ID: 58893
Title: Spider Fauna in The Forest and Agricultural Ecosystems of Central Kerala, India.
Author: P A Sebastian, M J Mathew, S Murugesan.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 159-174 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Spider Fauna, Forest, Agricultural Ecosystems, Central Kerala.
Abstract: Investigations were carried out on the spider species compositions in the forests, as well as rice, vegetable (bitter gourd, snake gourd, ivy gourd, cowpea, cabbage ) and coconut agroecosystems, in Ernakulum, Idukki, Trichur and Palghat districts of central Kerala, India. A total of 169 species of spiders belonging to 82 genera and 24 families were sampled from the various ecosystems in central Kerala during the study. A total of 35 species were unique to the forest ecosystem, whereas 49 species were unique to the agricultural ecosystems. Eighty five species were shared by both ecosystems. A total of five new species were discovered during this investigation. Further, at the generic level, four genera, and at the species level, six species have been reported for the first time from India. A total of five species recorded from the study area are endemic to Kerala and 27 species endemic to the Indo-Sri Lankan region. Biogeographical analysis revealed that the araneofauna of central Kerala bears affinities mainly to the Oriental an Palearctic regions, as well as to the fauna of Sri Lanka. Analysis of the faunal composition revealed that the family Araneidae was the taxonomically dominant family in the forest, rice and vegetable ecosystems, whereas in the coconut ecosystem, the family Salticidae (jumping spiders) was the dominant family in terms of species diversity.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58892
Title: Role of Entomology Outreach Education in Developing Insect Interest Groups in India: A BNHS Initiative in Popularizing Entomology.
Author: V Shubhalaxmi, Isaac Kehimkar.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 147-158 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Entomology, Outreach Education, Insect interest, Groups in India, BNHS.
Abstract: The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has been conducting several entomological outreach educational programme since 2000. These have increased awareness about insects. The programmes were largely conducted were largely conducted at BNHS Nature Reserve, in Mumbai; however, the connectivity with the target audience was countrywide. The range of approaches used by the authors was suitable for all age groups. These included walks, camps, special events, online course, hands-on activities, social media network groups, citizen science models and research projects. To support these activities, a range of eductional materials were also developed. These included AV shows, field guides, exhibits, models, souvenirs and booklets.This paper documents the success indicators of the BNHS initiatives in popularizing entomology over the past 12 years. The outcomes of these initiatives have benefitted the audiences, authors and collaborators. The effectiveness of these efforts has generated interests among audiences who intend to pursue entomological studies or are pursuing them and contributed to insect conservation through education, tourism and community involvement.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58891
Title: Rarity in Oak Forest Butterflies of Garhwal.
Author: Arun P Singh.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 140-146 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Oak, Forest butterflies, Garhwal.
Abstract: Butterflies are one of the important components of biodiversity and good indicators of environmental variation (Gilbert, 1980, 1984; Pyle, 1980; Brown, 1982; Murphy et al,. 1990; Kremen, 1992) as they are sensitive to any alteration in their habitats, the atmosphere, the local weather, the climate and light levels (Watt et al., 1968; Ehrlich et al.. 1972; Weiss et al., 1987; New, 1991). The precise and restricted environmental requirements of particular butterflies make them of considerable value as a group of indicator taxa that indicate the broader effects of environmental changes or reflect a particular suite of ecological conditions (New, 1991). Besides, butterfly diversity also serves as a surrogate for plant diversity because butterflies are directlly dependent on plants, often in highly co-evolved situations (Ehrlich and Raven, 1964). A greater number of butterflies usually impllies a greater number of vascular plant species on which female butterflies can laly eggs. Butterfly assemblages are affected by habitat loss as native and specialized species decline and species feeding on weeds and those having high reproductive ratios increase (Shapiro and Shapiro, 1973). Butterfly species most representative of the original, pre-development, undisturbed butterfly fauna progressively disappear as sites become more degraded (Blair and Launer, 1997).
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58890
Title: Review of Indian Lepidoptera Collections and their Significance in Conservation.
