Odonata Diversity in Thadiyankudisai, Palni Hills of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu

KR MANIKANDAN (  [email protected] ) Tamil Nadu Agricultural University M MUTHUSWAMI Tamil Nadu Agricultural University N CHITRA Tamil Nadu Agricultural University M ANANTHAN Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

Research Article

Keywords: , diversity indices, Horticultural ecosystem, Southern Western Ghats

Posted Date: June 30th, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-638978/v1

License:   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Read Full License Odonata diversity in Thadiyankudisai, Palni Hills of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu K. R. Manikandan1, M. Muthuswami2, N. Chitra3 and M. Ananthan4

1Department of Agricultural Entomology, Agriculture College and Research Institute, Madurai- 625104, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Email: [email protected] 2 & 3Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, Email: [email protected], [email protected] 4Directorate of Open and Distance Learning, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, Email: [email protected]

Abstract A total of 419 individuals under 5 families, 8 genera and 10 species of Odonata were recorded in the present study. Among them family was speciose (5 species) followed by Euphaeidae (2 species), Chlorocyphidae (1 species), Coenagrionidae (1 species) and had 1 species. The dominance order of Odonata was Pantala flavescens (44.40%) > Diplacodes trivialis (22.70%) > Orthetrum chrysis (7.40%) while rest of the fauna ranged from (1.40 to 6.90%). Pantala flavescens was maximum during NEM (50.0%) followed by summer and winter (43.8% each) and minimum during SWM (38.5%). Margalef Index of Species Richness was highest (2.00) during winter. Simpson Index of Diversity was highest (0.75) during SWM while Shannon-Wiener Index of Dominance was highest (1.75) during summer. The species were evenly distributed during summer with Pielou’s Evenness Index value of 0.76. The community change was 80.00 per cent change during January, 2018 and had a steep fall in February and April, 2018 and reached a peak of 66.67 per cent during March and November, 2018.

Keywords

Odonata, diversity indices, Horticultural ecosystem, Southern Western Ghats.

Introduction

Western Ghats one of the mega hotspot centres of the world is endowed with rich biodiversity and the flora and fauna of the Western Ghats in general are by and large endemic 1 | P a g e

viz., 54 per cent of the flora, 65 per cent of amphibians, 62 per cent of reptiles, 53 per cent of fishes. Estimate of invertebrate diversity and their endemism better studied is extrapolated to be rich in diversity and high endemicity of Palni Hills is the eastward extension of Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu. Invertebrate diversity remains to be studied. As part of our studies on the diversity in this region the inventory of Odonata was undertaken during January, 2018 to January, 2019.

The Palni (formerly Pulney) hills in Dindigul District are an eastward spur of the Western Ghats of India (maximum east-west length of 65 km, and north-south width of 40 km) situated between 10.12° and 10.15° N and 77.26° and 77.33° E, covering an area of 2068 sq.km. It is one of the important global biodiversity hotspots with high endemism. The hills are subdivided into the Upper and the Lower Palnis. belonging to the Odonata order (Dragan flies and Damsel flies) have been studied from the perspective of ecological indicators, and many studies show that certain species exhibit high association with particular habitats (Smith et al. 2007). In the study area of Thadiyankudisai, coffee is cultivated in an area of 13,436 ha, and insect pests are a major constraint in achieving higher yield. Basic study on Odonata diversity is a prerequisite for the success of any biological control and IPM, and hence the present study was carried out. As part of studies on the insect diversity in this region was conducted from January, 2018 to January, 2019.

Results A total of 419 individuals under 4 families, 9 genera and 10 species of Odonata were recorded in the present study. Among the Odonata families, Libellulidae was speciose (5 species) followed by Euphaeidae (2 species), Chlorocyphidae (1 species), Coenagrionidae (1 species) and Aeshnidae (1 species) (Fig.1 – 13). The dominance order of Odonata: Pantala flavescens (44.40%) > Diplacodes trivialis (22.70%) > Orthetrum sp. (7.40%) and rest of the fauna ranged from 6 to 29 numbers (Table 1). Pantala flavescens was the maximum during NEM (50.00%) while Diplacodes trivialis (26.90%) in SWM and Orthetrum sp. (9.60%) in SWM (Table 2). Margalef Index of Species Richness (2.00) was the highest during winter. Simpson Index of Diversity (0.75) was the highest during SWM while Shannon-Wiener Index of Dominance (1.75)

2 | P a g e

was the highest during summer. The species were evenly distributed during summer with Pielou’s Index of Evenness value of 0.76 (Table 3).

