Population Structure of Morpho helenor peleides (Kollar, 1850) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Under Different Land Uses in the Caribbean Region of Colombia

<i>Morpho</i> butterflies have the potential to act as a bioindicator species, since they are sensitive to changes in land uses and forest degradation; there have been few population studies of butterflies in the Caribbean region of Colombia. In this study, we aimed to analyze and characterize the population structure of <i>M. helenor peleides</i> and evaluate its variation across different land uses. We used the capture-mark and release technique, with 50 VanSomeren-Rydon type traps distributed in five sampling units with different land uses (forest, restoration areas, and pasture areas); temperature and luminosity were also measured. Butterflies were wing-marked and subsequently released. Sampling was carried out between June and September 2023. Jolly-Seber population models were constructed using the R code to obtain population size (<i>N</i>_i), survival rate, and recruitment; also, other parameters were analyzed (abundance of the imagines, average sex ratio-ASR, displacement, permanence, and age). A total of 876 butterflies were tagged and released, and 33.7% were recaptured. Butterfly abundance was concentrated in conserved sampling units in the forest. The <i>N</i>_i ranged from 25 to 845 individuals within the population, and individual displacement and permanence were restricted in the forest, ASR was significantly male-skewed. The land use directly influenced the population structure of <i>M. helenor peleides</i>, suggesting that conserved areas are key to population persistence.