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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2017; 5(2): 389-393 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2017; 5(2): 389-393 © 2017 JEZS Received: 21-01-2017 Accepted: 22-02-2017

MN Harisha Department of Post Graduate Studies and Research in Wildlife and Management, Kuvempu University, Jnana Sahyadri, Shankaraghatta-577451, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India BB Hosetti Department of Post Graduate Studies and Research in Wildlife and Management, Kuvempu University, Jnana Sahyadri, Shankaraghatta-577451, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India Correspondence MN Harisha Department of Post Graduate Studies and Research in Wildlife and Management, Kuvempu University, Jnana Sahyadri, Shankaraghatta, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India

Conservation status, threats and diversity of Odonates in Kuvempu University Campus, Mid-Western Ghats, Shivamogga district, Karnataka,

India

MN Harisha and BB Hosetti

Abstract A study on diversity of odonates was conducted at Kuvempu University Campus located in Bhadravti Taluk, Shivamogga District of Karnataka. The study was conducted to explore status, diversity and threats of Odonates during February 2012 to January 2014. During the study period, a total of 43 species of Odonates in 31 genera belonging to 7 families have been reported. Among them the order-Anisoptera (Dragonflies) dominated with 30 species, followed by the order-Zygoptera (damselflies) with 13 species. The family Libellulidae dominated with 24 species among the Anisoptera. Among the Zygoptera, Coenagrionidae was found to be the dominant family with 8 species. The occurrence of IUCN categorized two Near Threatened species like Vestalis gracilis and Indothemis carnatica, one Data Deficient species like Orthetrum pruinosum and one Endemic species like Anaciaeschna jaspidea were remarkable this indicates that, the area was found to be rich in odonate diversity. Keywords: Zygoptera, Anisoptera, Dragonflies, Damselflies, Endemic species, Mid-Western Ghats, Kuvempu University Campus

1. Introduction Globally 5740 species of odonates are known from the world, of which 474 species under 142 genera and 18 families exist in India [1]. Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka, one of the global biodiversity hotspots [2], are known to support number of Odonata species [3]. Around 174 species of odonates have been reported from the Western Ghats, including 56 species endemic to the region [4, 5], while 154 species of odonates were reported from Kerala [6]. The northern Western Ghats (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Northwestern Karnataka) are one of the under-explored areas in terms of documentation of Odonata fauna. These areas are characterized by highly fragmented forest cover. Most of the Western Ghats endemic odonates are known to be associated with closed forested area with streams [5]. Such habitats are often good quality forested areas. Therefore, documenting fauna from such regions is highly important as it helps to fill the gap about distribution of species, which may have conservation implications [3]. Odonates serve as an umbrella species in biodiversity conservation [7, 8] and represent specific biotic wetland assemblages [9]. Dragonflies are valuable as indicators to assess the health of freshwater wetlands and terrestrial ecosystem [10, 11]. They also play a vital role as prey and predator to maintain the balance of tropic levels of food chain [12]. Besides, being important elements of the food chain; they predate on mostly harmful insect pests of crops, orchards and forest, other small insects like mosquitoes, moths, butterflies and thus have a regulatory impact on agro-forestry [11, 13]. Odonates survive in a wide range of aquatic habitats i.e., from lotic and lentic water bodies, some have adapted to urban areas and exploit man-made water bodies [11, 14]. Odonates, being the top predators at larval and adult stages are highly specific to their niche and depend heavily on water bodies for feeding and breeding and play a significant role in freshwater ecosystems [1, 11, 15, 16]. Even though most the odonates species are highly specific to a habitat, they are more susceptible to habitat alterations induced by human activities [9, 11]. For the first time study was to conducted to make a preliminary survey on conservation status of odonate species and their diversity in Kuvempu University Campus, Shivamogga District in order to understand the nature of odonate species assemblages with reference to the habitat characters.

 

