Butterfly communities along an elevational gradient in the Tons valley, Western Himalayas: Implications of rapid assessment for insect conservation

Bhardwaj, Manish; Uniyal, V. P.; Sanyal, A. K.; Singh, Arun P.

doi:10.1016/j.aspen.2011.12.003

Cited by 53 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Despite being important part of an ecosystem (often considered as bio indicators) such studies on butterflies are scanty in the Himalayas (Bhardwaj et al 2012) as well as at global level (Fleishman et al 1998;Vu and Yuan 2003;Levanoni et al 2011;Despland et al 2012;Ilian et al 2012). This study attempts to add up to the knowledge gap in diversity gradients of butterflies, a sensitive faunal group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Butterfly diversity along the elevation gradient of Eastern Himalaya, India

Acharya

Vijayan

2015

Ecological Research

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The species richness pattern along spatial scales (latitudinal or elevational) forms useful tools in understanding diversity gradients and their underlying mechanisms. Understanding elevational diversity patterns of biodiversity have strong conservation implications. Himalayas are unique systems in exploring such gradients as they harbor tallest mountains in the world. Here, we explored the elevational pattern, its underlying causes, turn over rate and range size distribution of butterflies in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India. We followed fixed width point count method for sampling butterflies covering 1014 points spread over 23 transects along the elevation gradient (300-4700 m) in Sikkim. Data on environmental factors and habitat parameters were obtained from our published literatures of the same study system. During this study we observed a total of 2749 butterflies representing 161 species and six families. Species richness pattern of butterflies followed declining trend along the elevation gradient with a hump at around 1000 m. Various environmental factors and habitat variables correlated strongly with the species richness and abundance of butterflies. Among the set of factors, mean annual temperature and actual evapotranspiration remained the most important determinants reflecting the importance of energy and productivity for butterfly distribution in the Eastern Himalayan elevation gradient. Butterflies showed high turnover along the gradient. Elevational range profile of butterflies showed that around 38.5 % species restricted below 2000 m elevation. We observed that low elevation areas are important for conservation of butterflies in the Eastern Himalaya although entire elevation gradient is crucial for small range-sized species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Butterfly diversity along the elevation gradient of Eastern Himalaya, India

Acharya

Vijayan

2015

Ecological Research

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“…During the course of his study on the 'Butterflies of Garhwal', the first author has been recording butterflies in the region since 1986 and has since published several papers (Singh 1999(Singh , 2003a(Singh ,b,c, 2005a(Singh ,b, 2006a(Singh ,b, 2007(Singh , 2009(Singh , 2011a(Singh ,b, 2013Bhardwaj et al 2012). The second author started work on the butterflies of Garhwal in 2008.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Butterflies of Garhwal, Uttarakhand, western Himalaya, India

Singh

Sondhi²

2016

J. Threat. Taxa

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Thirty percent of butterfly species that occur in India are found in the Garhwal region of the western Himalaya, which comprise six districts of Uttarakhand State with five major vegetation types lying between the catchments of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The annotated checklist compiled here for this region comprises 407 species and takes into account all the species recorded since 1899, when the first list of 323 species was prepared by Mackinnon & de Nicéville on the ‘butterflies of Mussoorie and its adjacent areas’. Over a 20 year period (1986–1990; 2000–June 2015) the present authors maintained detailed notes and were able personally to record 349 species. This information is presented in a checklist, together with details of the month, year and site of each record, relative abundance, Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (IWPA) status, as well as references of earlier records made by other authors in Garhwal for those species that the authors were not able to record themselves. Forty-nine species recorded in the region have been placed under various schedules of IWPA; only one species, the Golden Emperor Dilipa morgiana Westwood, is listed in Schedule I Part IV, the others being mainly included under Schedule II Part II. The paper also discusses new range extensions and significant records (past and present), identifies major biotic factors that threaten butterfly diversity in Garhwal, and suggests the scope for butterfly ecotourism in the state as an option for long term conservation.

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“…The relative abundance of butterflies varies with the number of the host plant species in unit area as observed in different geographical locations (Yamamoto et al, 2007;Bhardwaj et al, 2012;Patel, Pandya, 2014). The relative resource value of the host plant and the preference by the butterfly species results in a correspondence of the butterfly and host plant diversity (Smallidge, Leopold, 1997;Yamamoto et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lantana Camara and Butterfly Abundance in an Urban Landscape: Benefits for Conservation or Species Invasion?

Mukherjee

Banerjee

Basu

et al. 2015

Ekológia (Bratislava)

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Urban landscapes host a range of diverse plants that, in turn, facilitate maintenance of different species of pollinators, including butterflies. In this context, the importance of Lantana camara, an invasive plant species, was assessed highlighting its role in maintenance of butterfly diversity, using Kolkata, India as a study area. Initial study revealed consistent presence of L. camara in both urban and rural sites with at least 25 different butterfly species association. The proportional relative load and the preferences of butterfly species for the each plant species were inclined towards L. camara. Irrespective of the sites, the diurnal and seasonal variations in the butterfly species abundance varied with the flowering pattern of L. camara. A positive correlation of different butterfly species with the flowering time and number of L. camara was for all the sites. The segregation of the L. camara associated butterfly species was made following discriminant function analysis using the extent of flower density of L. camara as explanatory variable. Despite being an invasive species, it is apparent that L. camara can be a prospective host plant that facilitates sustenance of butterflies in both urban and rural sites. Thus, existence of L. camara in urban gardens and forests may prove beneficial in sustenance of the butterflies.

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Butterfly communities along an elevational gradient in the Tons valley, Western Himalayas: Implications of rapid assessment for insect conservation

Cited by 53 publications

References 43 publications

Butterfly diversity along the elevation gradient of Eastern Himalaya, India

Butterfly diversity along the elevation gradient of Eastern Himalaya, India

Butterflies of Garhwal, Uttarakhand, western Himalaya, India

Lantana Camara and Butterfly Abundance in an Urban Landscape: Benefits for Conservation or Species Invasion?

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