PMC

Mean daily understory temperatures from July to September 2015. Temperature data were recorded from each plot every two hours.

Adjusted moth species richness against elevation (in m a.s.l.) in Mengla, Ailaoshan and Lijiang. Species richness was adjusted based on the smallest sample size. Data from Ashton et al. [].

Pairwise taxonomic (black) and functional (gray) dissimilarities versus elevational distances between pairs of plots in Mengla (left, circles) and Ailaoshan (right, squares). β_SOR = Sørensen dissimilarity index or total dissimilarity; β_SIM = Simpson index or turnover-resultant dissimilarity; β_SNE = nestedness-resultant dissimilarity.

Standardized effect sizes (SES) for FD (light grey) and FRic (dark grey) in Mengla (circle) and Ailaoshan (square) against elevation (in m a.s.l.). Points above (for positive values) and below (for negative values) the dashed lines have SES values significantly different from the null model.

Taxonomic (left) and functional (right, showing FD in light grey and FRic in dark grey symbol) alpha diversity in Mengla (circle), Ailaoshan (square) and Lijiang (triangle) against actual elevation (in m a.s.l.), computed using species with eye length >0. Note the difference in x-axis values, as Lijiang was excluded from functional diversity analyses.

Schematic diagram of our study design, showing the elevational bands of the three transects (viz. Lijiang, Ailaoshan and Mengla; left), the distances between study plots within each elevational band, and the dimensions of each plot (bottom right). Distances are not to scale, and the precise spatial arrangement of study plots varied across elevations and transects depending on the available habitat.