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2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Study Area Kuvempu University Campus located between latitude of 13°41' N and longitude of 75°38' E at an elevation of 680-720m above MSL. The campus is situated 24 km South-East of Shimoga city and 4 km North of Bhadra Reservoir amidst the dry deciduous forest and is located on the edge of Bhadra Tiger Reserve and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. The University campus encompasses 230 acres of land with varied habitat, from undulating hilly terrain to man-made wetlands. Before the inception and establishment of the University in this landscape, the area was a barren hill-slope without any prominent vegetation. But in the past 10 years after the establishment of the University, there is considerable secondary vegetation of many tree species establishing gradually. As of now, the predominating vegetation is typically dry deciduous with considerable similarities with the wildlife sanctuary. 2.2. Sampling and Identification Odonata sampling was conducted during February 2012 to January 2014. Adult Odonates sampling was done by direct counts made while observing habitats on hourly basis. Data collection was conducted between 09:00 am and 01:00 pm when insects were most active. During the course of the survey Odonates observed in the field were identified by using field guides [17, 18]. The taxonomic and nomenclature has been followed as per [1]. The odonates were categorized into five groups such as, very common (80-100%), common (60-80%), occasional (40-60%), rare (20-40%) and very rare (below 20%) based on their abundance during the study period [19]. 3. Results and Discussion A total of 43 species of Odonates in 31 genera belonging to 7 families have been reported. During the study, the order-Anisoptera which includes dragonflies was found to be more diverse and predominant with 30 species belonging to 3 families, contributed 70%, followed by the order-Zygoptera which includes damselflies was found to be less diverse with 13 species belonging to 4 families, contributed 30% composition of total odonates recorded from Kuvempu University Campus (Table 1, Figure 1). Among the Order-Anisoptera, on the basis of the family wise species distribution, the family Libellulidae was found to be widely distributed and dominated with high percentage composition i.e., 80% (n=24), followed by the family Aeshnidae with 13% (n=4) and Gomphidae 7% (n=2) respectively (Table 1, Figure 2). However, among the Order-Zygoptera, the family Coenagrionidae was found to be dominated with highest percentage composition i.e., 62% (n=8), whereas, the family Platycnemididae and Calopterygidae were found to be more or less equally distributed i.e., 15% (n=2) each and least by the Lestidae with 8% (n=1) of total species recoded from the study area (Table 1, Figure 3). The status of odonates based on the frequency of occurrence shown that 33% (n=14) species were common, 28% (n=12) were rare, 16% (n=7) were very common, 14% (n=6) were occasional and 9% (n=4) were very rare respectively (Table 1, Figure 4). According to IUCN categorization, of all the odonate recorded from the study area, 93% (n=40) species fall under the Least Concern (LC) and 5% (n=2) species under Near Threatened (NT) and 2% (n=1) species under Data Deficient categories (Table 1). The occurrence of IUCN categorized

two near threatened species like Vestalis gracilis and Indothemis carnatica, one data deficient species like Orthetrum pruinosum and one endemic species like Anaciaeschna jaspidea were remarkable this indicates that, the area is found to be rich in odonate diversity. During the present investigation, it was revealed that order-Anisoptera (dragonflies) was found to be abundant; this similar pattern of predominance was also reported by different researchers from different parts of India, i.e., from Komaranahalli Lake [9] and Kondajji Lake [11] of Davanagere district, Karnataka, from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Southern Western Ghats [19], from Goa [20], from Coimbatore and Salem districts in Tamil Nadu [21] and from Padmatola wetland of Balasore in Odisha [22], this might be due to their high dispersal ability and adaptability to wide range of habitats [23, 24]. Less abundance of Zygoptera (damselflies) was may be due to their limited dispersal ability and changing environment [19, 21, 22] and partial or absence of shade cover [23] afforded by the temporary water bodies. During the present investigation, the record of abundant Libellulidae (order-Anisoptera) and Coenagrionidae (order-Zygoptera) in study area might be due to their shorter life cycle and widespread distribution and tolerance to wide range of habitats [24, 25, 26]. Odonates belonging to the families Corgulegasteridae and Cordulidae of Anisoptera and Protoneuridae, Calopterygida, Chloroyphidae, Euphaeidae and Platystictidae of Zygoptera are not found in the study area probably because most of the species of these families are restricted to high altitude and/or breed in running water streams in forest landscape [22]. The maximum diversity of Odonates in Kuvempu University Campus might be due to their larger size, diverse habitat and presence of permanent and temporary water bodies. The size of the water bodies (temporary or permanent) also becomes an important factor to determine the species richness and diversity of Odonates [23, 27, 28]. However, during the study it has been found that, the odonates and their habitats are under threat due to intensive anthropogenic activities like habitat alterations, improper landuse planning leads to changes such as change in slope modification, soil excavation etc., impacted the environment adversely by way of intense soil erosion, water logging and water scarcity. Further, frequent weed clearing and irreversible damage to individuals by the presence of predators and to their breeding habitats by draining and pollution of water bodies in the campus. All these activities not only affect the assemblage of Odonata population in temporary water bodies but also cause local extinctions [9, 11, 18, 24, 29, 30]. The only source of water in these temporary wetlands is rain water and uncertainty in the amount of rainfall coupled with decreased inflow of water from surrounding forest due to unscientific trenching and drainage system is also posing a threat to the richness of biodiversity in the water bodies of the campus. From the study it was observed that the water bodies in the campus were drained out almost during October to November which created a number of problems for aquatic vegetation, surrounding forest and also for dependent wetland faunas (including aquatic insects other faunas like birds, some carnivores like tiger, leopards, wild cat spp, herbivores like sambar deer, spotted deer, mouse deer, barking deer etc). The data recorded in the present study may give valuable information about odonates fauna of Kuvempu University Campus, Mid-Western Ghats as a baseline data for assessing the changes of environmental conditions in the area, thereby helping in formulating future conservation measures to

 

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preserve the wetland habitats and to maintain the ecosystem health. More studies are needed to understand the population

dynamics and seasonal patterns of Odonata in this particular geographical area.

