Article Citation:
Veeramuthu Anbalagan, Michael Gabriel Paulraj and Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu.
Odonata diversity (Insecta: Arthropoda) in rice and vegetable fields in a north-eastern district of Tamil Nadu, India.
Journal of Research in Biology (2013) 3(4): 977-983
Journal of Research in Biology
Odonata diversity (Insecta: Arthropoda) in rice and vegetable fields in a north-eastern district of Tamil Nadu, India
Keywords:
Dragonflies, Damselflies, Libellulidae, Pantala flavescens
ABSTRACT:
Odonata diversity in vegetable fields (brinjal and okra) and rice fields was studied from January 2005 to December 2008 in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu. Totally 23 species of Anisoptera (dragonflies) and 12 species of Zygoptera (damselflies) were recorded and all these species were grouped into eight families. In vegetable fields 31 species of dragonflies and damselflies were recorded under 22 genera. In rice fields the species richness (21 species) and total genera (16) were less than vegetable fields during the entire study period. Libellulidae was the large family in both vegetable and rice fields which comprised maximum number of species. Pantala flavescens (Fabricius), a migratory species, was the most dominant in numbers throughout the year. Diversity indices clearly showed that odonata diversity was higher in vegetable fields than in rice fields.
977-983 | JRB | 2013 | Vol 3 | No 4
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Authors:
Veeramuthu Anbalagan, Michael Gabriel Paulraj and Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu*
Institution:
Entomology Research Institute, Loyola College, Chennai-34.
Corresponding author:
Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu
Email Id:
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http://jresearchbiology.com/documents/RA0346.pdf.
Dates:
Received: 06 Apr 2013 Accepted: 23 May 2013 Published: 05 June 2013
Journal of Research in Biology
An International Scientific Research Journal
Original Research
INTRODUCTION
Dragonflies and damselflies in the order Odonata are important group of insects in agroecosystems, forest ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems. They are potential biocontrol agents of agricultural, horticultural and forest pests. Many studies have shown that the larval stages of Odonata are important biological control agents of mosquito larvae (Mandal et al., 2008; Spencer et al., 1999). According to Corbet (1999), dragonflies and damselflies are excellent ecological indicators. Around 6,000 species and subspecies of Odonata have been described under 630 genera in 28 families throughout the world (Tsuda, 1991). In India, 499 species, 139 genera and 17 families of dragonflies and damselflies have been documented (Prasad and Varshney, 1995; Sharma, 2010). Odonata diversity has been extensively studied in different forest areas. Emiliyamma (2005) has recorded 31 species of dragonflies and damselflies from southern Western Ghats in the Kottayam district of Kerala. Very few investigators have studied the Odonata diversity in agricultural fields (Gunathilagaraj et al., 1999; Kandibane et al., 2005). A knowledge on Odonata diversity in different agro ecosystems is very essential to understand the influence of crop type on species richness, abundance and evenness of dragonflies and damselflies. Hence the present work was undertaken to assess the Odonata diversity in two different agricultural fields, i.e. rice and vegetable fields in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Study site:
Dragonflies and damselflies were sampled from vegetable fields, viz. brinjal and okra in Kolappancheri village and rice fields in Vayalanallur village of Tiruvallur district. The geocordination of Tiruvallur district is 12° 15 and 13° 5`N Latitude and 99° 15` and 80° 20` E Longitude.
Sampling of Odonates:
In each village, dragonflies and damselflies were sampled in three different locations by quadrate method. Quadrates of 25 m x 10 m size were laid down with threads inside rice, brinjal and okra fields separately. Totally three quadrates were put in each rice and vegetable fields. Perched dragonflies and damselflies found inside the quadrates were collected by sweeping net (25 cm in diameter) during day times (between 10.00 AM to 15.00 PM). Flying Odonates inside quadrate area were also caught with sweeping net. Sampling was done twice in a month from January 2005 to December 2008. Specimens from replications were pooled together.