Discussion

Odonata species assemblage at Thadiyankudisai comprised of 419 individuals 5 familes, 8 species and 10 species with maximum representation of five species under Libellulidae (Anisoptera), two species under Cholorocyphidae and one species each under Coenagrionidae and Euphaeidae of Zygoptera. Among the Odonata, Pantala flavescens (44.40 %) was the most abundant species followed by Diplacodes trivialis (22.70 %). Abundance of the remaining fauna ranged from 1.40 to 7.40 percent. The dominance of Libellulidae has been previously reported from other parts of the Western Ghats (Subramanian et al. 2008; Koparde et al. 2015). Libellulidae occur commonly in the plains, semi evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, coastal swamps (Subramanian et al. 2008). Pantala flavescens and Diplacodes trivialis have been recorded as a commonly occurring fauna in agro ecosystems such as rice (Gunathilagaraj et al. 1999) and (Arulprakash et al. 2017) and pulses ecosystems that are cultivated under dry irrigated conditions unlike rice with standing water during most part of the cropping period (Chitra et al. 2000).

Gunathilagaraj et al. (1999) have reported that the activity of the Pantala flavescens was unhindered in the rice fields sprayed with pesticides. Among Zygoptera, Esme mudiensis (Coenagrionidae) is another commonly occurring fauna and is often observed in the wetlands (Subramanian et al. 2008) and has been reported from rice fields (man-made wetland) of Coimbatore Gunathilagaraj et al. 1999), Pattukottai (Arulprakash et al. 2017). Odonata species assemblage under study was observed during all four seasons. The maximum abundance of Pantala flavescens was found to be during NEM (50.00 %) followed by winter and summer (43.80 %) and SWM (38.50 %) while D. trivialis was observed the maximum during SWM (26.9 %) and was consistent during the other three seasons NWM (20.8%), winter (21.3%) and summer (21.9%). Margalef Index of Species Richness for Odonata was found to be during winter (2.0) while Simpson’s Index of Diversity (0.75%) and Shannon- Wiener Index of Diversity (1.75) indicated that the maximum diversity was observed during summer and the species were evenly distributed during summer (0.76). Higher diversity and even species distribution during

3 | P a g e

summer may be attributed emergence of 2-3 generations of different species of Odonata during summer months and the same phenomenon has been reported elsewhere (Michael and Norma 2010). A total of 68 species of Odonata are endemic to the Western Ghats (Subramanian et al. 2008).

More than 70 per cent species belonging to these families that occur in India are endemic to Western Ghats (Subramanian 2007). Libellulidae and Gomphidae are well-distributed Anisopteran members across Indian subcontinent, with few species restricted to Western Ghats and/or northeast India (Fraser 1934, 1936; Subramanian 2005). It is opined that in place wherever deforestation, canalization of water bodies, urbanization, industrial development and disturbance of the natural cropping systems with agrochemicals was seen, dominance of Libellulidae was observed (Subramanian et al. 2008; 2011).

Material and Methods

The present study was carried out to study at Horticultural Research Station, Thadiyankudisai from January, 2018 to January, 2019. Survey sites were chosen based on accessibility. Dindigul district is located at latitude 10.29° N and longitude 77.71° E and has an average elevation of 1098 meters above (MSL) with soil types red and peat with average rainfall of 1400 mm. The area falls under Lower Palni hills where coffee is intercropped with silver oak, pepper, avocado, mandarin orange, macadamia nut, Indian coral tree, silk cotton, jack and banana. General application of chlorpyriphos 20 EC and quinalphos 25 EC in recommended doses per acre is the common plant protection measure followed here. The research plot was allotted near northern region of Kodavan river and southern region of Thathampara canals, which the name usually have been called by the native people of Thadiyankudisai. Net sweeping (30 cm diameter of the hoop and collection bag length 60 cm) was carried out at weekly intervals randomly from five plots of size 10 m x 10 m between 10.00 h and 12.00 h. Collected insects were transferred into polythene bags containing cotton dipped in chloroform (99.4 %). while the other insects were placed on filter paper and sorted out. Photographed image taken from the canon camera.

4 | P a g e

Identification was done based on the taxonomic keys of Fauna of British India (Fraser, 1933, 1934 and 1936). Identified collections were deposited at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Insect Museum, Entomology, Coimbatore.

