planned outline about
diversity of butterflies
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Abstract
A study to find out the diversity of butterflies at the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, was carried out over a period of six months from October 2013 to March 2014. A total of 55 butterfly species belonging to 5 families, namely, Hesperiidae (7 species), Papilionidae (4 species), Pieridae (10 species), Lycaenidae (13 species), and Nymphalidae (21 species), were recorded (with photographic record) during the study from three different habitats of campus: open scrub, dry deciduous, and urbanized habitat. Shannon diversity indices and Pielou’s evenness index were calculated for all the habitats. Shannon index was found to be highest for open scrub (3.76). Out of 54 species, Eurema brigitta was the most dominant species followed by Eurema hecabe, Junonia lemonias, and Phalanta phalantha. Dominance of these species can be explained by the presence of their larval and host plants in the campus.
1. Introduction
Butterflies are one of the most conspicuous species of Earth’s biodiversity. Being extremely responsive to any changes in their environment, namely, temperature, humidity, light, and rainfall patterns [1–4], these insects are identified as useful bioindicators. They have different requirements for different habitat types for mating, breeding, and nectaring and are, thus, in sync with the diversity and quality of their habitats.
The present study aims to examine the diversity and distribution of butterflies across three different habitats, namely, dry deciduous, open scrub, and urbanized habitat. A checklist of butterfly species is also provided.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
The study was done in Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal (23.208371°N and 77.384417°E), from July 2012 to March 2013. The location of campus, built on a hill at an elevation of about 556 m and surrounded by water on three sides, along with the wide range of climatic conditions that it passes through brings in diverse structure of habitats. The major types of vegetation included grasslands, open scrub forest, and dry deciduous forest and bamboo groves. The study was conducted in 12 transects (each approximately 300 to 500 m long) covering an area of 93-hectare campus.
For our study, transects were divided into three habitats according to general landscape attributes and vegetation present there. The chief habitat types were as follows: (1) open scrub, (2) dry deciduous, and (3) urbanized habitat.
2.2. Butterfly Survey
The survey of butterfly was done using Pollard walk method [5, 6] from 8 am to 10 am. The butterflies were observed within 2.5 meters to the left and right side and five meters in front of the observer. Butterflies were observed, captured, identified, and released immediately at the spot of capture. A butterfly net was used for this purpose. Many of the species were photographed in the wild. The dead specimens, many of them not in very good condition, were kept in butterfly collection boxes. Collecting live specimens was avoided during the study.
2.3. Data Analysis
(A) Shannon Index . Species diversity was calculated using the Shannon Index [8]:Here, is the proportion of the th species in the total sample. The number of species (species richness) in the community and their evenness in abundance (or equitability) are the two parameters that define .
(B) Pielou’s Evenness Index (Equitability) or . The species evenness is the proportion of individuals among the species. Evenness of species indicates their relative abundance on site [8, 9]:Here, is the number of species present in