Butterfly Communities Vary under Different Urbanization Types in City Parks

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Urban biodiversity conservation is currently a prominent issue in society. Butterflies serve as excellent environmental indicator species, and enhancing butterfly diversity can significantly enhance the quality of urban habitats. To contribute to this field, we conducted an analysis of butterfly diversity in various urban gradients. Our research incorporated Shannon diversity analysis, β-diversity analysis, familial diversity analysis, and indicator species analysis. We identified the characteristics and patterns of butterfly diversity distribution and aimed to provide useful insights for urban builders. ABSTRACT: Butterflies are key indicators of urban biodiversity and one of the most vulnerable organism groups to environmental changes. Studying how butterflies are distributed and what factors might influence them in urban green spaces is crucial. In this study, from July 2022 to September 2022, we examined and analyzed the butterfly diversity in nine parks in Fuzhou, China, along three different levels of urbanization (urban, peri-urban, and suburban). We investigated how butterfly communities respond to increasing urbanization. The findings revealed that: (1) A total of 427 butterfly individuals from 4 families and 13 species were observed; (2) Shannon diversity, richness, and abundance of the overall butterfly community were lower in the more urbanized parks. Urbanization had significant effects on Shannon diversity (p = 0.003) and abundance (p = 0.007) but no significant effects on the whole butterfly community richness (p = 0.241); (3) non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed that there were differences in the overall number of butterfly species in urban parks among different geographic regions.