Abundance
and diversity of Odonata in temporary water bodies of
Coimbatore and Salem districts in Tamil Nadu
R. Arulprakash1 & K. Gunathilagaraj 2
Department of Agricultural
Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641003, India
Email: 1 avrarulprakash@gmail.com; 2 gunathilagaraj@yahoo.com
Date of publication (online): 26 July 2010
Date of publication (print): 26 July 2010
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: K.A. Subramanian
Manuscript details:
Ms # o2035
Received 18 August 2008
Final revised received 20 March 2010
Finally accepted 10 May 2010
Citation: Arulprakash, R. & K. Gunathilagaraj (2010). Abundance and
diversity of Odonata in temporary water bodies of
Coimbatore and Salem districts in Tamil Nadu. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(8): 1099-1102.
Copyright:© R. Arulprakash & K. Gunathilagaraj2010. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any
medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing
adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Odonata, dragonflies and damselflies,
constitute a small, well known order of insects that are widely distributed all
over the world (Tillyard 1917). They are denizens of many aquatic ecosystems
and their distribution covers a great deal of continuum from temporary to
permanent water bodies (Corbet 1999; Johansson & Suhling 2004). Earlier 54 species of Odonata: Anisoptera (33) and Zygoptera(21) inhabitating temporary water bodies were
recorded from different parts of India (Fraser 1933, 1934, 1936; Kumar 1973 a,b; Singh & Prasad 1976; Ram
et al. 1982; Kaushik et al. 1990, 1991; Prasad
2002). But no study has been carried out
so far from the temporary water bodies of Tamil Nadu, hence the present
study. Odonatafauna was surveyed in 13 temporary water bodies of Salem and Coimbatore
districts of Tamil Nadu.
Material and Methods: Odonata were collected from 13 temporary
water bodies of Coimbatore (8) and Salem (5) districts in Tamil Nadu. In all the temporary water bodies sampled,
water is present only during the rainy season (December - April) and remain dry during the summer season. Geo co-ordinates of the temporary water
bodies sampled are given in Table 1. Collections were made after the north-east monsoon (January to April,
2006) and only adult Odonata was collected with the
help of a sweep net (35cm dia. and 70cm ht.) by slowly walking around the water
bodies. The identity of the collected Odonata was carried out by following the keys given by
Fraser (1933, 1934, 1936), Kumar & Prasad (1981),
Ram et al. (1982), Barrion & Litsinger(1994) and Emiliyamma & Radhakrishnan(2000). Odonatadiversity was computed using the Simpson’s index (Simpson 1949).
s
Simpson’s index (λ) = ∑ ni(ni-1) / N (N-1)
i = 1
Where, ni is the number of individuals of the ith species, and N is the total number of
individuals in the sample
Simpson’s index (λ) varies
from 0 to 1. An increase in the value of
the index indicates a decrease in diversity and vice-versa.
Results: Twenty-one species of Odonata(14 species of Anisoptera and seven species of Zygoptera) belonging to 17 genera under four families were
recorded from 13 temporary water bodies of Coimbatore and Salem districts in
Tamil Nadu (Table 2). Trees present
around the temporary water bodies provide shade over the habitat. Aquatic
vegetations need microclimate for their proliferation. In the study, this
microclimate was provided by the trees in the form of shade.
Anisoptera dominated the temporary water
bodies except in the Commonyeri tank (where both Anisoptera and Zygoptera were in
equal proportion), Selvapuram tank (near equal) and Nagarajapuram tank (Zygopteradominant) and no Zygoptera was recorded in the Boominaicken patty tank. Both Anisoptera and Zygopterawere represented by two families each viz., Gomphidae,Libellulidae (Anisoptera)
and Coenagrionidae and Lestidae(Zygoptera). Of them, Libellulidae was represented by the
maximum number of species (11) and individuals (317) followed by Coenagrionidae, Gomphidae and Lestidae.
