Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2015, 63(3), 731-739 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun201563030731

Butterfly of Assam University Campus in Silchar: Can Academic Institutions Contribute to Conservation of Species Diversity in Northeastern Region of India?

Mitrajit Deb1, Sunil Nautiyal2, Petr Sláma3, Parimal C. Bhattacharjee4, Shubhadeep Roychoudhury1
1 Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics, Assam University, 788011 Silchar, India
2 Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources, Institute for Social and Economic Change, 560072 Bangalore, India
3 Department of Animal Morphology, Physiology and Genetics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
4 Wildlife Trust of India, 781012 Guwahati, India

Northeast India is amongst most bio-diverse ecological communities although recent developmental activities marred the environment to a great extent. Assam University campus in Silchar is situated in Barak valley of Assam, boasting a variety of habitats supporting invertebrate diversity. Heavy rainfall during monsoon increases vegetation and in turn larval food plants and overall butterfly density. Total 38 butterfly species were identified belonging to 30 genera under 5 families: Nymphalidae having the maximum species richness (58%), followed by Hesperiidae (13%), Lycaenidae (13%), Pieridae (11%) and Papilionidae (5%). This paper focuses on the problems and possible solutions towards butterfly conservation and highlights the role of academic institutions in conserving biodiversity by acting as green spaces for reducing effects of climate change, carbon sequestration and lowering of energy consumption among other benefits.

Keywords: butterfly, environment, Northeast India, conservation, academic institutions, green spaces

Prepublished online: June 28, 2015; Published: August 1, 2015  Show citation

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Deb, M., Nautiyal, S., Sláma, P., Bhattacharjee, P.C., & Roychoudhury, S. (2015). Butterfly of Assam University Campus in Silchar: Can Academic Institutions Contribute to Conservation of Species Diversity in Northeastern Region of India? Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 63(3), 731-739. doi: 10.11118/actaun201563030731
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