Diversity Indices

Relative abundance of the insect specimens was calculated by the formula, Relative Density (%) = (Number of individuals of one species/Number of individuals of all species) ×100. Species or alpha diversity was quantified using Simpson’s Diversity Index (SDI), (Simpson 1949) and Shannon-Wiener index (Shannon and Weaver 1949). SDI is a measure of diversity which takes into account the number of species present, as well as the relative abundance of each species. SDI is calculated using the formula, D = Σn (n-1)/ N (N-1) where, n=total number of organisms of a particular species and N=total number of organisms of all species. Subtracting the value of Simpson’s index from 1, gives Simpson’s Index of Diversity (SID). The value of the index ranges from 0 to 1, the greater the value the greater the sample diversity. Shannon-Wiener index (H’) is another diversity index and is given as follows: H’= – Σ Pi ln (Pi), where Pi=S /N; S=number of individuals of one species, N=total number of all individuals in the sample, ln=logarithm to base e. The higher the value of H’, the higher the diversity. Margalef index of Species richness was calculated (Margalef 1958) as α=(S – 1) / ln (N); S=total number of species, N=total number of individuals in the sample. Species evenness was calculated using the Pielou’s Evenness Index (E1). Pielou’s Evenness Index, E1=H’/ ln(S); H’=Shannon-Wiener diversity index, S=total number of species in the sample (Pielou 1966) with biodiversity calculator. https://www.alyoung.com/labs/biodiversity calculator.html.

Reference

1. Arulprakash, R., Chitra, N. & Gunathilagaraj, K. Biodiversity of Odonata in rice at Pattukkottai in Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Entomology, 79, 498-502. (2017). 2. Chitra, N., Soundararajan, R.P. & Gunathilagaraj, K. Orthoptera in rice fields of Coimbatore. Zoos’ Print Journal, 15, 308-311. (2000). 3. Fraser, F.C. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Odonata Vol. I. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London. (1933).

5 | P a g e

4. Fraser, F.C. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Odonata Vol. II. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London. (1934). 5. Fraser, F.C. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Odonata Vol. III. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London. (1936). 6. Gunathilagaraj, K., Soundarajan, R.P., Chitra, N. & Swamiappan, M. Odonata in the rice fields of Coimbatore. Zoos’ Print Journal, 14, 43-44. (1999). 7. Koparde, P., Mhaske, P. & Patwardhan, A. Habitat correlates of odonata species diversity in the northern Western Ghats, India. Odonatologica, 44, 21-43. (2015). 8. Margalef, R. Temporal succession and spatial heterogeneity in phytoplankton. Perspectives in Marine Biology: 323-349. (1958). 9. Michael, J.S. & Norma, J.S. Recovery of endemic after removal of invasive alien trees. Conservation Biology, 24, 267-277. (2010). 10. Pielou, E.C. The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 13, 131-144. (1966). 11. Shannon, C.E. & Warren, W. The mathematical theory of communication Urbana, IL. University of illinois Press IL. (1949). 12. Simpson, E.H. Measurement of diversity. Nature, 163 (4148), 688. (1949). 13. Smith, J., Samways, M.J. & Taylor, S. Assessing riparian quality using two complementary sets of bioindicators. Biodiversity and Conservation. 16, 2695–2713. (2007). 14. Subramanian, K.A. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India- A field Guide. Project Lifescape. Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Bangalore and Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore. (2005). 15. Subramanian, K.A. Endemic Odonates of the Western Ghats: habitat distribution and conservation. Odonata: Biology of Dragonflies. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, India, 257- 271. (2007). 16. Subramanian, K.A., Ali, S. & Ramchandra, T.V. Odonata as indicators of riparian ecosystem health a case study from south western Karnataka, India. Fraseria (NS), 7, 83-95. (2008). 17. Subramanian, K.A., Kakkassery, F. & Nair, M.V. The status and distribution of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) of the Western Ghats. In: Molur, S., Smith, K.G., Daniel, B.A., &

6 | P a g e

Darwall, W.R.T. (Compilers), The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in the Western Ghats, India. Cambridge, UK, and Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, and Coimbatore, India: Zoo Outreach Organization, 63–71. (2011).