Identification:
The specimens were identified using identification keys provided by Fraser (1933, 1934 and 1936) and Subramanian (2009). After identification and counting the total number of specimens, few specimens from each taxa were retained and others were left behind alive in the field. Specimens which were not identified in the field were brought to the laboratory for identification. The identified specimens were deposited at the Entomology Research Institute, Loyola College, Chennai.
Meteorological Data:
Data on atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, mean total rainfall and total number of rainy days from 2005 to 2008 were obtained from Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.
Diversity indices:
Total number of dragonflies and damselflies collected during the study period was recorded. Total abundance, Simpson‟s index of diversity (1-D), Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H), Shannon entropy, species richness and species evenness were calculated by using the software „Past.exe‟ (ver. 2.14). Jaccard‟s similarity index was calculated to find out the similarity in Odonata diversity between vegetable and rice fields.
The formulae for the diversity indices are as follows:
Simpson‟s index (D) = Σ ni (ni-1) / N (N-1)
i = 1
Where ni = number of individual for each species
N = total number of individuals
Shannon index of general diversity ()
log
Where ni = number of individual for each species
N = total number of individuals
Evenness (e)
Where = Shannon index
S = number of species
The similarity in odonata diversity between vegetable fields and rice fields was assessed by using the formula of Jaccard‟s similarity index as follows:
Jaccard‟s Index = A/ (A+B+C)
Where A= total number of species present in both communities
B= the number of species present in community 1 but not 2
C= the number of species present in community 2 but not 1
RESULTS
Totally 35 species of dragonflies and damselflies were recorded collectively from vegetable and rice fields in Tiruvallur district from January 2005 to December 2008 (Figure1). The species composition, richness, evenness and other diversity indices showed variations between vegetable and rice fields.
Species composition and diversity in vegetable fields
Three families viz., Aeshnidae, Gomphidae and Libellulidae were recorded under Anisoptera (dragonflies) and five families viz., Calopterygidae, Coenagrionidae, Euphaeidae, Lestidae and Platycnemididae were recorded under Zygoptera (damselflies) (Table 1). Totally 31 species of dragonflies and damselflies were recorded under 22 genera, of which 15 genera and 22 species were dragonflies and 7 genera and 9 species were damselflies. Libellulidae was found to be the largest family, which has the highest number of species (18 species) throughout the study period. Species richness was 31 throughout the study. Total abundance was maximum (4167) in 2008. Maximum evenness of 0.899 was recorded in vegetable fields in 2007 and this was correlated with the maximum Shannon-Wiener diversity index of 3.328 during the same study year (Table 2). The similarity index (Jaccard‟s similarity index) was calculated as 0.660 for each study year (Table 2).
Species composition and diversity in rice fields
Five different families namely Aeshnidae, Gomphidae, Libellulidae, Coenagrionidae and Lestidae were recorded in rice field. All the species collected from rice fields were grouped under 16 genera (12 Anisoptera and 4 Zygoptera). Total number of species recorded in rice field was 21 (15 Anisoptera and 6 Zygoptera). Maximum total abundance (1703) was recorded in 2008. Maximum Shannon-Wiener diversity index (2.871) and
evenness (0.8409) in rice fields were recorded during 2007. Odonata diversity in rice fields was lower than vegetable fields. The similarity index (Jaccard‟s similarity index) was calculated as 0.660 for each study year.
Meteorological data:
The meteorological data is given in the table 3. Mean maximum and minimum yearly temperatures were low in 2007 compared to other three years. Also the relative humidity was high in the year 2007.
DISCUSSION
Present study reports the odonata diversity in vegetable and rice agroecosystems. Odonates are predaceous insects and they are important biocontrol agents of agricultural pests and vector mosquitoes. In the present study families Libellulidae in Anisoptera and Coenagrionidae in Zygoptera were found to be more diverse families in terms of the number of species. Similar findings were already reported by some investigators. Ghahari et al.,(2009) have reported that families Libellulidae and Coenagrionidae were dominant in terms of number of species in rice fields in Iran. Kumar and Mitra (1998) reported that family Libellulidae was represented by high number of species (18 species) among a total collection of 42 species from Sahstradhara, Dehra Dun. Similar reports were published by Prasad (2002), Kumar (2002) and Vashishth et al., (2002).
