A high mountain moth assemblage quickly recovers after fire

Abstract

Fire is a major disturbance in ecosystems that generally promotes secondary succession in forests. This study was conducted to track changes in a moth assemblage at a high elevation site before and after fire. A fire destroyed about 2 ha of the conifer and mixed deciduous forest and grassland of Sasa quelpaertensis Nakai, 1933 (Poales: Poaceae) on Mt. Hallasan, Jejudo Island, South Korea. I monitored the moth assemblages of the burned site and three neighboring sites across 5 yr (2011, 2013-2016) using an ultraviolet light trap. There was a decline in species richness and abundance, and increased dissimilarity at the burned site relative to the neighboring sites. However, the moth assemblage at the burned site recovered quickly, within 3 yr of the fire. I also identified three indicator species that characterized the moth assemblage of the burned site: Anaplectoides virens Butler, 1878 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Martania saxea Wileman, 1911 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), and Catocala dissimilis Bremer, 1861 (Lepidoptera, Erebidae). Host plant information regarding these three species coincided with the early succession of the forest following the fire. In addition, the disappearance of a once dominant species at the burned site, Hydrillodes morosa Butler, 1879 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), suggested that the fire and succession after the fire changed the interactions between plants and their herbivores. The fire impacted the moth assemblage through changes in species composition; however, the moth assemblage recovered quickly, even in an unfavorable habitats such as a high elevation site.