Suitability of Butterflies as Indicators of Ecosystem Condition: A Comparison of Butterfly Diversity across four habitats in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary

Abstract

Gir forest of Gujarat is widely known as the last home of Asiatic Lion. It also hosts a range of other mammalian, avian, reptiles and insect species biodiversity. The sanctuary area has been explored in the present study for diversity and species richness of small but important creatures called butterflies. Butterflies have been depicted as significant indicator species owing to their sensitivity to slightest change in environmental factors. Their habitat signals a healthy ecosystem. Danaidae and Nymphalidae butterflies were observed the most abundant while Hesperiidae butterflies were recorded the least dominant. Butterfly diversity has been observed higher in thinned, thinned and burnt and in wildfire (disturbed forests) in comparison to the natural dense forests. It was observed that the population of butterflies were found more in the disturbed forests as they interact the most in disturbances; hence they are the ecological indicators of climate change.

Insects as bioindicator: A hidden gem for environmental monitoring

“…Butterflies are very sensitive to climatic variables. The temperature has a significant impact on butterfly range shifts, oviposition sites, egg-laying rates, larval development, and survival rates (Sharma and Sharma, 2017). Pupal size of Noctuidae and Geometridae species changes with levels of industrial air pollutants (Heliövaara et al, 1989).…”

Selected Underutilized Edible Wild Food Plants; Their Association With Lepidopteron Fauna and Role in Tribal Livelihood of Jamboori Panchayat Samiti , Abu Road Block in Sirohi District of Rajasthan.

“…Insects visit flowers to obtain food, usually in the form of pollen or nectar. (Sharma & Sharma, 2013) …”

Diversity of butterflies across three land use types of Chebera Churchura National Park and its surroundings, Southwestern Ethiopia

“…Butterfly populations are important components of the ecosystem (Rakosy & Schmitt, 2011;Ghazanfar et al, 2016;Sharma et al, 2020). They play a significant role in natural and agricultural pollination (Jennersten, 1984;Reddi & Bai, 1984;Thakur & Mattu, 2010) and indicate the presence of other invertebrates due to their role in the food chain and food web (Fleishman & Murphy 2009;Gerlach et al, 2013;Sharma & Sharma, 2017;Watt & Boggs, 2019), which are food sources for birds, bats, and other invertebrates.…”