JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131

BUTTERFLY SPECIES DIVERSITY AND TRANSECT SURVEY METHOD IN PALLASSENA VILLAGE, DISTRICT, AND , .

M.Lekeshmanaswamy1*, N.Narmadha2 and J.Sornapriya3

1, 2, 3 PG & Research Department of Zoology, Kongunadu arts and science college (Autonomous), Coimbatore-641029, Tamil Nadu, India.

Email id – [email protected], [email protected] [email protected]

ABSTRACT

During a survey of Oct 2017-Jan 2018, 275 species of butterflies were recorded by transect method from Pallassena village, , Kerala. During the survey 275 individuals of ten butterflies were observed by transect method. January shows the maximum abundance (n=106) of which includes 38.54%, followed by November (n=60) which represents 21.81%, October (n=56) which consist of 20.36%, December (n=53) found to be least which encompass of 19.27%, were recorded. Bio diversity indices like Shannon, Simpson indices were calculated. Our findings are important with respect to monitoring butterfly and plant diversity and defining conservation strategies in the Pallassena village.

KEYWORDS: Butterfly, Transect, Abundance, Indices

INTRODUCTION

Lepidoptera is occupying a major part in the global biodiversity and are the second largest order in the class insecta. Lepidoptera regarded as one of the important components of biodiversity and are the second largest order among insects, approximately 150,000 species so for known to the literature. Butterflies are winged insects, they are the important natural resources and provide economic and ecological benefits .Butterflies are good environmental indicators and pollinators of plants. Butterflies are broadly considered as potent ecological indicators and are sensitive to the temperature, humidity, light levels and also to the habitat disturbance. Butterflies occupy different environmental conditions in the ecosystem. Due to

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the harmful gases and chemicals liberated by the industries affects the life of butterflies. At the same time Pesticides are also one of the factors effecting life of butterflies. Radiation from various resources also affects butterflies in the ecosystem.

Very little documentation has been done on butterfly fauna in Kerala. Some of the earlier documentation on butterfly fauna from Kerala and adjacent areas include Mathew & Rahamathulla (1993), who had reported 100 species of butterflies from Silent Valley National Park, Sudheendrakumar et al. (2000), who reported 124 species of butterflies from Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Arun (2003), reported 75 species from Siruvani Reserved Forests, Ambrose & Raj (2005) reported 24 species from Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger reserve, Eswaran & Pramod (2005) reported 75 species from Anaikatty near Coimbatore, Prasad et al.(2010) recorded 52 species from Kerala University campus, Thiruvananthapuram, while Toms et al. (2010) reported 109 species from Mahatma Gandhi University campus, Kottayam. In the present study, an attempt has been made to document the richness of butterflies in Pallassena village and the findings are presented in this paper.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study Area

Kerala, historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in on the Malabar Coast. Palakkad is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala in Southern India. The Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of “Palakkad Gap” in the Western Ghats. Palakkad has a tropical wet and dry climate with the Moderate temperature exception in March and April being the hottest months. July is the wettest month, and the total annual rainfall is around 83 inches (211 cm).The summers are much rainier than the winters in Palakkad. The average annual temperature in Palakkad is 27.8 °C. In a year, the average rainfall is 2135 mm. Silent Valley National Park is ever green forest is home for several specious of trees and plants. It includes many varieties of reptiles. Over 100 species of butterflies and 400 species of moths were identified here. The valley is a habitat for the rare Lion-Tailed Macaque. 128 Varieties of colourful butterflies, 400 species of moths, earthworms, leeches are also found inside this national park.

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Figure 1 Showing the Satellite map of Pallassena village, Palakkad district, Kerala. (Scale- 100 feet, 50 meter)

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, sprawling over 285 km². About 39 species of mammals, 280 species of birds, 61 species of reptiles, 47 species of fishes and enumerable number of butterflies and insects are sharing this eco system. Pallassana is a Village in Block in Palakkad District of Kerala State, India. It belongs to Central Kerala Division. It is located 19 KM towards South from District head quarters Palakkad. 9KM from Nemmara. In this village, the average temperature remains moderate throughout the year, with an exception in March and April being the hottest months. The village receives an annual rainfall around 2,135millimeters and receive South-West Monsoon.The forest covers an area of 13, 6,257 hectare which is 25% of the total geographical area, mainly over the north eastern of the district. With regard to diversity and abundance of butterflies, no detailed survey has been made. The village has a Gardens, Trees as well as Wild plants. The major Garden plants are Ixora(Ixora alversia), Hibiscus(Hibiscus syricua), Catharanthus roses,etc. Trees include Palms, Coconut (Cocos nucifera), Mango trees(Manifera indica) and Jack fruit trees.

