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Climate Change Driving Butterflies in Himalayan Region. Rising average temperatures in the Himalayan region have driven several dozen species of butterfly and moth to habitats higher up the mountains, a new study commissioned by the government has found.

Key Findings

• The survey, funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and carried out by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), identified
  • At least 49 species of moth and 17 species of butterfly that have shown considerable new upward altitude records with a difference of more than 1,000 metres between their current and previously recorded mean habitat altitudes.
• Seven species in particular have started to inhabit altitudes more than 2,000 metres higher than the previous mean.
  • These include the moth species Trachea auriplena (Noctuidae), Actias windbrechlini (Saturniidae), and Diphtherocome fasciata (Noctuidae), with mean altitudinal differences of 2,800 m, 2,684 m and 2,280 m respectively.
• Indian Red Admiral butterfly was historically found at 3,900 m and now found at 4,853 m, an altitudinal increase of 950 m.
• The four-year study tracked 1,274 species of moth and 484 species of butterfly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, North Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• It also identified 80 new species of butterfly and moth.
• The tracking of the insects’ movement was possible because the ZSI has historical records of many species since 1865.
  • Records from 1865 to 2015 were scanned and examined to make a comparative assessment.
• Species richness
  • Identified two species richness hotspots one in West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills, where more than 400 species records were documented
  • In Kumaon, Uttarakhand, where more than 600 species records were found.
  • In Himachal Pradesh, two high diversity areas were identified – Dharamshala and Shimla.
• Reason for Migrations
  • Change of climate is the major reason.
  • Increasing human habitation too, has contributed to the shift.
  • Receding ice caps and glaciers leading to a scarcity of water.
  • Poaching of Butterflies.
    • Red Apollo are highly prized by collectors and are often poached.
    • One butterfly sells for up to £100 on the international market.

Impact over Vegetation

• The increase in average temperature has also resulted in an altitudinal shift in vegetation trees, shrubs, and plants that once grew at lower altitudes in the Himalayas are now found only higher up in the mountains.

About Himalayas

• The Himalayas is the highest mountain range in the world, and has 9 out of 10 of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
• Himalayas mean they experience a wide range of climates, from humid subtropical in the foothills to cold and dry desert conditions on the Tibetan side of the range.
• The monsoon can seriously impact transport and cause major landslides.
• The Himalayas are also believed to play an important part in the formation of Central Asian deserts, such as the Taklamakan and Gobi.
• The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range.
• The elusive and previously endangered snow leopard found in high altitude.
• The Himalayan musk deer is also found at high altitude and Hunted for its musk, it is now rare and endangered.
• Critically endangered Himalayan subspecies of the brown bear.
• Lower down the forests of the foothills several different primates, including the endangered Gee’s golden langur and the Kashmir gray langur.

Source : Indian Express

Topic

GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Current Affairs Compilation : 12 October 2020