Odonata (Insecta) diversity of SalimAli Bird Sanctuary and its adjacent areas in Thattekkad,
Kerala, India
Aby P.
Varghese 1, P.R. Nikesh 2 &Jijo Mathew 3
1 Assistant Professor in Zoology, Mar
Athanasius College, Kothamangalam College P.O., Ernakulam, Kerala, 686666, India
2 Padinjattikkudiyil, Chembankuzhy, NeriamangalamP.O., Kerala 686693, India
3 Pappalil House, Malippara P.O., Kothamangalam,Ernakulam, Kerala 686691, India
1 abypvarghese@yahoo.com (corresponding
author), 2 nikeshpr39@gmail.com, 3 indiaowls@yahoo.co.uk
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3395.5887-93 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:174C6410-8834-46C0-9173-D33160695CAB
Editor: K.A.
Subramanian, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India. Date
of publication: 26 June 2014 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms #
o3395 | Received 19 October 2012 | Final received 09 May 2014 | Finally
accepted 22 May 2014
Citation: Varghese, A.P., P.R. Nikesh& J. Mathew (2014). Odonata (Insecta) diversity of Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary and its
adjacent areas in Thattekkad, Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa6(6): 5887–5893; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3395.5887-93
Copyright: © Varghese et al. 2014. Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution
by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Funding: University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi (F. No.
MRP(S)-664/09-10/KLMG038/UGC-SWRO,
dated 30 November
2009).
Competing Interest: The
authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: This paper is
the result of biodiversity studies conducted at the Salim Ali bird sanctuary, Thattekkad, Kerala, with the financial
support of University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi. We are thankful to
the Kerala State Forest Department for giving permission to carry out the work.
We are also grateful to the Principal, Mar Athanasius College, Kothamangalam for the
facilities provided.
For figures, images, tables -- click here
Odonata are
valuable indicators of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Out of 5952 species recorded globally, India
possesses 474 species and subspecies of Odonata which
belong to 142 genera and 18 families (Subramanian 2014). The Western Ghats, one of the hotspots
of biodiversity in India, possesses 53 genera and 107 species of Anisoptera (dragonflies) and 29 genera and 67 species of Zygoptera (damselflies) (Subramanian et al. 2011). Out of the 174 odonataidentified in Western Ghats, 31 Dragonflies and 25 Damselflies are endemic
(Subramanian et al. 2011). Of this, 139 species belonging to 81 genera and 12
families are recorded from Kerala (Emiliyamma et al.
2012).
There are several studies which document the Odonataof Kerala (Fraser 1933–34; Rao & Lahiri 1982; Emiliyamma & Radhakrishnan 2000, 2002; Prasad & Kulkarni2001; Radhakrishnan & Emiliyamma2003; Palot & Sonia 2004; Palotet al. 2005; Emiliyamma et al. 2005, 2007, 2012; Emiliyamma 2005, 2008). However, a certain lacuna in the
occurrence of the Odonata fauna of Kerala still
exists.
The Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary and its adjacent
areas in Thattekkad, Kerala, India is well known for
its low land forests and avifaunal diversity. It is part of a large contiguous forest
belt south of the Palakkad gap on the western slope of the Western Ghats,
falling within the latitude 100N and longitude 76–77 0E. The elevation of the area ranges from
about 30–523 m. The area is
hot and humid being on the western slope of the Western Ghats. Rainfall is received during the
southwest and northeast monsoon seasons. The average rainfall recorded is
4000mm. The temperature ranges from
16.1–37 0C. The
major forest types occurring in the sanctuary are: tropical evergreen forest
(10% of the total area), tropical semi-evergreen forest (10%), tropical moist
deciduous forest (60%) and teak, rose wood and mahogany plantations (around 10%). There are patches of grasslands as well
as stretches of riparian vegetation (10%) inside the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is bordered by river Periyar on
the southwestern side and its tributary Pooyamkutty river on the northern side. A dam was
constructed at Bhoothathankettu, 1.5km downstream of Thattekkad, in the Periyar river
in 1964. It caused the submergence of all low lying forest and paddy fields.
The resultant water bodies have a depth ranging from 5 to 50 feet beyond the
river. These water bodies along with the streams and rivers adjacent to the
sanctuary were also selected for the study.
