&lt;b&gt;Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India&lt;/b&gt;

Prem Kumar Chettri,Sailendra Dewan,Bhoj Kumar Acharya,Kishor Sharma

doi:10.11609/jott.3641.10.5.11551-11565

<b>Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India</b>

Prem Kumar Chettri, Sailendra Dewan + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3641.10.5.11551-11565

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Abstract

Understanding wild biodiversity of agroecosystems and other human dominated landscapes are crucial for the management and conservation of biological resources. Here, we studied the diversity, abundance, similarity and functionality of butterflies in different human modified ecosystems in southern Sikkim, the Eastern Himalaya. The study was conducted from January 2015 to May 2015 by covering three habitat types namely, farm-based agroforestry, large cardamom-based agroforestry and adjacent natural forest ecosystem. We followed point count method along the transect to collect data on butterflies in the study area. A total of 911 individual butterflies representing six families and 44 species were recorded during the present study in southern Sikkim. Species richness and abundances of butterflies were significantly different among the systems. While diversity and abundance were higher in forest patches, each system harbored unique species assemblages with low similarity between habitats. The information on larval host plants were available for 41 butterfly species which depended on 128 plant species belonging to 27 families. The butterfly community was dominated by oligophagous II (19 species) followed by polyphagous (11 species), monophagous (8 species) and oligophagous I (3 species). Similarly, generalist feeders had higher species and abundance compared to specialist feeders. Specialist species were confined to forest habitat, whereas generalist species were mostly restricted to cultivated systems. The findings of the study highlighted the need for conservation of traditionally managed agroecosystems in order to conserve butterflies and other associated biodiversity.

Highlights

Increased rates of deforestation and forest degradation over the past century have resulted in significant biological attrition globally (Barlow et al 2007; Primack 2014)
In the eastern Himalaya, it has been suggested to formulate planning for land use based on butterfly-forest type associations, by considering forest sub-types as units of conservation (Singh 2017)
Species richness was highest in Natural Forest Systems (NFS) (32 species, 72.7%), followed by Farm-Based Agroforestry System (FAS) (24 species, 54.5%) and least in Large Cardamom-based Agroforestry System (LCAS) (20 species, 45.5%)

Summary

Introduction

Increased rates of deforestation and forest degradation over the past century have resulted in significant biological attrition globally (Barlow et al 2007; Primack 2014). Due to ever-increasing human population and subsequent conversion of primary forests for agricultural expansion, many species have lost their potential habitat leading to local extirpation. Most species, which primarily inhabit forests, interact with agroecosystems and a large proportion of the total species of the region are likely to be encountered in agroecosystems (Pimentel et al 1992). The management of these agricultural systems can dramatically affect overall levels of biodiversity, as well as the sustenance of particular species. Understanding biodiversity of agroecosystems and other human dominated landscapes is crucial for the management and conservation of biological resources. In the eastern Himalaya, it has been suggested to formulate planning for land use based on butterfly-forest type associations, by considering forest sub-types as units of conservation (Singh 2017)

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