Plate I A). Heliogomphus promelas, B). Tholymis tillarga, C). Ictinogomphus rapax, D). Orthetrum glaucum, E). Orthetrum pruinosum, and F). Orthetrum sabina

Plate II G). Lathrecista asiatica, H). Rhyothemis variegata, I). Gynacantha bayadera, J). Ceriagrion coromandelianum, K). Vestalis apicalis, and L). Vestalis gracilis

Table 1: List of Odonates and their conservation status at Kuvempu University, Mid-Western Ghats, Shivamogga District, Karnataka.

Sl. No. Common name Family/Scientific name Status IUCN Order: Anisoptera (Dragonflies)

I Darners Family: Aeshnidae 1 Rusty Darner* Anaciaeschna jaspidea O LC 2 Blue-tailed Green Darner Anax guttatus C LC 3 Blue Darner Anax immaculifrons C LC 4 Parakeet Darner Gynacantha bayadera O LC II Clubtail Family: Gomphidae 5 Common Clubtail Ictinogomphus rapax C LC 6 Common Oartail or Hooktails Paragomphus lineatus O LC III Skimmers Family: Libellulidae 7 Trumpet Tail Acisoma panorpoides C LC 8 Blue-tailed Black Marsh Skimmer Brachydiplax sobrina C LC 9 Ditch Jewel Brachythemis contaminate C LC 10 Granite Ghost Bradinopyga geminate VC LC 11 Ruddy Marsh Skimmer Crocothemis servilia VC LC 12 Scarlet Marsh Hawk Aethriamanta brevipennis C LC 13 Ground Skimmer Diplacodes trivialis VC LC 14 Blue Ground Skimmer Indothemis carnatica R NT 15 Pied Paddy Skimmer Neurothemis tullia O LC 16 Brown-backed Red Marsh Hawk Orthetrum chrysis R LC

 

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17 Blue Marsh Hawk Orthetrum glaucum R LC 18 Crimson-tailed Marsh Hawk Orthetrum pruinosum VC DD 19 Green Marsh Hawk Orthetrum Sabina VC LC 20 Wandering Glider Pantala flavescens VC LC 21 Common Picture Wing Rhyothemis variegate C LC 22 Crimson Marsh Glider Trithemis aurora C LC 23 Long-legged Marsh Skimmer Trithemis pallidinervis O LC 24 Black Stream Glider Trithemis festiva R LC 25 Coral-tailed Cloud Wing Tholymis tillarga R LC 26 Emerald-banded Skimmer Cratilia lineate C LC 27 Fulvous Forest Skimmer Neurothemis fulvia R LC 28 Asiatic Blood Tail Lathrecista asiatica VR LC 29 Black Marsh Trotter Tramea limbata VR LC 30 Red Marsh Trotter Tramea basilaris R LC

Order: Zygoptera (Damselflies) IV Marsh Dart Family: Coenagrionidae 31 Pigmy Dartlet Agriocnemis pygmaea O LC 32 Coromandel Marsh Dart Ceriagrion coromandelianum C LC 33 Rusty Marsh Dart Ceriagrion olivaceum C LC 34 Golden Dartlet Ischnura aurora C LC 35 Senegal Golden Dartlet Ischnura senegalensis VC LC 36 Elegant Sprite Pseudagrion decorum R LC 37 Blue Grass Dartlet Pseudagrion microcephalum C LC 38 Pixie Dartlet Rhodischnura nursei VR LC V Spreadwing Family: Lestidae 39 Emerald Spreadwing Lestes elatus R LC VI Bush Dart Family: Platycnemididae 40 Blue Bush Dart Copera vittata R LC 41 Yellow Bush Dart Copera marginipes R LC VII Glories Family: Calopterygidae 42 Clear-winged Forest Glory Vestalis gracilis R NT 43 Black-tipped Forest Glory Vestalis apicalis VR LC

DD-Data deficient, LC- Least concern, NT-Near Threatened, *-Endemic to Western Ghats, VC-Very common; C-Common; O-Occasional, VR-Very Rare and R-Rare,

Fig 1: Percentage composition of Odonates (Order: Anisoptera and Zygoptera) at Kuvempu University Campus, Mid-Western Ghats,

Shivamogga District, Karnataka, India

Fig 2: Percentage composition of Dragonflies (Order: Anisoptera) at Kuvempu University Campus, Mid-Western Ghats, Shivamogga

District, Karnataka, India

Fig 3: Percentage composition of Damselflies (Order: Zygoptera) at Kuvempu University Campus, Mid-Western Ghats, Shivamogga

District, Karnataka, India

Fig 4: Status of Odonates based on the frequency of occurrence at Kuvempu University Campus, Mid-Western Ghats, Shivamogga

District, Karnataka, India

 

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