PUNE: A recent study undertaken by environmentalists in the city recorded 191 species of butterflies belonging to 117 genera and six families from the Western Ghats. The maximum number of species was reported from the Karnala bird sanctuary in Raigad district, followed by the hill station Amboli, Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, ARAI (Automotive Research association of India) hills in Pune and Vasota fort in the Koyna wildlife sanctuary. The least diversity in species was recorded in Pophali in Ratnagiri and Dongarwadi, which is on the crestline of the Western Ghats.
Researchers also observed differences in butterfly diversity over the plateaus with and without wind-farms. There is considerable destruction of vegetation while setting up wind-farms which impacts the number of species found in these areas.
The study was undertaken by city-based MES Abasaheb Garware College, University of Pune, Ela Foundation and Pugmarks Ecologics, among others. Inventories were prepared at 30 localities in the northern Western Ghats to bring together a checklist of butterfly species diversity here. Ornithologists Satish Pande and Anand Padhye were also involved in the research.
The study areas included the Dandeli national park, which is the southern-most point monitored in this study and is a semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest with small evergreen pockets. Other areas included in the study were Sarambala irrigation project in the foothills of the Western Ghats, Amboli, the Belne and Nadhavde villages in Sindhudurg district, Sinhagad fort near Pune, Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary near the coast in Raigad district, ARAI hills in Pune, Matheran and Lonavla, among others.
"Of the 334 species belonging to 164 genera and 6 families found in the entire Western Ghats, we could report 191 species. 'Nymphalidae' was the most predominant family with 60 species, followed by Lycaenidae with 59 species, Hesperiidae with 34 species, Pieridae with 22 species, Papillionidae with 15 species and Riodinidaen with one specie," said Ankur Patwardhan, who heads the department of biodiversity, Abasaheb Garware College.
Though the researchers undertook fortnightly monitoring for two years, the species count could not increase beyond 33 at Bhambarwadi-Gudhe Pachgani locality near the Chandoli National Park in Sangli district. "On the contrary, 30 species were reported in just one visit over two days at Chalkewadi, which is a similar locality. Both of these - Bhambarwadi-Gudhe Pachgani and Chalkewadi - are plateaus with wind-farms. However, on a similar plateau without wind-farms in Chandoli Wildlife Sanctuary, we could report 42 species in only four hours. Large-scale destruction of the vegetation while setting up wind-farms is responsible for this lessening of species in these areas," he said.
Patwardhan added that endemic species of butterflies of the northern Western Ghats are poorly documented, hence the current inventory. "Some range extensions have also been provided in this research, which show that species are observed to respond to environmental changes. The areas that were once considered unsuitable are found to be hosting some of the species because of environmental and habitat changes, including climate change," he said.
He further added that certain butterfly species were recorded only from a single locality - around the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve - which emphasizes the importance of this reserve and the need for its conservation.
