Lepidoptera research in Puerto Rico: Reconnecting with historical legacies to guide future priorities

Abstract

The Caribbean archipelago of Puerto Rico supports a diverse flora and fauna and is located in a region characterized by complex socio-economic and environmental change. The diversity of entomofauna across Puerto Rico has received considerable attention in wide-scale research over the last century, with particular emphasis on the order Lepidoptera as the subject of substantial taxonomic and ecological surveys. However, much of this work is incomplete, outdated, or has been obscured in gray literature. Thus, our primary objectives were to contextualize the role of past research in the current understanding of Puerto Rican Lepidoptera and to outline an agenda for future research. Specifically, we provide an overview of taxonomic, ecological, agricultural, and conservation Lepidoptera research in Puerto Rico and highlight key studies and historical datasets. We found that, despite a strong taxonomic legacy, native moth taxonomy remains poorly understood, except for a few major pests. Further, much of the recent Lepidoptera research has focused on short-term evaluations of agricultural pests, necessitated by immediate economic needs. The current ecological status of Lepidoptera on the islands is unknown. Therefore, prioritizing ecological research could provide timely insight for understanding changing Lepidoptera diversity and distribution and for conserving this biologically and economically significant group. Greater emphasis on long-term monitoring and digitization of museum collections would be particularly useful for quantifying past and forecasting future impacts of global change.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

El archipielago caribeno de Puerto Rico alberga una flora y fauna diversa y esta ubicado en una region altamente afectada por cambios socioeconomicos y ambientales. La diversidad de insectos ha recibido considerable atencion en el ultimo siglo, con enfasis especial en el orden Lepidoptera. Sin embargo, la mayor parte de estas publicaciones esta incompleta, desactualizada o se ha quedado oscurecida en la literatura gris. Nuestro objetivo fue contextualizar la importancia de estudios previos sobre Lepidoptera en Puerto Rico y establecer una agenda para futuras investigaciones. En este resumen, proporcionamos una vision general de los estudios taxonomicos, ecologicos, agricolas y de conservacion de Lepidoptera en Puerto Rico, destacando investigaciones clave y datos historicos. Encontramos que, a pesar de la atencion dada a la clasificacion, todavia hay poca comprension de la taxonomia de las polillas nativas, excepto en el caso de algunas plagas importantes. Ademas, gran parte de la investigacion reciente se ha centrado en evaluaciones a corto plazo de plagas agricolas debido a necesidades economicas inmediatas. El estado ecologico actual de Lepidoptera en las islas es desconocido. Por lo tanto, recomendamos priorizar la investigacion ecologica para comprender mejor la diversidad de Lepidoptera y su distribucion cambiante, asi como tambien conservar este grupo biologicamente y economicamente significativo. Un enfoque mas amplio en el monitoreo a largo plazo y la digitalizacion de las colecciones de museos seria especialmente util para cuantificar los impactos pasados y predecir los impactos futuros del cambio global.

In Puerto Rico, a tropical archipelago in a region characterized by complex socio-economic and environmental change, ecological knowledge of the local insect fauna is scarce. Greater emphasis on ecological monitoring of model insect groups like Lepidoptera could provide insight into the effects of global change on tropical biodiversity and contribute to the unresolved question of global insect decline. Here, we contextualize past Lepidoptera research in Puerto Rico and propose areas of priority for future ecological research.image