New Publication! The effects of banana plantations on butterfly diversity in the Atlantic Forest

In our new paper out today in Biodiversity and Conservation we investigate mutliple aspects of biodiversity from within-species genetic diversity to community phylogenetic diversity in mosaic landscapes in the Brazilian Atlantic forest containing native forest, intensive and agroforestry banana plantations. We find that the rarest and most distinct genetic groups are absent from the conventional banana plantations where pesticides are used, but are otherwise dispersed across sites. We believe this pattern is most likely explained by selection due to pesticide use removing these genetic groups from the conventional plantations. This work was led by Dirleane Ottonelli Rossato, who was a visitor to the lab and the NEOF visitor facility during her PhD.