Eight dragonfly species have vanished from the Pune district, while 27 new species have been discovered, according to a new study. The research, conducted by citizen scientists and researchers, indicates that the disappearance of local dragonfly populations is linked to land-use changes, increased water pollution, shifting weather patterns and rapid urbanisation.
The study, published in the International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, by researchers from Maharashtra Institute of Technology-World Peace University, covers the period from 2019 to 2022 and was conducted across 52 locations in Pune, which lies within the Western Ghats and Deccan Peninsula biogeographic zones of Maharashtra.
The Western Ghats, recognised as a biodiversity hotspot in India, is home to 203 species of odonates, including 84 endemics, the study said. Dragonflies and damselflies collectively called odonates.
“Dragonflies are crucial insect predators that help regulate mosquito and pest populations in urban areas. Their role is comparable to that of tigers in a forest ecosystem. Monitoring their populations is essential for assessing environmental health,” said Pankaj Koparde, lead researcher of the study, in a statement.
In addition to examining past records, the researchers collaborated with citizen scientists to identify 28 new species, bringing the total number of known odonate species to 98. These represent 68 per cent of Maharashtra’s species and nearly 19 per cent of those found in India.
“The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) region with 66 odonate species represents 67 per cent odonate species of the Pune district and about 45 per cent odonate species of the state,” the study said. The district’s high species richness, with 98 species in total, is largely due to the diversity of habitats such as hill streams, waterfalls, rivers, grasslands, dams, ponds and gardens, which provide ideal conditions for odonates, it stated.
The authors noted that several species previously reported, including Aciagrion pallidum, Aciagrion approximans, Aciagrion occidentale, Microgomphus verticalis, Hydrobasileus croceus, Epophthalmia frontalis and Macromia flavicincta Selys, were last recorded in the early to late twentieth century.
“Several recently reported species (mostly damselflies), such as Agriocnemis femina, Agriocnemis pieris, Ceriagrion rubiae, Ischnura nursei, Paracercion calamorum, Pseudagrion indicum, Pseudagrion spencei, Copera vittata, Prodasineura verticalis, Anaciaeschna jaspidea and Palpopleura sexmaculata were not recorded during our survey,” the study said.
Koparde credited citizen science platforms such as iNaturalist, India Biodiversity Portal, Indianodonata.org and the DragonflySouthAsia Facebook group for contributing to the discovery of 64 odonate species in the district.
“Besides this, Gomphidia kodaguensis is also reported here for the first time from Pune district based on the observation submitted in iNaturalist. Species such as Lestes patricia, Paracercion melanotum, Anax indicus, Bradinopyga konkanensis and Hylaeothemis apicalis was also recorded by citizen scientists,” Koparde added.