Author: Peter Smetacek.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 135-139 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Indian Lepidoptera Collections. Significance, conservation.
Abstract: Indian butterfly and moth collections contain less than 50% of the estimated 11,300 species found in India. This defieciency has negatively impacted research as well as popularization and conservation efforts for this group of insects. The validity of governmental initiatives in this field is examined. Steps to improve the study of Lepidoptera in India are recommended.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58889
Title: Impact of Environmental Conditions on Egg Laying Behaviour of Eri Silkworm, Cythea Ricini Donovan.
Author: B K Negi, R K Negi.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 130-134 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Impact, Environmental conditions, Egg laying behaviour, Eri Silklworm, Cythea Ricini Donovan.
Abstract: Eri silk production has recently been introduced to the northern states of India. The first requirement is the availabilty of silkworm eggs and castor foilage. Production of eri silkworm eggs was started by the Central Silk Board through its Eri Silkworm Seed Production Centre (ESSPC) at Dehradun. The seed (eggs) production process is known as grainage work. During its initial year of egg production work, the ESSPC faced a lot of problems as that seasons were favourable for seed production had not been established properly. Three important parameters, viz. moth emergence, number of eggs laid by production depends on various external factors, important among which are temperature, relative humidity, etc. The present study was undertaken to estsablish the most suitable season for production of eri silkworm eggs. It was conducted at the ESSPC from 2007 to 2010, and all the five seasons, viz,. spring, summer, rainy season, autumn and winter, were used for seed production. Season-wise data on the temperature, humidity, rainfall and moth behaviour (such as moth emergence, coupling, fecundity and hatching percentage) were recorded. From the study it has been inferred that temperature and humidity play vital roles in the successful production of eri silkworm eggs. There was a higher emergence (96.04%) of moths as well as higher fecundity (344.25 egg/moth) in autumn. The lowest emergence (88.17%) and fecundity (216.50) were recorded during summer. So autumn is the best season for eri silkworm egg production, followed by the rainy season, in which the emergence and fecundity were 86.31% and 323.75 egg/moth, respectively. Spring was found to be ideal for hatching percentage (91.50%). So the present work proved that temperature and relative humidity play important roles in the successful production of eri silkworm eggs. And these components have a significant correlation with the seasons.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58888
Title: Diversity and Indicator Species of Moth (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) Assemblages in Different Vegetation Zones in Gangotri Landscape, Western Himalaya, India.
Author: Abesh Kumar Sanyal, V P Uniyal, Kailash Chandra, Manish Bhardwaj.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 114-129 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Diversity, Species, Moth (Lepidoptera : Heterocera) Assemblages in Different Vegetation Zones in Gangotri Landscape, Western Himalaya, India.
Abstract: In comparison with higher plants and larger animals, the inventory of insects in the western Himalaya is fragmentary and incomplete due to the taxonomic complexity and lack of expertise. This has made the monitoring and conservation of insect biodiversity an impractical thing for the protected area managers. So, instead of studying the entire insect community, attention should be given to identifying an easy-to-monitor assemblage that serves as a surrogate for the entire insect community and acts as indicator of changes in habitat quality. The order Lepidoptera, comprising butterflies and moths, is suitable for this purpose. Although butterfly taxonomy and distribution are relatively well studied, there is a large knowledge gap about the moths in the western Himalaya. In this study, attempts were made to investigate the moth species composition in different vegetation zones within the Gangotri Landscape Area and to compare sites in terms of their family and species compositions. In addition a preliminary attempt was made to identify different indicator species of moth for these different zones. With 20 sampling sites, six major vegetation zones were identified: Pine Forest, Agricultural Mixed Land, Mixed Riverine Forest, Broadleaved Forest, Conifer Forest and Alpine Scrubland. Sixteen families and 1992 specimens of moths were recorded from these 20 sites and were primarily sorted into 784 morphospecies. The family Geometridae was the most dominant family in all the zones, with 522 individuals and 186 species. The species richness was found to be highest in the Mixed Riverine Forest, while the lowest was found to be in the alpine scrubland. Mixed Riverine and Conifer forests were characterized by six species and four species of moth respectively, with high indicator scores, while other, less homogenous zones showed generally species with low mean indicator values. We assume that monitoring the abundance dynamics of this indicator assemblage of moth species will help understand the future changes in quality and compostion of the vegetation zones concerned.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58887
Title: Assessment of Environmental Stresses on Himalayan Wetlands through Morphological Defornities in Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera)
Author: Girish Maheshwari, Geeta Maheshwari.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 108-113 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Assessment, Environmental Stresses, Himalayan Wetlands, Morphological Deformities, Chironomidae, Diptera.
