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Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Article Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India Prem Kumar Chetri, Kishor Sharma, Sailendra Dewan & Bhoj Kumar Acharya 26 April 2018 | Vol. 10 | No. 5 | Pages: 11551-11565 10.11609/jot.3641.10.5.11551-11565 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies and Guidelines visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints contact <[email protected]> Publisher & Host Partners Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 April 2018 | 10(5): 11551–11565 Article Butterfly diversity in human-modified ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India Prem Kumar Chetri 1, Kishor Sharma 2, Sailendra Dewan 3 & Bhoj Kumar Acharya 4 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 1,2,3,4 Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim 737102, India 1 Present address: Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management Department, Government of Sikkim, Deorali, OPEN ACCESS Sikkim 737102, India 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected], 4 [email protected] (corresponding author) Abstract: Understanding wild biodiversity of agroecosystems and other human dominated landscapes are crucial for the management and conservaton of biological resources. Here, we studied the diversity, abundance, similarity and functonality of buterfies in diferent human modifed 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 buterfies in the study area. A total of 911 individual buterfies representng six families and 44 species were recorded during the present study in southern Sikkim. Species richness and abundances of buterfies were signifcantly diferent among the systems. While diversity and abundance were higher in forest patches, each system harbored unique species assemblages with low similarity between habitats. The informaton on larval host plants were available for 41 buterfy species which depended on 128 plant species belonging to 27 families. The buterfy 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 confned to forest habitat, whereas generalist species were mostly restricted to cultvated systems. The fndings of the study highlighted the need for conservaton of traditonally managed agroecosystems in order to conserve buterfies and other associated biodiversity. Keywords: Agroecosystems, buterfy, conservaton, eastern Himalaya; host plants. DOI: htp://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3641.10.5.11551-11565 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3C98090F-8CB7-40D4-9592-A37C23BA1E37 Editor: Sanjay Sondhi, Titli Trust, Dehradun, India. Date of publicaton: 26 April 2018 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # 3641 | Received 08 July 2017 | Final received 23 March 2018 | Finally accepted 04 April 2018 Citaton: Chetri, P.K., K. Sharma, S. Dewan & B.K. Acharya (2018). Buterfy diversity in human-modifed ecosystems of southern Sikkim, the eastern Himalaya, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(5): 11551–11565; htp://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3641.10.5.11551-11565 Copyright: © Chetri et al. 2018. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this artcle in any medium, reproducton and distributon by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publicaton. Funding: This manuscript is an outcome of the M.Sc. dissertaton of the frst author. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. Author Details: Prem Kumar Chettri holds MSc (Zoology) from Sikkim University and currently works at the Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management Department, Government of Sikkim. He has a keen interest on biodiversity of Sikkim Himalaya with special focus on buterfies and plants. Kishor Sharma is a PhD scholar at the Department of Zoology, Sikkim University. His research interests are to understand the diversity and distributon paterns of birds and buterfies in the agroecosystem-forest gradient of Sikkim Himalaya. Sailendra Dewan is a PhD scholar at the Department of Zoology, Sikkim University. His research focuses on distributon patern and phylogeny of buterfies along elevaton gradients in the Sikkim Himalaya. Bhoj Kumar Acharya is a faculty in the Department of Zoology, Sikkim University, Gangtok. His research interests are to understand the large-scale ecological paterns with partcular emphasis on species richness, abundance and distributon paterns along ecological gradients in the Himalaya. Author Contributon: Study designed by BKA, PKC, KS; data collected by PKC, KS; analyzed the data by KS, PKC, SD, BKA and PKC, KS, SD, BKA wrote the manuscript. Acknowledgements: We thank Vice Chancellor, Sikkim University, Dean, School of Life Sciences and Head, Department of Zoology, Sikkim University for facilites to undertake this research, and faculty members of Zoology Department, Sikkim University for cooperaton and insightul discussion. We also thank PCCF cum Secretary, Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Research Ofcer, Forests, Environment and Wildlife Management Department, Government of Sikkim for grantng permission to carry out the study. Support received from local communites of Ralong Village is highly appreciated. 11551 Buterfy diversity in human modifed ecosystems of southern Sikkim Chetri et al. INTRODUCTION forests sites. In Cameroon, however, Bobo et al. (2006) reported a signifcant decline of buterfy richness and Increased rates of deforestaton and forest abundance from secondary forests and agroforestry degradaton over the past century have resulted in sites towards near primary forests and annual crop sites signifcant biological atriton globally (Barlow et al. and high species turn over along the gradient of land 2007; Primack 2014). Due to ever-increasing human conversion but with loss of range-restricted and forest populaton and subsequent conversion of primary species. The studies in tropical regions have reported forests for agricultural expansion, many species have decline in buterfy species richness with increasing lost their potental habitat leading to local extrpaton. management intensity (Mas & Dietsch 2003; Francesconi For example, a large percentage of red-listed species has et al. 2013). Schulze et al. (2010) highlighted the been threatened by agricultural intensifcaton (Norris importance of human-modifed habitats for conservaton 2008). The increasing pressures on the environment by of overall biodiversity across all major tropical regions. humans necessitate preservaton of natural areas crucial Along a gradient from open to forest habitats, species’ for the persistence of biological diversity. habitat preferences signifcantly relates to populaton There is a growing concern that, loss of biodiversity trends; drastc decline of open-habitat species and will result in declining ecosystem services (Kunte 2000; moderate increase of forest species (Herrando et al. Kremen et al. 2002; Hooper et al. 2005; Tscharntke et al. 2016). Endemicity and larval host plant specifcity have 2005). In agroecosystems, natural biodiversity provides been reported as signifcant predictors of vulnerability to a variety of ecosystem services such as pollinaton, habitat disturbance for buterfies (Posa & Sodhi 2006). recycling of nutrients, regulaton of microclimate and Studies on buterfy communites in India have local hydrological processes, suppression of pests and focused mostly on protected areas or forest ecosystems detoxifcaton of noxious chemicals, securing crop (Uniyal & Mathur 1998; Uniyal 2004, 2007; Barua 2007; protecton and soil fertlity, etc. (Alteri 1999; Lal 2004; Barua et al. 2010; Singh 2010, 2017; Sengupta & Ghorai Montagnini & Nair 2004). Most species, which primarily 2013; Sethy et al. 2014; Acharya & Vijayan 2015; Chetri inhabit forests, also interact with agroecosystems and 2015; Sondhi & Kunte 2016). A few ecological studies have a large proporton of the total species of the region are reported the buterfy communites in agroecosystems likely to be encountered in agroecosystems (Pimentel et in India, mostly from the Western Ghats region (Kunte al. 1992). The management of these agricultural systems 1997; Kunte et al. 1999; Shahabuddin & Ali 2001; Dolia can dramatcally afect overall