Climate change impact on India`s flora & fauna |
Rising average temperatures in India`s 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 the change and these findings will be used as a baseline indicator to track the impact of climate change on animal species over the coming decade. The Himalayas are home to more than 35 percent of Lepidoptera — the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths – species found in India. The survey, funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and carried out by the Zoological Survey of India, 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, officials said. 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. The study found that eight moth species, including the mulberry silkworm moth and tiger moth, which would historically be found at 2,000m, are now typically found at 3,500m or higher altitudes. Butterflies are sensitive species that are extremely susceptible to changes in climate.
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