Ecological interactions: Patterns of host utilization by tropical butterflies

Abstract

Structural complexity of ecological networks facilitate the functional robustness of natural ecosystems. Threatened by the human actions such as habitat destruction and climate change, species may be more or less prone to ecological perturbations depending on the nature of their interactions. We examined the host network of tropical butterflies from the Indian region to see their level of interconnectedness. We manually curated larval host utilization data for 1053 butterflies of India. About 98.8% of species that occur pan-India and 90.6% of species exclusive to the Western Ghats had known hosts whereas it was only 25.9% for species exclusive to north-east India. There were 2589 unique butterfly-host interactions comprising 519 butterfly species and their 1091 known hosts. However, nearly 30% of the species had only single hosts. The Fabaceae and Poaceae were the key host families that accounted for 32.8% of the interactions. There were clear host preferences and monocots hosted disproportionately more butterfly species and interactions. Vanessa cardui had at least 39 known hosts while Ochlandra travancorica supported 19 butterfly species. There were 2693 species-pairs and 4226 interactions among 469 butterflies due to shared hosts. Many butterfly species that have relatively few/unique hosts might be vulnerable in the context of habitat destruction and climate change. This work has great relevance to the ecology and conservation of butterflies in India.

Seasonal dynamics and polyphenism of butterfly communities in the coastal plains of central Western Ghats, India

“…Several factors such as day length, temperature, humidity, and precipitation greatly influence the seasonal abundance and activity of organisms both directly, and indirectly through food resources (Shimadzu et al ., 2013; Tiple et al ., 2009). In the Western Ghats, monsoon rains lead to lush green vegetation (especially herbaceous and grass species) in the late monsoon and post-monsoon period that provide an overabundance of host resources to the majority of butterfly species (Naik et al ., 2021). On the other hand, seasonal leaf flushes of larval hosts such as Cassia and Senna spp., might be a key reason for the peak of Catopsilia spp.…”

“…Agricultural intensification and land use change have also known to reduce or alter the monsoon rainfall (Niyogi et al ., 2010). Climate change is also known to reduce the species diversity (Midgley et al ., 2002) which might adversely affect butterflies directly and indirectly as they depend on a range of plant hosts (Naik et al ., 2021). Habitat and climate changes might also influence monsoon-driven butterfly migrations (Bhaumik and Kunte, 2018; 2020).…”

“…It was just an indicative presence-absence data and not a systematic or quantitative survey (Naik et al ., 2022). The species that are potential hosts for the butterflies of the Western Ghats were noted based on the literature (Kunte et al, 2021; Naik et al ., 2021; 2022; Nitin et al, 2018).…”

Radio dichotomy in quasars with H β FWHM greater than 15 000 km s−1

“…Given that the difference in the bolometric or optical continuum luminosity is mainly due to that of the accretion disk, the above implies some connection between a stronger jet and a brighter disk. Accretion disc-jet connection in AGN has often been studied using X-ray and radio observations (e.g., Naik & Rao 2000;Marscher et al 2002;Chatterjee et al 2009Chatterjee et al , 2011Chatterjee et al , 2018. In AGN, X-rays are not produced in the disk itself but in a distribution of energetic particles located near the disk termed corona, which is assumed to be energetically and dynamically connected to the disk.…”

Diversity, Seasonal Dynamics and Host Plants of Butterflies in Forest Research Centre, Siddipet, Telangana, India

“…They often take centre stage in biodiversity monitoring efforts and are regarded as umbrella species in conservation [3]. Moreover, butterflies, due to their sensitivity to environmental changes, respond rapidly to alterations in factors like land use dynamics and vegetation shifts, which can impact their abundance and species composition [4,5]. Beyond this, butterfly diversity reflects seasonal and natural variations, making them excellent candidates for monitoring ecosystem health and diversity [6][7][8].…”