Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s most populated area, the Central valley, has lost much of its natural habitat, and the little that remains has been altered to varying degrees. Yet few studies have been conducted to assess the need for conservation in this area. We present preliminary inventories of plants, butterflies...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de Costa Rica
2009-11-01
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| Series: | Revista de Biología Tropical |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442009000500006&lng=en&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1827162640859791360 |
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| author | Kenji Nishida Ichiro Nakamura Carlos O Morales |
| author_facet | Kenji Nishida Ichiro Nakamura Carlos O Morales |
| author_sort | Kenji Nishida |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Costa Rica’s most populated area, the Central valley, has lost much of its natural habitat, and the little that remains has been altered to varying degrees. Yet few studies have been conducted to assess the need for conservation in this area. We present preliminary inventories of plants, butterflies, and day-flying moths of the Reserva Ecológica Leonelo Oviedo (RELO), a small Premontane Moist Forest preserve within the University of Costa Rica campus, located in the urbanized part of the valley. Butterflies are one of the best bio-indicators of a habitat’s health, because they are highly sensitive to environmental changes and are tightly linked to the local flora. A description of the RELO’s physical features and its history is also presented with illustrations. Approximately 432 species of ca. 334 genera in 113 families of plants were identified. However, only 57 % of them represent species native to the Premontane Moist Forest of the region; the rest are either exotic or species introduced mostly from lowland. More than 200 species of butterflies in six families, including Hesperiidae, have been recorded. Rev. Biol. Trop. 57 (Suppl. 1): 31-67. Epub 2009 November 30. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T19:44:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f6c852db24aa42778a20b686d6b3e46d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0034-7744 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-21T00:48:02Z |
| publishDate | 2009-11-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista de Biología Tropical |
| spelling | doaj.art-f6c852db24aa42778a20b686d6b3e46d2024-08-03T05:50:22ZengUniversidad de Costa RicaRevista de Biología Tropical0034-77442009-11-0157suppl 13167S0034-77442009000500006Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa RicaKenji NishidaIchiro NakamuraCarlos O MoralesCosta Rica’s most populated area, the Central valley, has lost much of its natural habitat, and the little that remains has been altered to varying degrees. Yet few studies have been conducted to assess the need for conservation in this area. We present preliminary inventories of plants, butterflies, and day-flying moths of the Reserva Ecológica Leonelo Oviedo (RELO), a small Premontane Moist Forest preserve within the University of Costa Rica campus, located in the urbanized part of the valley. Butterflies are one of the best bio-indicators of a habitat’s health, because they are highly sensitive to environmental changes and are tightly linked to the local flora. A description of the RELO’s physical features and its history is also presented with illustrations. Approximately 432 species of ca. 334 genera in 113 families of plants were identified. However, only 57 % of them represent species native to the Premontane Moist Forest of the region; the rest are either exotic or species introduced mostly from lowland. More than 200 species of butterflies in six families, including Hesperiidae, have been recorded. Rev. Biol. Trop. 57 (Suppl. 1): 31-67. Epub 2009 November 30.http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442009000500006&lng=en&tlng=enbiodiversidadconservación biológica urbanapolillas diurnasLepidopterabosque húmedo premontanoCosta Rica |
| spellingShingle | Kenji Nishida Ichiro Nakamura Carlos O Morales Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica Revista de Biología Tropical biodiversidad conservación biológica urbana polillas diurnas Lepidoptera bosque húmedo premontano Costa Rica |
| title | Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica |
| title_full | Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica |
| title_fullStr | Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica |
| title_short | Plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the Central Valley of Costa Rica |
| title_sort | plants and butterflies of a small urban preserve in the central valley of costa rica |
| topic | biodiversidad conservación biológica urbana polillas diurnas Lepidoptera bosque húmedo premontano Costa Rica |
| url | http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442009000500006&lng=en&tlng=en |
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