Methodology

The present study carried out from October 2017 to January 2018 (morning 6.00 am till 7.00p.m) Pallassena village, Palakkad district. The butterflies were recorded using standard transect counting method (Ishii, 1993), counted while walking along the selected transect

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route of 1 km, in each habitat. The nomenclature used in the check list of Butterflies in IUCN (2015) was followed. Typical and unique features of the wings, abdomen and pattern of coloration of all body parts were noted down. Sketches were made accordingly using pencils and marked the pattern of color patches and print distribution. Butterflies were photographed from different angles as often as possible to obtain sufficient photographs to enable positive identification of species. Photographs were taken with a digital camera (Sony W520). Descriptions, photographs and drawings were compared with literature and the species were identified based on the collected data and available reference, both printed and electronic. Species identity was confirmed with the help of the field guides by (Kunte, 2000; Kehimkar, 2008) taxonomy and nomenclature have been updated. Vegetations of each site and sub site were keenly observed and relevant data were recorded.

Measurement of Diversity Relative dominance index of the species was calculated by the formula, Relative Dominance (%) = Number of individuals of one species (n) X 100/Number of individuals of all species. Shannon-Wiener index (H), is used to characterise species diversity and abunaance in a community. H’= – Σ Pi ln (Pi), Where, H= Shannon index. Pi= the proportion of individuals in the ith species. ln = natural log Simpson’s Index is a measure of diversity; it takes into account the number of species present, as well as the abundance of each species. D= Σn (n-1)/N (N-1) Where, D= Simpson index n= the number of individuals of each different species N= total number of individuals of all species

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RESULT

Table 1 showing the checklist of butterfly species in Pallassena village, Palakkad district, Kerala.

SCIENTIFIC SPECIES OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY NAME Common Euploea core 4 8 6 27 crow Common Catopsilia pomona 7 5 8 9 emigrant Lemon Catopsilia crocale 7 9 7 19 emigrant Common Papilio polytes 6 1 7 7 mormon Common Papilio Romulus 6 9 7 4 mormon Mottled Catopsilia pyranthe 7 8 3 9 emigrant Cabbage Pieris rapae 6 3 1 8 butterfly Common Ariande merione 5 6 2 8 castor Common Atrophaneura 3 6 7 7 rose dristolochiae Blue Papilio polymnestor 5 5 5 8 mormon

TOTAL 56 60 53 106

Table 1 Showing the checklist of butterfly species in Pallassena village, Palakkad district, Kerala. During the survey 275 individuals of ten butterflies were observed by transect method. January shows the maximum abundance (n=106) of which includes 38.54%, followed by November (n=60) which represents 21.81% , October (n=56) which consist of

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20.36%, December (n=53) found to be least which encompass of 19.27%, were recorded during the study.

Table 2 Showing the bio diversity indices of butterfly species in Pallassena village, Palakkad district, Kerala.

TOTAL NO OF RELATIVE SHANNON SIMPSON MONTHS INDIVIDUALS ABUDANCE INDEX INDEX October 56 20.36% 0.318 0.1011 November 60 21.81% 0.3192 0.1017 December 53 19.27% 0.31488 0.098 January 106 38.54% 0.3669 0.133 TOTAL 275 99.98% 1.31898 0.4338

Graph 1 Showing the bio diversity indices of butterfly species in Pallassena village, Palakkad district, Kerala.