Abstract: Chironomids, commonly known as midges, are moaquito-like insects whose larvae (blood worms) live in the sediments of all types of aquatic habitats. Chironomids can be an important freshwater indicator. The larvae of some species are sensitive to specific forms of pollution, whereas others are quite tolerant. Excellent water quality conditions are often characterized by relatively low densities and a high species diversity, 50% or more of the species being blood worms. Sediments contaminated with trace metals and other pollutants harbor chironomids whose chromosomal activity levels are reduced, which could reflect lowered metabolic activity and inhibited RNA synthesis- the critical process by which DNA is translated to proteins. The important role that blood worms play in the food web is also significant for the possible transfer of contaminant Himalayan wetlands are of the oligotrophic type and are situated 4000m above msl. They include Tso Moriri, Tsokar, Startaspuk Tso, Kyagar, Yeye Tso, Pangong Tso, Chandratal, Surajtal, Dashauhar and Brighu. These wetlands support more than 50 species of the family Chironomidae, belonging to the subfamilies Diamesinae, Orthocladinae, Tanypodinae and Chironominae, Deformities and chromosomal aberrations were observed in Diamesa, Sympotthastia, Pagastia, Pseudokiefferiella, Pseudodiamesa, Abiskomyia, Corynoneura and others. Deformities indicate sulphur deposition (as sulphates) and changes in the concentrations of magnesium, calcium, sodium and aluminium.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58886
Title: Studies of Tiger Beetles. CCII. Indian Tiger Beetle Conservation (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae).
Author: Fabio Cassola.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 98-107 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Tiger Beetle Conservation, Coleoptera, Cicindelidae
Abstract: Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) are a well known predatory beetle family (Cassola 1999; Pearson & Vogler 2001), close to the carabids but not identical with them (Cassola 2001; Cassola & Putchkov 2005), which were recognized as a terrestrial element for assessing biodiversity richness patterns and conservation planning (Cassola & Pearson 2000) but which would reportedly be a well studied group. Tiger beetles are especially interesting to the conservationist, because they are very good indicator elements of any habitat change and environmental degradation, as well to the biogeographer, because, despite their speedy flight, they are usually not strong fliers and remain faithful to their originary habitat, rarely wandering around more than a few dozen metres.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58885
Title: Role of Butterfly Gardens in Promoting Biodiversity Conservation and Ecotourism.
Author: George Mathew, Elizabeth George, Mary Anto.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 87-97 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Butterfly, Biodiversity Conservation, Ecotourism
Abstract: The role of butterfly gardens as conservation-cum-ecotourism ventures was evaluated in a model garden established in a 0.5 ha patch of degraded moist deciduous forest in the KFRI Campus at Preechi (Kerala, India). As a result of the introduction of host plants and habitat management, there was a tremendous increase in the butterfly population, with 4509 sightings of butterflies belonging to 43 species during the first half of the project (after the first 15 months) and 5993 sightings of butterflies belonging to 50 species during the second half (from the 16th month to the 30th month). Altogether, 10,502 sightings of butterflies belonging to 56 species were recorded during the 30-month study period. These included nine species that are endemic to the Western Ghats and 10 species having a protected status under the Indian Wildlife Act, compared with about a dozen species recorded from the area before the garden was set up. The butterfly garden set up at Peechi formed a major tourist attraction, with over 11,483 visitors during the period from April 2004 to March 2009, not including the number of visitors at the facility during the Open House event, which drew several thousand visitors.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58884
Title: Indian Insect and Spider Diversity: Richness Estimates Based on True Flies of The Western Ghats and A Protection Status Assessment.
