-15 km from nature reserves. Therefore, the importance of buffer zones was established, and this study advises the competent authorities in charge of nature reserve management to take the species richness of butterflies into consideration and to improve the conservation of butterflies in buffer zones.

蝴蝶可供應許多生態系服務，然而，全球生物多樣性正面臨氣候變遷及棲地破碎化等威脅，如何營造健全的自然保護區網絡，確保蝴蝶的豐富度乃至關重要之議題。本研究以建構物種分布模式（species distribution model, SDM）為基礎，模擬臺灣233種蝴蝶物種分布，進而評估自然保護區網絡能否發揮庇護蝴蝶之功效。研究過程中，建構每一蝶種的SDM，並堆疊模擬出來的所有物種分布取得物種豐富度資訊，再根據當前法定的自然保護區範圍，建置多重距離的緩衝區，用以比較不同區域的差異性。研究結果發現，所建構的SDM在整體表現上均達可接受之標準，而與保護區套疊的結果，區域內的平均物種豐富度明顯低於外圍5～15km處的緩衝範圍，因此，緩衝區對蝴蝶而言更具重要性，建議未來有關各保護區的經營管理策略，也應考慮到蝴蝶的多樣性，並加強外圍緩衝區的保育工作。