Pantala flavescens (Fabricius)
(Libellulidae) was the most abundant Anisoptera and Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius)
(Coenagrionidae) the most abundant Zygoptera among the 21 species recorded. Three species of Anisopteraviz., Diplacodes trivialis (Rambur),Orthetrum sabina (Drury) and P. flavescens (Libellulidae)
were recorded from all the 13 temporary water bodies sampled and none of the Zygoptera colonised all the
temporary water bodies. Only Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Coenagrionidae)
was present in 12 temporary water bodies. Neurothemis tullia (Drury) and Rhodothemis rufa (Rambur)
(Libellulidae) were confined to Nagarajapuramtank.
Among the temporary water bodies, Utkulam Tank (Coimbatore) had the maximum number of
individuals (72) and species (16) and minimum in BoominaickenPatti (Salem) (8 individuals and 4 species). Simpson’s index (λ) showed maximum Odonatadiversity in Kamalapuram tanks one and two (Salem)
followed by Nagarajapuram and Utkulamtanks (Coimbatore) (Table 3). Minimum Odonata diversity was found in UkkadamTank (Coimbatore).
Discussion: Temporary water bodies are found throughout the world
particularly in tropical countries (Williams 1997). Anisopterawas abundant in most of the water bodies sampled. This might be due to their
high dispersal ability (Batzer & Wissinger 1996; Williams 1997; Lawler 2001; Kadoya et al. 2004) and their adaptability to wide range of
habitats (Hodgkin & Watson 1958; Suhling et al.
2004, 2005). Less abundance of damselflies was probably due to their limited
dispersal ability (Weir 1974), undulating environment afforded by the temporary
water bodies (Williams 1997; Kadoya et al. 2004) and
partial or absence of shade cover (Clark & Samways1996). The abundance of damselflies in Nagarajapuram,Commanyeri and Selvapuramtanks could be attributed to the presence of shade over the habitat from the
trees present around the water bodies and to the presence of aquatic
vegetation. This is in confirmation with the findings of Fraser (1933) and
Subramanian (2005) who revealed that shade and aquatic vegetation could favour Zygoptera more than Anisoptera. The size of the temporary water bodies
determines the species richness and diversity of Odonata(Lounibos et al. 1990; Clark & Samways 1996; Stewart & Samways1998; Schindler et al. 2003; Kadoya et al. 2004; Carchini et al. 2005; Suh & Samways 2005). The maximum Odonatadiversity in Kamalapuram tanks one and two might be
due to their larger size. Factors affecting Odonataspecies assemblage in temporary water bodies are human disturbances
(modification of habitat structure) (Moore 1982; Brown 1991; Stewart & Samways 1998; Norma-Rashid et al. 2001; Timmet al. 2001; Clausnitzer 2003; Oppel2005a, b), contamination of water bodies (Watson et al. 1982) and the presence
of predators (Williams 1987; Blaustein 1992). Minimum
diversity in Ukkadam tank could be due to the
discharge of sewage water into the tank and presence of insectivorous fish. The
abundance of Libellulidae (Anisoptera)
and Coenagrionidae (Zygoptera)
in the present study might be due to their shorter life cycle and widespread
distribution (Norma-Rashid et al. 2001) and tolerant to wide range of habitats
(Gentry et al. 1975; Samways 1989).
Conclusion: The survey of 13 temporary water bodies revealed the
occurrence of 21 species of Odonata. Odonata belonging
to the family Libellulidae dominated in all the
temporary water bodies except Nagarajapuram Tank
(Coimbatore) which was dominated by Zygoptera. The presence of shade cover and aquatic
vegetation favoured zygopteranpopulation more than Anisoptera. P. flavescens (Libellulidae)
was the most dominant Odonata and D. trivialis,
O. sabina and P. flavescens were present in all temporary
water bodies sampled. Maximum Odonata diversity was observed in Kamalapuramtanks one and two.
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