Author: Kumar Ghorpade.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 67-86 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Insect , Spider Diversity, Richness , True flies, Western Ghats, protection status.
Abstract: This article summarizes known information on the true, two-winged, flies known from the Western Ghats biogeographical sub-area. This group is used as an indicator of the total insect diversity assumed to exist on these mountains, in Dravidia (central & peninsular India and Sri Lanka) and the Indian subregion, by perspective. The Western Ghats, a north-south mountain range running south of the River Tapti (Tapi), in Gujrat, to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari), Kerala-Tamil Nadu, has some 1,262 known, described and recorded fly species of 540 genera in 64 families. Perhaps another 825-950 or more species still fly in and inhabitat Western Ghats but are not yet collected, named and described, and other known species are currently not recorded from this hill range. Statistical inference suggests that the Western Ghats may possess some 52% (or 50-70%) of all Diptera species found in the "Peninsular India-Ceylon" biogeographical area but only 15% (or 15-25%) of the fauna in the Indian subcontinent (subregion). The Western Ghats have 7-10% of the species found in the Oriental region and 2-4% of the Diptera found on earth. By extrapolation, it is estimated that around 20,000 insect species (2,000 Diptera) inhabit the Western Ghats, 40,000 in Dravidia (4,000 Diptera) and 1,50,000 +(15,000 Diptera) in the Indian subregion. Only by protecting (and restoring) all remaining pristine and minimally distributed habitats in India (ca. 3% remaining?) by legal and military action can its biota be hopefully saved for posterity and our environmental good health, this dependent mainly on urgent human (and livestock) population control.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58883
Title: Challenges for Taxonomy in Indian Context.
Author: H V Ghate.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 60-66 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: None
Abstract: Indian biodiversity is in crisis due to large-scale habitat modification. Current inventories of biodiversity, especially of insects, are going at a snail ' s place. Of the many reasons why taxonomical work is slow, non-availability of comparable specimens and museums, lack of older important literature, lack of a network of taxonomists, less emphasis on modern tools of taxonomical research, a near absence of training in taxonomy at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, are just a few. I am thinking aloud as to what can possibly be done to at least alleviate the problems of taxonomical work, and that is the theme of this paper. My personal opinion is that these problems can be treated as challenges by out taxonomists and that we should respond with a unified team effort. We have a lot to build still on the fantastic base provided by the Fauna of British India volumes. We must not be complacent as much of our land and waters are unexplored for diversity, and we certainly have many surprises in store. We must enthuse and encourage young zoologists to make a career in taxonomical studies. We must work together in large groups,collaborate with bioinformatics people, use all available modern tools, enter cyberspace truly and make our discipline a web-taxonomy. Without recourse to these techniques, we will stagnate and put ourselves at a great disadvantage vis-a-vis taxonomists of developed country. Besides, our biodiversity studies will get on very slowly, our conservations efforts will suffer, and we may lose some of our biodiversity components before those are fully understood. Current biodiversity inventories and environmental impact assessments are not done with full understanding of taxonomy, and in most case, taxonomists are not involved at all. Let it be firmly stated that conservation programs need to know the organism in question and that is the job of a taxonomist.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58882
Title: Conservation of Spiders in India.
Author: Ganesh Nanu Vankhede.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 54-59 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Conservation, Spiders, climate change.
Abstract: For many decades, insecticides have been widely used to control pests in all natural habitats and in urban ecosystems. However, the continuous use of a wide range of pesticides has caused many side effects, including loss of biodiversity. The loss of spider diversity is no exception. The situation is worsening due to climate change, global warming and global dimming. Changes in traditional agricultural practices, increasing incidences of forest fires, excessive grazing activities in forests and urbanization have intensified the loss of biodiversity in such a situation of unstable seasons and depleting sources of water environmentalists and arachnologists have to think of conserving important species such as spiders as they are the only species that keep ecosystems in balance in all respects.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58881
Title: Climate Change Adaptation and Honeybees in Mountain Regions.
