Butterfly populations in two forest fragments at the Kenya coast

Species richness, diversity and composition of butterflies in two Kenya coa stal forest remnants, Muhaka and Mrima hill, were investigated. Sixty-three species were recorded from each forest remnant from a total of 1329 indivi duals. Species accumulation curves for both forests did not reach an asympt ote. High species similarity was recorded between the forest interior and t he surrounding matrix, primarily due to invasion of the forest interior cle arings by the savanna species. Despite their small sizes, these forest remn ants were found to maintain viable populations of true forest butterflies. However, the number of species was less than half that recorded from the la rger forest reserve of Arabuko-Sokoke, located in the same geographical are a. Records from Muhaka forest show species unique to it, not found in the l arger forest reserves, underscoring the importance of small remnants in the preservation of forest biodiversity. The high species similarity between t he forest remnants implied that if habitat corridors were created, gene flo w between these remnants and other larger forest reserves would be possible . This would reduce the isolation of true forest butterfly populations with in the remnants and potential local extinction.