Ecological monitoring and indicator taxa: butterfly communities in heterogeneous landscapes of the Western Ghats and Malabar coast, India

Naik, Deepak; Rao, R. Shyama Prasad; Kunte, Krushnamegh; Mustak, Mohammed S.

doi:10.1007/s10841-022-00368-5

Cited by 5 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…The butterfly surveys were performed systematically for two consecutive years between November 2016 and October 2018 to collect the quantitative data on the abundance of butterfly communities at each site. Detailed description of the butterfly survey was presented in our previous paper (Naik et al ., 2022). In brief, data were collected using time-constrained count method (Kadlec et al ., 2012; Pollard, 1977; Suman et al ., 2021) by walking a transect trail (0.5 km) slowly in 30 min during the peak activity of butterflies between 9:30 AM and 1:00 PM.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, common plants present along the transect at each site were identified to the species level (a few to the genus level only) and their habits were noted (Naik et al ., 2021; 2022). 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).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(where is the absolute frequency and is the total), so that they are comparable across samples and/or species (Naik et al, 2022). In addition, various diversity indices, where appropriate, were calculated as explained in detail in our previous paper (Naik et al, 2022). In particular, seasonal equitability or evenness of species across seasons/months was calculated as Simpson's = / , where = ∑ , p i is the proportion of i th species, and D max is the number of seasons/months (Magurran, 1988;Naik et al, 2022), and plotted against normalized abundance.…”

Section: Data/statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, more comprehensive studies are required, with long-term and more widespread datasets on butterfly population dynamics and seasonality. Further, seasonal dynamics of butterflies have not been explored in the coastal regions and foot hills of the Western Ghats (Naik et al ., 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Naik

Rao

Kunte

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Long-term socioeconomic progress requires a healthy environment/ecosystem, but anthropogenic activities cause environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Constant ecological monitoring is therefore necessary to assess the state of biodiversity and ecological health. However, baseline data is lacking even for ecologically sensitive regions such as the Western Ghats. We looked at the seasonality and polyphenism of butterflies of the central Western Ghats to get baseline population patterns on these charismatic taxa. We recorded 43118 individuals (175 species) using fortnightly time-constrained counts for two consecutive years, and found the peak abundance (49% of the total individuals) in post-monsoon period (Oct to Jan). The seasonal abundance was correlated with the overall increase in species richness. Habitat differences were stronger than seasonality as samples clustered based on sites. Several species also displayed polyphenism with distinct distributions of wet and dry season forms. Seasonal equitability and indicator species analysis showed distinct inter-species differences in seasonality patterns. This work provides key baseline data on the seasonal dynamics of butterflies of the Western Ghats in the context of climate change and conservation, and will help in future monitoring of this ecologically sensitive region using butterflies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data/statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

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

Naik

Rao

Kunte

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

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

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Long-term socioeconomic progress requires a healthy environment/ecosystem, but anthropogenic activities cause environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Constant ecological monitoring is therefore necessary to assess the state of biodiversity and ecological health. However, baseline data is lacking even for ecologically sensitive regions such as the Western Ghats. We looked at the seasonality and polyphenism of butterflies of the central Western Ghats to get baseline population patterns on these charismatic taxa. We recorded 43118 individuals (175 species) using fortnightly time-constrained counts for two consecutive years, and found the peak abundance (49% of the total individuals) in post-monsoon period (Oct to Jan). The seasonal abundance was correlated with the overall increase in species richness.Habitat differences were stronger than seasonality as samples clustered based on sites. Several species also displayed polyphenism with distinct distributions of wet and dry season forms.Seasonal equitability and indicator species analysis showed distinct inter-species differences in seasonality patterns. This work provides key baseline data on the seasonal dynamics of butterflies of the Western Ghats in the context of climate change and conservation, and will help in future monitoring of this ecologically sensitive region using butterflies.

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A comparison between time‐constrained counts and line transects as methods to estimate butterfly diversity and monitor populations in tropical habitats

Attiwilli,

Ravikanthachari,

Kunte

2023

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Long‐term species monitoring programmes have revealed catastrophic declines in insect populations and disruption of biological communities that are contributing to biodiversity loss. Such discoveries have been possible because of standardised methods, such as line transects, of counting butterflies and other insects. However, line transects are not feasible in many tropical and mountainous habitats, so alternative methods must be explored. To tackle this issue, we devised time‐constrained (30‐min) counts and compared butterfly diversity estimated through timed counts and line transects in three tropical habitats in India (evergreen forest, dry deciduous forest and an urban woodland). We tested the relative performance of the two methods in sampling species richness and abundance, as well as numbers of rare, endemic and specialist butterflies. We observed greater overall species richness, and more species of habitat specialists and endemics per sample in time‐constrained counts in the evergreen forest, but not in the other two habitats. Thus, time‐constrained counts were relatively more efficient in detecting species in the species‐rich evergreen habitat. Apart from this difference, the two sampling methods captured similar levels of species richness and other measures of diversity. Our study thus shows that time‐constrained counts are a suitable if not a superior alternative to line transects to conduct butterfly diversity surveys and population monitoring in complex tropical landscapes. Due to methodological flexibility and simplicity, time‐constrained counts may be particularly useful to study the impacts of climate change, habitat fragmentation and land use practices on butterfly, Odonata and other insect populations in populous and tech‐ready tropical countries using citizen science frameworks.

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Ecological monitoring and indicator taxa: butterfly communities in heterogeneous landscapes of the Western Ghats and Malabar coast, India

Cited by 5 publications

References 59 publications

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

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

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

A comparison between time‐constrained counts and line transects as methods to estimate butterfly diversity and monitor populations in tropical habitats

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