Materials and Methods: Studies on odonate diversity were made by visiting various localities
in the study area at weekly intervals from 2010 to 2012. Ovumkaland Urulanthanny forest streams and water bodies such
as, Koottikkal, Marottichal,Ovumkal and Kolambay were
the localities selected inside the protected area (10007’48.5”N
& 76041’16.2”E). In
addition, forest streams and rivers in neighbouring areas such as Pooyamkutty (10009’47.1”N & 76047’09.0”E),Pinavurkudy (10006’24.4”N &76047’15.8”E),Neriamangalam (10006’21.1”N & 76047’11.1”E)
and Karimanal (10000’59.7”N & 76051’15.1”E)
and adjacent water bodies of the Bhoothathankettureservoir were also selected (Fig. 1). Opportunistic observations were made for documenting the adults of Odonata. Species were photographed in the field. In certain cases, adults were collected
and after recording morphological details, measurements and photographs, the
individuals were freed. The
specimens were identified by following Fraser (1933, 1934, 1936), Subramanian
(2008, 2014) and Emiliyamma et al. (2005, 2007).
Results and Discussion: A total of 82 species
belonging to 55 genera and 13 families were recorded during the entire study
(Table 1). Out of this, 51 species
belong to (39 genera and 4 families) Anisoptera, and
31 species belong to (19 genera and 7 families) Zygoptera. Libullilidae family is represented by 28
genera and 38 species. Gomphidae (9 genera) and Coenagrionidae(5 genera) are represented by nine and 12 species, respectively. Platycnemididae (4 genera) family is represented by seven species. Aeshnidae (2
genera), Platystictidae (2 genera) Calopterygidae (2 genera) and Chlorocyphidae(2 genera) families are represented by three species each. Euphaeidae (2
genera) family is represented by two species. Macromiidae (1 genus) and Lestidae (1 genus)
families are represented by a single species each.
Of the total Odonata, 21 species are endemic
to the Western Ghats (Table 1). Burmagomphus laidlawiFraser, 1924, Davidioides martini Fraser, 1924,Gomphidia kodaguensisFraser, 1923, Megalogomphus hannyngtoni (Fraser, 1923), Merogomphus longistigma (Fraser, 1922), Microgomphus souteri Fraser, 1924, Onychogomphus striatus Fraser, 1924, Idionyx saffronata Fraser, 1924, Macromedia donaldi (Fraser, 1924), Macromia annaimalaiensis Fraser, 1931 and Epithemis mariae (Laidlaw,
1915) were the endemic dragonflies recorded from the area. Agriocnemis keralaensis Peters,
1981, Pseudagrion indicum Fraser,1924, Caconeura risi (Fraser,1931), Esme longistyla Fraser,1931, Esme mudiensisFraser,1922, Protosticta gravelyLaidlaw, 1915, Protosticta sanguinostigma Fraser,1922, Platysticta deccanensis Laidlaw, 1915, Calocypha laidlawi (Fraser, 1924) and Euphaea fraseri (Laidlaw,
1920) are the endemic damselflies identified during the study.
Gomphidae had the
most endemic species of all the families. Out of the nine species
recorded, seven species are endemic. O. striatus Fraser, 1924 andB. laidlawi Fraser, 1924 were recorded for the
first time from the state of Kerala. Several individuals of B. laidlawiFraser, 1924 were observed along the forest streams of Neriamangalam. One male individual of O. striatus Fraser, 1924 was recorded from the Periyar river in Karimanal. M.souteri Fraser, 1924 had been reported for the
first time from Kerala by Emiliyamma et al. (2012) from Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary,
but this species was recorded from Neriamangalamduring the study. M. hannyngtoni (Fraser,
1923) was included in the nearly threatened (Subramanian et al. 2011). M. longistigma (Fraser, 1922) was found to be a common species along the forest
streams. Rare species such as D.
martini Fraser, 1924, and G. kodaguensisFraser, 1923 were also seen along the forest streams of Pooyamkutty and Neriamangalam.
Endemic species such as M. donaldi (Fraser,
1924) and M. annaimalaiensis Fraser, 1931 were
recorded only once in Neriamangalam. I. saffronata Fraser, 1924 was recorded from two
localities. E. mariae (Laidlaw, 1915) was
restricted to a forest swamp near Urulanthanny.
