by In lush greenhouses high in the Alps, butterflies of various species and colors flutter freely and butterfly flies hang in a structure as they grow into adult insects.
This is the Butterfly Forest in the tropical mountain greenhouse in Trento, Italy, a project by the Museo delle Scienze (MUSE), an Italian science museum. It is based in the Udzungwa mountains, a mountain range and rainforest in south-central Tanzania that is one of the most biodiverse places in the world.
The Butterfly Forest features plant species endemic to the region, as well as birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates from different parts of the world, all within 600 square meters of forest with cliffs, slopes and a waterfall.
This spring was created to create public awareness of some of the research MUSE is doing in the Udzungwa Mountains to study the world’s biodiversity and protect it from threats such as deforestation and climate change.
Butterflies are an indicator of biodiversity
Deforestation results in loss of habitat, leading to reductions in nectar sources for butterflies, changing the functioning of the ecosystem. It can also limit the movements of insects, leading to a decline in biodiversity and the extinction of vulnerable butterfly species.
Changes in soil and air temperature are altering the life cycle of insects, affecting their development rates, mating behaviors and migration patterns. The number of butterflies is declining in many areas, especially in places with intensive land use.
“Our goal is to be able to better study, better understand what’s going on,” said Lisa Angelini, a botanist and director of the MUSE greenhouse.
“Our work includes monitoring projects and trying to develop them to draw attention to biodiversity issues.”
Butterflies are pollinators that enable plants to reproduce and thus facilitate food production and supply. They are also food for birds and other animals.
Because of the multiple roles of butterflies in the ecosystem and their high sensitivity to environmental changes, scientists use them as indicators of biodiversity and as a way to study the impact of habitat loss and other threats.
“Insects in general play a fundamental role in the proper functioning of ecosystems,” said Mauro Gobbi, entomologist and researcher at MUSE.
Butterfly research is essential for conservation
By partnering with the Tanzania The National Parks Authority, MUSE established the Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Center in 2006 to support research and the development of environmental education programs for schools.
“Butterfly research is essential to inform conservation efforts and ensure the insects’ long-term survival,” said Arafat Mtui, research coordinator at the Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre.
Conservation efforts such as habitat restoration and good land management practices, which address the impacts of climate change, are essential to protect butterfly populations, he said.
With at least 2,500 plant species, more than 120 mammals, and thousands of invertebrate species, the Udzungwa Mountains are rich in biological diversity. It is part of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania which has been proposed as a UNESCO Heritage site. It has more than 40 endemic species of butterflies.
MUSE’s work here is critical because of this diversity, said Sevgan Subramanian, chief scientist and head of environmental health at the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi.
“If you want to monitor the health of the ecosystem, it is essential to monitor the diversity of native or endemic populations of insects, so that we have an idea of whether the ecosystem is still healthy or not,” he said.
‘We are losing species, we are losing them forever’
Gobbi, the entomologist, said high-altitude environments like the Udzungwa Mountains National Park are ideal for studying the effects of climate change because they are not usually directly affected by humans.
He and other scientists have warned that failure to protect insects from effects of climate change the planet’s ability to build a sustainable future will be greatly reduced.
Scientists at MUSE said the main challenge in butterfly conservation is changing current farming policies to increase the amount of low-intensity farmland, and promoting diverse landscapes to preserve the remaining patches of natural habitats.
“Our grandparents would often say ‘there aren’t as many butterflies as there used to be,'” he said.
This is “fully supported by scientific research, which confirms that butterflies like other insects, in crisis. We’re losing species, we’re losing them forever, and this will disrupt the balance of ecosystems.”