Several investigators have reported that dragonflies and damselflies are very common in rice agroecosystems. Kandibane et al., (2003) have recorded 12 species of Odonata under three families in rice fields of Madura. In the present work the number of species and families recorded in rice fields were high compared to the results of Kandibane et al., (2003, 2005). Among the various species, Pantala flavescens, a migratory species, was abundant in numbers. The damselfly Ceriagrion coromandelianum was abundant in both vegetable fields and rice fields. In rice field, Agriocnemis femina femina was also found to be abundant. Kandibane et al., (2003) have reported that A. femina was more abundant in rice ecosystems.
The diversity and distribution of insects may be influenced by type of ecosystems and climate. In the present study the species richness, total abundance and diversity of Odonata were high in vegetable ecosystems compared to rice ecosystem. Higher evenness values were recorded in vegetable fields than rice fields during 2006, 2007 and 2008. When the richness and the evenness of a community increases, the Shannon index also increases. In the present study the Shannon index was higher in vegetable fields than rice fields. This was
due to the higher species richness and evenness in vegetable fields. The dominance of species was found to be lower in vegetable crops compared to rice fields. Hence the Simpson„s index of diversity (1-D) was higher in vegetable crops and it clearly explained that species distribution in vegetable crops was equal.
Besides the type of crop, the climatic factors such as rainfall, atmospheric temperature and humidity also affect the insect diversity. The average annual temperature was the lowest in the year 2007. This lowest average temperature in 2007 coincided with the maximum insect diversity in both rice and vegetable crops. Brinjal and okra plants grow taller with branches and provide suitable microclimate and resting place for perching adult Odonata. Vegetable fields also harbour variety of small insects, which are the main prey of Odonates. Latif et al., (2009) have reported 20 species of pest insects and 10 families of predaceous insects in brinjal field. Hence the presence of variety of prey insects might be the reason for higher odonata diversity in vegetable fields.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that dragonfly and damselfly diversity was influenced by type of crop because vegetable ecosystem supported more taxa of Odonates than rice field.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Entomology Research Institute for financial support
REFERENCES
Corbet PS. 1999. Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 829.
Emiliyamma KG. 2005. “On the odonata (Insects) fauna of Kottayam District, Kerala, India”. Zoos Print J., 20(12): 2108-2110.
Fraser FC. 1933. The Fauna of British-India Including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata.vol.1, Taylor and Francis Ltd., London.
Fraser FC. 1934. The Fauna of British-India Including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata. vol. II. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London.
Fraser FC. 1936. The Fauna of British-India Including Ceylon and Burma, Odonata. vol. III. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London.
Ghahari H, Tabari M, Sakenin H, Ostovan H and Imani S. 2009. “Odonata (Insecta) from Northern Iran, with comments on their presence in rice fields,” Mun. Ent. Zool, 4(1): 148-154.
Gunathilagaraj K, Soundarajan RP, Chitra N and Swamiappan M. 1999. “Odonata in the rice fields of Coimbatore”, Zoo`s Print J., 14(6): 43-44.
Kandibane M, Mahadevan NR and Gunathilagaraj K. 2003. “Odonata of irrigated rice ecosystem of Madurai, Tamil Nadu,” Zoo’s Print J., 18: 1155-1156.
Kandibane M, Raguraman S and Ganapathy N. 2005. “Relative abundance and diversity of Odonata in an irrigated rice field of Madurai, Tamilnadu,” Zoo’s Print J., 20(11): 2051-2052.
Kumar A. 2002. “Odonata Diversity in Jharkhand State with Special Reference to Niche Specialization in their Larva Forms,” In: Current Trends in Odonatology, Kumar, A., (Ed.). Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, 297-314.
Kumar A and Mitra A. 1998. “Odonata diversity at Sahastredhara (Sulphur springs), Dehra Dun, India,” with notes on their habitat ecology. Fraseria, 5(1/2): 37-45.
Latif MA, Rahman MM, Islam MR and Nuruddin MM. 2009. “Survey of arthropod biodiversity in the brinjal field,” J. Entomol., 6(1): 28-34.
