WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
A field comparison of butterfly and spider functional traits across ten plots in a West Bengal campus did not detect the expected strong between-disturbance functional separation. Reported multivariate tests were non-significant for butterflies (p = 0.413) and spiders (p = 0.886), despite environmental differences among plots.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
The counter-signal is a limit on inference, not a claim that urban disturbance is harmless. Trait responses can be filtered by sampling, timing, taxon and site history; negative results belong in the evidence used to design management.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
Small samples in one campus and non-significant tests do not demonstrate community equivalence or absence of any urbanization effect. Journal record was accepted in October 2026 with final typesetting pending.
SOURCE
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · West Bengal butterfly and spider study
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