BIO-DIVERSITY INDICES OF BUTTERFLY SPECIES

120 100 80 60 TOTAL NO OF 40 INDIVIDUALS 20 RELATIVE ABUDANCE 0

Graph 1 showing the bio diversity indices of butterfly species in Pallassena village, Palakkad district, Kerala. The Shannon index value was the highest in the month of January represents (0.3669) and lowest in December with (0.314). The January month shows the highest value of Simpson index with (0.133) and lowest value was found to be in December with (0.098). Patterns of relative abundance of species that determine the dominance of each insect Order in a locality was determined by calculating the dominance index with highest values in the month of January with (38.54%) and found to be lowest in December with (19.27).

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DISCUSSION

Among the habitats studied, less abundance was recorded in the crop area includes Small bamded swift (Pelopidas mathias) which could be due to non availability of host plant.Presence of butterfly species at a particular habitat depends on a wide range of factors; the availability of food and microclimate are considered most important (Janzen et al., 1968). Butterflies have evidential capabilities to recognize the plant source of food. For the reason, it is important to note that each of the vegetation type can make unique contribution to the measured butterfly diversity and the butterfly for the plant diversity (Suzuki, 1987), (Stohlgren et al., 1997). Occurrence patterns of a few butterfly species showed interesting trends. The rings (Ypthima spp., family Nymphalidae) are grass feeders in their larval stage. Some butterfly species have environmentally induced an alternative seasonal form, which is known as seasonal polyphenism. The butterfly species composition differed between habitat types. This result is similar with (Steffan-Dewenter, et al., 1997). During the survey 275 individuals of ten butterflies were observed by transect method. January shows the maximum abundance (n=106) of which includes 38.54%, followed by November (n=60) which represents 21.81%, October (n=56) which consist of 20.36%, December (n=53) found to be least which encompass of 19.27%, were recorded during the study. The butterfly species are abundant for only few months and rare or absent during other months of the year (Kunte, 2000). Wynter – Blyth had identified two season as peaks, March- April and November – December for butterfly abundance in India (Jha et al., 2000). (Sreekumar and Balakrishnan, 2001), reported that the May month was comparatively poor month for butterfly population. In Southern western Ghats, (Arun,2003) observed that the butterflies were more abundant August (late monsoon); the data reveals that the species richness was more in October , November , December and February (early and late winter). The Shannon index value was the highest in the month of January represents (0.3669) and lowest in December with (0.314). The January month shows the highest value of Simpson index with (0.133) and lowest value was found to be in December with (0.098). Patterns of relative abundance of species that determine the dominance of each insect Order in a locality was determined by calculating the dominance index with highest values in the month of January with (38.54%) and found to be lowest in December with (19.27%).

Montoring and mapping biodiversity is the step in systematic conservation planning.The primary goals of conservation is to identify the different areas or hot spots that support the

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butterfly population and their survival. The present study shows that the study area provides favourable habitat and climatic condition for butterflies.

CONCLUSION

The destruction of host plant in crop area habitat, use of synthetic pesticides, human disturbance leads decline of butterfly diversity. The present list of butterfly species is not conclusive and exhaustive therefore future exploration will be continued to update this checklist. Further studies is needed to explore more species in the study area. Furthermore, long term research and monitoring on the diversity of butterflies with special reference to ecological aspects may be taken up in the area. In addition further research will needed or documentation of butterfly species which gives future conservation of butterflies in Kerala.

REFERENCES

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9. Kunte K, “Butterflies of Peninsular India”, Universities Press (Hyderabad) and Indian Academy of Sciences (Bengaluru), pp. 270, 2000. 10. Kunte K, “Butterflies of Peninsular India”, Universities Press (Hyderabad) and Indian Academy of Sciences (Bengaluru), pp. 270, 2000. 11. Mathew, G. & V.K. Rahamathulla (1993). Studies on the butterflies of Silent Valley National Park. Entomon 18(3): 185–192. 12. Prasad, G., P.V. Prathibakumari & A.M. Lizby (2010). Butterflies of Kerala University Campus, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 3rd Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Symposium and Training Programme, 25–29 October 2010, Coimbatore, India. 13. Sreekumar PG, Balakrishnan M, “Habitat and altitude preferences of butterflies in Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala”, International Society of Tropical Ecology, vol. 42(2), pp.277-281, 2001.

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