An Appraisal of Select Insect Taxa in Sri Lanka

Edirisinghe, Jayanthi P.; Karunaratne, W. A. I. P.; Hemachandra, I. I.; Gunawardene, Nihara; Bambaradeniya, C. M. D.

doi:10.1007/978-981-10-1524-3_5

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 19 publications

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“…Sri Lanka, together with the Western Ghats, forms one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots. Of the nation's documented species, 28% of its flora and 16% of its terrestrial vertebrates are endemic to the island, while invertebrates are understudied (Edirisinghe et al, 2016 ). Rich agro‐biodiversity is one of the key features of the rice cultivation landscape in Sri Lanka (Bambaradeniya et al, 2004 ; Marambe et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Potential Environmental Impacts of Pesticide Usage in Paddy Ecosystems: A Case Study in the Deduru Oya River Basin, Sri Lanka

Chathuri

Yadav

Propper

et al. 2022

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Rice paddies are unique ecosystems that provide rich wetland habitat. Their enduring existence across vast stretches of land has led them to evolve into unique systems serving a diverse assemblage of organisms and sustaining a staple grain for many people. With food demand rising, agricultural intensification through agrochemical application is a common practice used to boost food production in developing countries, including Sri Lanka. The aim of the present study was to assess the concentration of pesticide residues in water in rice ecosystems and discover their potential impacts on both environmental health and the most common fauna groups across a cropping year in Sri Lanka. A total of 270 water samples from waters associated with paddy fields within a watershed were analyzed for 20 commonly used pesticides; in addition, local farm holders were surveyed to assess pesticide usage details in three selected paddy tracts. We then used the Cornell University environmental impact quotient (EIQ) calculator and the ECOTOX Knowledgebase to determine the exposure risk associated with individual pesticides relative to their application rates and aquatic concentrations. Survey results demonstrate that several pesticides were overapplied at rates 1.2–11 times the recommended application, and the EIQ demonstrated high environmental risk of two of the agrochemicals detected, 2‐methyl‐4‐chlorophenoxyacetic and diazinon. Fish, amphibians, insects, and beetles were found to have a wide range of potential adverse outcomes from exposure to diazinon, captan, thiamethoxam, and chlorantraniliprole. To balance the trade‐offs between food security and ecosystem sustainability, the present study recommends that adoption of quantifiable environmental health indicators be considered as part of the national policy regulating pesticide use. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:343–355. © 2021 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Potential Environmental Impacts of Pesticide Usage in Paddy Ecosystems: A Case Study in the Deduru Oya River Basin, Sri Lanka

Chathuri

Yadav

Propper

et al. 2022

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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A preliminary investigation on the dependence of arthropod diversity on vegetation diversity across four contrasting ecosystems in Hanthana mountain range of Sri Lanka

Weerathunga

Athapaththu

Amarasinghe

2019

Preprint

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Arthropods contribute significantly to biodiversity and vegetation provides a habitat and resources for them to survive, exist and propagate. We report a preliminary investigation on the extent to which arthropod diversity is dependent upon vegetation diversity across different ecosystems in a humid tropical climate. We determined the diversity of arthropods in four ecosystems closely-located ecosystems with different vegetation. Vegetation surrounding an aquatic environment (AQ), a broad-leaved wet, evergreen forest ecosystem (BL), a Pinus caribaea monoculture plantation (PN) and a Pinus plantation artificially enriched with indigenous broad-leaved tree species (PNEN) located in the Hanthana mountain range in Central Sri Lanka were selected. In each environment, arthropods were sampled in three randomlyselected sites (5 m x 5 m) using four sampling methods. Collected arthropods were identified upto the highest possible taxa using standard identification keys. Simultaneously, vegetation diversity was determined via a plant census. Arthropod and vegetation diversities were computed separately for each site using Shannon-Wiener Index (H).Within the 300 m 2 area of observation plots, arthropod individuals belonging to 68 species and 43 families were found. AQ had the greatest arthropod diversity (H=2.642), dominated by Olios spp. followed by BL (H=2.444), dominated by three arthropods, namely, a tettigonid species, Oxytate spp. and Psechrus spp. PN had the next highest arthropod diversity (H=1.411), dominated by Dicaldispa spp. The lowest arthropod diversity was found at PNEN (H=1.3500), dominated by an ant species. Contrastingly, PNEN had the highest plant diversity (H=2.614) and PN the lowest (H=0.879). AQ (H=1.810) and BL (H=1.871) had intermediate values.In a regression involving data from AQ, BL and PN, arthropod diversity was linearly dependent on plant diversity (R 2 =0.423) whereas it was not so when PNEN was also included (R 2 =0.008).This finding supports the hypothesis that while higher plant diversity contributes to greater arthropod diversity in ecosystems where human intervention is minimal, artificial enrichment of plant diversity does not necessarily increase arthropod diversity in the short-to medium-term.Further investigations are needed to substantiate these preliminary findings and validate the above hypothesis.

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An Appraisal of Select Insect Taxa in Sri Lanka

Cited by 2 publications

References 19 publications

Assessing Potential Environmental Impacts of Pesticide Usage in Paddy Ecosystems: A Case Study in the Deduru Oya River Basin, Sri Lanka

Assessing Potential Environmental Impacts of Pesticide Usage in Paddy Ecosystems: A Case Study in the Deduru Oya River Basin, Sri Lanka

A preliminary investigation on the dependence of arthropod diversity on vegetation diversity across four contrasting ecosystems in Hanthana mountain range of Sri Lanka

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