Mandal SK, Ghosh A, Bhattacharjee I and Chandra G. 2008.“Biocontrol efficiency of odonate nymphs against larvae of the mosquito,” Culex quinquefasciatus Say, 1823. Acta Tropica,106(2):109-114.
Prasad M. 2002. “Odonata Diversity in Western Himalaya, India,” In: Current Trends in Odonatology, A. Kumar, (Ed.). Daya Publishing House, Delhi, 221-254.
Prasad M and Varshney RK. 1995. “ A checklist of odonata of india including data on larval studies,” Oriental Insects, 29(1): 385-428.
Spencer M, Blaustein L, Schwartz SS and Cohen JE. 1999. “Species richness and the proportion of predatory animal species in temporary freshwater pools: relationships with habitat size and permanence,” Ecol. Lett., 2(3): 157-166.
Sharma G. 2010. “Studies on odonata and lepidoptera (Insecta: Arthropoda) fauna of Mount abu, Rajasthan, India,” Hexapoda, 17: 136-141.
Subramanian KA. 2009. Dragonflies of India: A Field Guide. Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi, India.
Tsuda S. 1991. A Distributional List of World Odonata. Privately Published, Osaka, Japan, pages: 362.
Vashishth N, Joshi PC and Singh A. 2002. “Odonata community dynamics in Rajaji National Park, India,” Fraseria, 7: 21-25.
Anbalagan et al., 2013
978 Journal of Research in Biology (2013) 3(4): 977-983
Anbalagan et al., 2013
Journal of Research in Biology (2013) 3(4): 977-983 979
Figure 1. Total number of genera and species collected under different families of Odonata collectively from vegetable and rice fields
e =
= -
Anbalagan et al., 2013
980 Journal of Research in Biology (2013) 3(4): 977-983
Table 1. Taxonomic composition and total number of individuals collected under different species of Odonata from North-Eastern Tamilnadu during 2005-2008
Sl.No. |
Species |
Number of individuals collected |
|||||||
Vegetable fields |
Rice fields |
||||||||
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
||
|
Anisoptera Family: Aeshnidae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Anax guttatus (Burmeister) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
11 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
Anax immaculifrons (Rambur) |
25 |
52 |
67 |
72 |
12 |
6 |
14 |
11 |
|
Family: Gomphidae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
Heliogomphus selysi (Fraser) |
179 |
158 |
124 |
186 |
38 |
88 |
76 |
54 |
4 |
Ictinogomphus distinctus (Rambur) |
128 |
94 |
108 |
134 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
Ictinogomphus rapax (Rambur) |
112 |
75 |
82 |
92 |
29 |
42 |
37 |
32 |
|
Family: Libellulidae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
Brachythemis chalybea (Brauer) |
128 |
142 |
108 |
129 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius) |
106 |
85 |
122 |
148 |
78 |
55 |
86 |
73 |
8 |
Bradinopyga geminata (Rambur) |
27 |
35 |
42 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
Crocothemis servilia (Drury) |
220 |
145 |
189 |
238 |
36 |
42 |
46 |
58 |
10 |
Diplocodes trivialis (Rambur) |
175 |
205 |
218 |
232 |
125 |
163 |
158 |
182 |
11 |
Neurothemis tullia (Drury) |
98 |
112 |
147 |
121 |
58 |
82 |
117 |
93 |
12 |
Orthetrum glaucum (Brauer) |
116 |
105 |
98 |
165 |
78 |
67 |
63 |
85 |
13 |
Orthetrum sabina (Drury) |
125 |
145 |
102 |
148 |
51 |
25 |
48 |
60 |
14 |
Orthetrum testaceum (Burmeister) |
114 |
108 |
122 |
148 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
Pantala falvescens (Fabricius) |
480 |
306 |
318 |
372 |
185 |
211 |
203 |
197 |
16 |
Rhyothemis variegata (Linn.) |
219 |
184 |
225 |
236 |
89 |
58 |
62 |
71 |
17 |
Sympetrum vulgatum flavum (Bartenef) |
90 |
109 |
128 |
114 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius) |