Species such as C. risi (Fraser, 1931),E. longistyla Fraser, 1931, E. mudiensis Fraser, 1931 were the endemic Platycnemididae damselflies recorded. C. risi (Fraser, 1931) was reported previously
from Thamaracherry, Calicut district and Kottayam District alone (Emiliyamma2005). The study recorded this
species from three localities such as Pooyamkutty, Urulanthanny and Karimanal. E. longistylaFraser, 1931 was previously reported from the north of the Palakkad Gap to Dakshina Kannada. But this species was also identified from Pooyamkuttyand Neriamangalam. E. mudiensisFraser, 1931 was recorded from the hill streams of Urulanthannyand Neriamangalam.
All the three species identified from the family Platystictidaeare endemic. Vulnerable species
such as P. deccanensis Laidlaw, 1915 and P.sanguinostigma Fraser, 1922 (Subramanian et al. 2011) were found to be locality specific. Of these, P. deccanensis Laidlaw, 1915 had been previously reported from a few locations in Kodagu, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts only
(Subramanian et al. 2011). But this
species was sighted in a hill stream in Pinavurkudy. P.sanguinostigma Fraser, 1922 has been reported
from a few localities in southern Western Ghats (Subramanian et al. 2011) but a
good number of individuals of this species were located in the Neriamangalam stream. P. gravelyiLaidlaw, 1915 another endemic species of the family was identified from six
localities in the study area along the forest streams.
C. laidlawi (Fraser,
1924) had been previously reported from Myristicaswamps of Nilgiri-Wyanad-Kodagu region, north of the
Palakkad Gap, and Kollam District only (Subramanian et al. 2011). This species was sighted at Mlavana in the PooyamkuttyRiver. A. keralaensis Peters, 1981 had been reported so far from Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Kuttanad (Emiliyamma 2005, Raju 2007) but
this was identified as a common species along the marshy areas. P. indicum Fraser,
1924 was a common species across the water bodies of Thattekkad.
E. fraseri (Laidlaw, 1920) was recorded from the
forest streams of Urulanthanny, Pooyamkuttyand Neriamangalam.
The family Libullilidae is the most
species-rich and widely distributed family. Out of the 38 species, 30 species were
found across the water bodies selected for the study. However, families like Gomphidae, and Macromiidae were
confined to the forest streams and rivers. Dragonflies such as Neurothemis tullia (Drury, 1773), Orthetrum sabina (Drury, 1770), Pantala flavescens (Fabricius,
1798), Trithemis aurora (Burmeister,
1839) and Diplacodes trivialis (Rambur, 1842) were the wide spread and common
species. Tetrathemis platyptera Selys,
1878 and Hylaeothemis indica Fraser, 1946 were restricted to one or two habitats inside the forest. Ictinogomphus rapax (Rambur, 1842) was the commonest Gomphidspecies found across forest streams and water bodies.
Damselflies of the family Coenagrionidae were
widely distributed in all the localities selected. The Platystictidaefamily was found only in streams running through the forest. Calopterygidae, Euphaeidae and Chlorocyphidaefamilies were recorded from the rivers. Pseudagrion microcephalum (Rambur,
1842), P. indicum Fraser, 1924 and Copera vittata Selys, 1863 were recorded as the abundant species across
the localities selected.
Species diversity varied across the localities selected for the
study. High species diversity was
observed in the water bodies of the Bhoothathankettudam. But most of the endemic
species observed were found only in streams and rivers running through the
forests. The streams and rivers
outside the forest area had low species diversity and endemism.
It was observed that the water bodies were drained out during June to
November which created a number of problems for the aquatic habitat of the
area. The study clearly indicated
that the water bodies support the aquatic flora and fauna only for a period of
six months from December to May. An
abundance of Odonata were also observed during these
months in the water bodies. More studies and management efforts are required to
maintain a stable population of Odonata in Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Thattekkad,
Kerala.
Conclusion: The study results in the identification of
82 species of Odonata out of which 51 species belong
to dragonflies and 31 belong to damselflies. Twenty-one species are endemic to
the Western Ghats (Images 1–21). The occurrence of IUCN categorized near threatened species like M. hannyngtoni (Fraser, 1923) and vulnerable species likeP. deccanensis Laidlaw, 1915 and P. sanguinostigma Fraser, 1922 were remarkable. The area was found to be rich in odonate diversity. More studies are needed to understand the population dynamics and
seasonal patterns of Odonata in this particular
geographical area.
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