TITLE:
Butterfly Assemblages of Two Wetlands: Response of Biodiversity to Different Environmental Stressors in Sierra Leone
AUTHORS:
Rosina Kyerematen, Fatmata Kaiwa, Daniel Acquah-Lamptey, Samuel Adu-Acheampong, Roger Sigismond Andersen
KEYWORDS:
Biodiversity, Butterflies, Environment, Sierra Leone, Wetlands
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.8 No.7,
July
16,
2018
ABSTRACT: In a bid to enhance the integrity and health of
selected network of ecosystems and effectively manage them in Sierra Leone, a
baseline assessment of butterfly diversity of two wetland ecosystems Mamunta Mayosso Wildlife Santuary (MMWS) and
Sierra Leone River Estuary (SLRE) affected by different environmental stressors
was undertaken as part of the Sierra Leone Wetland Conservation Project
(SLWCP). We hypothesised that different environmental stressors affect
butterfly communities in wetlands in Sierra Leone and the higher the stress the
lower the butterfly diversity in an area. Sampling was conducted via field
identification by wing patterns, flight mode, direct counts along transects and charaxes trapping. A total of
2300 individuals representing 95 species of butterflies were recorded.
Though butterflies were evenly distributed at both sites, MMWS recorded the
highest richness and abundance of butterflies during both seasons. This
observation is reported to be because of high environmental stressors such as
mining, agriculture and pollution from factories in the SLRE. The results
further show that MMWS is made up of a mosaic of different vegetation patches
that support higher diversity of butterfly species. This study also reveals
that anthropogenic activities have a negative impact on butterfly diversity.