Assessment of Dragonfly Diversity in Relation to Conservation Roles of Sacred Groves of Bankura District, West Bengal, India
Mainak Sarkar
Department of Zoology, Bankura Christian College, Bankura, West Bengal, India and Department of Zoology, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, India.
Biplob Kumar Modak
*
Department of Zoology, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Sacred grove represents one of the age-old community linked conservation traditions, in which ecological protection has been historically maintained through belief systems, ritual practices, and social restrictions on resource use. Dragonflies, being sensitive indicators of habitat and freshwater ecosystem quality, can effectively reflect the ecological health and conservation value of sacred groves in comparison to surrounding non-sacred habitats.
Aim: The study tries to capture the conservation role of the sacred grove through organism diversity, using dragonflies as an indicator group.
Study Design: To evaluate the conservation role of sacred groves, sampled sacred groves are compared with equivalent non-sacred control sites that are approximately similar in atmospheric conditions.
Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted from April 2024 to March 2025 in 6 sacred groves and 6 associated control sites in six administrative blocks of Bankura district.
Methodology: Species were documented through transect-walk following the line-transect principles. To compare biodiversity between the sacred grove and control sites, the Shannon–Wiener diversity index, evenness index, and Berger–Parker dominance index were calculated. To compare species richness between sacred groves and control sites, the study used rarefaction analysis.
Result: The study recorded 25 dragonfly species. Among these 25 species, 18 were found in both sacred and control sites, 6 were found exclusively in sacred groves, and 1 was found exclusively on control sites. Diversity indices indicate that sacred groves support more dragonfly species than control sites, a finding supported by the rarefaction curve.
Conclusion: This shows that sacred areas are more diverse in dragonfly species and provide a steady supply of food and shelter.
Keywords: Odonata, Libellulidae, species richness, rarefaction, habitat heterogeneity.