30 |
18 |
45 |
55 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
19 |
Tramea basilaris (Palisot de Beauvois) |
170 |
165 |
138 |
145 |
31 |
27 |
41 |
29 |
20 |
Tramea limbata (Desjardins) |
150 |
120 |
111 |
165 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
Trithemis aurora (Burmeister) |
112 |
78 |
65 |
92 |
26 |
34 |
31 |
40 |
22 |
Trithemis festiva (Rambur) |
107 |
118 |
128 |
108 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
Trithemis pallidinervis (Kirby) |
72 |
110 |
95 |
108 |
52 |
45 |
69 |
42 |
|
Zygoptera |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Family:Calopterygidae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24 |
Caliphaea sp |
27 |
35 |
42 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Family: Coenagrionidae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25 |
Agriocnemis femina femina (Brauer) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
110 |
74 |
101 |
122 |
26 |
Agriocnemis pygmaea (Rambur) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
92 |
68 |
81 |
105 |
27 |
Ceriagrion coromandelianum(Fabricius) |
190 |
78 |
158 |
212 |
140 |
61 |
125 |
156 |
28 |
Ischnura aurora (Brauer) |
70 |
78 |
65 |
128 |
43 |
59 |
78 |
88 |
29 |
Ischnura delicata (Hagen) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
121 |
82 |
88 |
106 |
30 |
Ischnura inarmata (Calvert) |
71 |
65 |
108 |
108 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
31 |
Ischnura senegalensis (Rambur) |
92 |
84 |
149 |
132 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Family: Euphaeidae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
32 |
Euphaea sp |
30 |
45 |
68 |
73 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Family: Lestidae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
33 |
Lestes viridulus (Rambur) |
69 |
80 |
118 |
120 |
61 |
68 |
91 |
93 |
|
Family: Platycnemididae |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
34 |
Copera marginipes (Rambur) |
70 |
78 |
92 |
55 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
35 |
Platycnemis sp |
54 |
65 |
88 |
65 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
3656 |
3277 |
3670 |
4167 |
1464 |
1368 |
1622 |
1703 |
Anbalagan et al., 2013
Journal of Research in Biology (2013) 3(4): 977-983 981
Table 3. Mateorological data for the years from 2005 to 2008
Year |
Mean Maximum temperature (oC) |
Mean minimum temperature (oC) |
Mean Relative Humidity (%) @ 0830/1730 hrs IST |
Mean Total Rainfall (mm) |
Total number of rainy days (2.5mm and above) |
2005 |
33.6 |
24.8 |
66.8-75.6 |
199.8 |
73 |
2006 |
33.8 |
24.6 |
64.3-75.9 |
123.9 |
67 |
2007 |
33.3 |
24.5 |
67.1-75.7 |
106.9 |
68 |
2008 |
33.7 |
24.8 |
64.3-75.3 |
150.2 |
63 |
Table 2. Diversity indices for Odonata in vegetable and rice fields from 2005 to 2008
Sl. No. |
Diversity Indices |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
||||
Rice Fields |
Vegetable Fields |
Rice Fields |
Vegetable Fields |
Rice Fields |
Vegetable Fields |
Rice Fields |
Vegetable Fields |
||
1 |
Species richness (S) |
21 |
31 |
21 |
31 |
21 |
31 |
21 |
31 |
2 |
Total no. of individuals |
1464 |
3656 |
1368 |
3277 |
1622 |
3670 |
1703 |
4167 |
3 |
Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H) |
2.84 |
3.221 |
2.828 |
3.3 |
2.871 |
3.328 |
2.847 |
3.308 |
4 |
Simpson 1-D |
0.9326 |
0.9508 |
0.9288 |
0.9584 |
0.9358 |
0.9601 |
0.934 |
0.9591 |
5 |
Evenness |
0.815 |
0.8082 |
0.8056 |
0.8749 |
0.8409 |
0.8991 |
0.8208 |
0.8817 |
6 |
Jaccard Similarity Index |
0.660 |
0.660 |
0.660 |
0.660 |
Anbalagan et al., 2013
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