Acknowledgement The authors are grateful for the financial assistance received from the School of Post Graduate Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The authors sincerely thank the faculty and students of Agricultural College and Research Institute (AC & RI), Madurai and Coimbatore, Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Horticultural Research Station (HRS), Thadiyankudisai for the kind help rendered during the study.

Declarations Affiliations Department of Agricultural Entomology, Agriculture College and Research Institute, Madurai, 625104, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. K. R. Manikandan Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003 M. Muthuswami and N. Chitra Directorate of Open and Distance Learning, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003 M. Ananthan

Author’s contributions Conceptualization: K.R.M., and N.C.; Experimentation and data collection: K.R.M., M.M. and M.A.; Data curation: K.R.M. and N.C.; Formal analysis: K.R.M. and N.C.; Writing- original draft preparation: K.R.M., M.M., N.C. and M.A.; Writing: K.R.M.; Review and editing: K.R.M., M.M. and N.C.; Supervision: K.R.M., M.M. and M.A.; Funding acquisition: K.R.M. and M.M.; Project administration: M.M., N.C. and M.A.; All authors read and approved the manuscript.

7 | P a g e

Corresponding author Correspondence to K.R. Manikandan.

Competing interests The authors declare no competing of interest.

Ethics declarations Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. The author declare no human or subjects. Supplementary Information No

Funding The financial assistance for research was received from the School of Post Graduate Studies, Dean (SPGS), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.

Availability of data and material The data and materials related to this research work are submitted at Department of Agricultural Entomology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai.

Code availability No specialized software was utilized regarding this study.

Ethics approval Adhered to research ethics.

8 | P a g e

Fig 1: Odonata species in Horticultural ecosystem at Thadiyankudisai

Fig 2. indicus (Aeshnidae)

9 | P a g e

Fig 3. Helipcypha bisignata (Chlorocyphidae)

Fig 4. Esme mudiensis (Coenagrionidae)

Fig 5. Euphaea dispar (Euphaeidae) (Male)

10 | P a g e

Fig 6. Euphaea dispar (Euphaeidae) (Female)

Fig 7. Euphaea cardinalis (Euphaeidae)

Fig 8. Brachythemis contaminata (Libellulidae)

11 | P a g e

Fig 9. Diplacodes trivialis (Libellulidae)

Fig 10. Hylaeothemis indica (Libellulidae) (Male)

Fig 11. Hylaeothemis indica (Libellulidae) (Female)

12 | P a g e

Fig 12. Orthetrum chrysis (Libellulidae)

Fig 13. Pantala flavescens (Libellulidae)

13 | P a g e

Table 1: Abundance of Odonata in Horticultural ecosystem at Thadiyankudisai

Numerical S. No Family/Scientific name abundance (Nos.) I Aeshnidae Anax indicus 8 II Chlorocyphidae Heliocypha bisignata 16 III Coenagrionidae Esme mudiensis 11 IV Euphaeidae Euphaea dispar 6 Euphaea cardinalis 13 V Libellulidae Brachythemis contaminata 24 Diplacodes trivialis 95 Hylaeothemis indica 29 Orthetrum chrysis 31 Pantala flavescens 186 Total 419

Table 2: Seasonal abundance of Odonata in Horticultural ecosystem at Thadiyankudisai

Seasonal abundance Family/ South North S.No Scientific name Winter Summer West East Monsoon Monsoon I Aeshnidae 1 Anax indicus 2 1 3 2 II Chlorocyphidae 2 Heliocypha bisignata 2 6 2 6 III Coenagrionidae 3 Esme mudiensis 3 2 1 5 IV Euphaeidae 4 Euphaea dispar 1 2 3 0 5 Euphaea cardinalis 3 3 4 3 V Libellulidae 6 Brachythemis contaminata 7 4 7 6 14 | P a g e

7 Diplacodes trivialis 19 21 28 27 8 Hylaeothemis indica 5 8 6 10 9 Orthetrum chrysis 8 7 10 6 10 Pantala flavescens 39 42 40 65 Total 89 96 104 130

Table 3: Diversity indices of Odonata from Horticultural ecosystem at Thadiyankudisai Margalef Index Simpson’s Shannon- Pielou’s Index Season (α) of species Index of Wiener of Evenness richness Diversity (SID) Index (H’) (EI) Winter 2.00 0.74 1.71 0.74 Summer 1.97 0.74 1.75 0.76 South West Monsoon 1.93 0.75 1.74 0.75 North East Monsoon 1.65 0.67 1.50 0.68

15 | P a g e