Author: Harish K Sharma, Uma Partap.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 49-53 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: None
Abstract: The Indian Himalaya has been identified as one of the most sensitive landscapes and biodiversity hotspots undergoing unprecedented changes due to climate change and global warming. Changes in the mean climate and climate variability as well as extreme weather events are the direct effects of climate change whereas changes in water availability and biological organisms are the indirect effects of climate change (Gornall et al,. 2010). The UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) highlights two fundamental response strategies to combat climate change, namely mitigation and adaptation. Adaptation calls for ensuring food security, enhancing livelihood opportunities and strenthening institutional systems.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58880
Title: High-Altitude Butterfly Fauna of Gangotri National Park, Uttarakhand: Patterns in Species, Abundance Composition and Similarity.
Author: Manish Bharadwaj, V P Uniyal.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 38-48 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Altitude, Butterfly Fauna, Gangotri National Park, Uttarakhand, Patterns, Abundance Composition, Similarity.
Abstract: Mountain habitats have been under severe threats due to the enormous population increase during the last few decades, and thus it is important to conserve biodiversity in these landscapes before many species go extinct. Due to the focus on larger charismatic species in conservation, less glamorous and abundant taxa remain neglected. We studied butterfly diversity in Gangotri National Park, Uttarakhand, India during April-November 2008. Butterflies were sampled along 29 transects in Gangotri and Nilang valleys. Transects were distributed across various elevations, ranging from 2800 m amsl to 5200 m amsl. The vegetation in the park is very diverse and fails within five forest types due to the variations in topography, climate, aspect and elevation. A total of 1639 butterfly individuals representing 34 species, 29 genera and five families were recorded during the study. The highest butterfly species richness, abundance and diversity were recorded in Himalayan dry/moist temperate forest. The highest number of unique species were also recorded in Himalayan dry/moist temperate forest, and the number declined with increasing elevation. Among the five butterfly families, the highest species richness and abundance was accounted for by the family Nymphalidae. Three distint butterfly communities were identified on the basis of cluster analysis that supported the idea that each vegetation type supports a distinct butterfly assemblage. About 47% of the butterflies were confined to a single vegetation type each, reflecting the specificity of their host plants. As most butterflies were found to be restricted to specific vegetation and elevation zones, regular monitoring and conservation of these habitats is important for conservation of butterflies and other biodiversity in the few remnant fragile high-altitude habitats.
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 58879
Title: Pollinators in Changing Landscape of Agriculture : Global and Indian Scenarios.
Author: Prathiba Basu, Mahua Ghara.
Editor: V P Uniyal, Aseem Shrivastava.
Year: 2011
Publisher: ENVIS
Source: Centre for Ecological Sciences
Reference: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas Vol 14(no 1), pp. 34-37 (2011)
Subject: ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife & Protected Areas : Anthropods and their Conservation in India.
Keywords: Pollinators, Landscape, Agriculture, Global, Indian Scenarios.
Abstract: Pollination results in fruit set, upon which many animals are dependent, including human beings. Insects that provide pollination provide an important ecosystem service upon which 60-90% of plant species are dependent (Kremen et al. 2007). The economic value of pollination worldwide as stated by Simon Potts, a leading scientist in pollination ecology, is thought to be between ?30 and ?70 billion each year (Kluser and Peduzzi 2007). About one third of crop production depends on animal pollinators (Kremen et al. 2007), and over 70% of tropical crops are dependent on pollination services (Roubik 1995, Klein et al.2007) that are provided predominantly by insects. Even those crops that can set seeds and produce fruits with self-pollination have been shown to give higher yields when cross-pollinated. With respect to the value of insect pollination, vegetables and fruits are among the leading crops, followed by edible oil crops, stimulants, nuts and spices (Gallai et al. 2009)
Location: TE 15 New Biology Building
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None