POLLINATOR DIVERSITY AND FORAGING DYNAMICS ON MONSOON CROP OF CUCURBITS IN A TRADITIONAL LANDSCAPE OF SOUTH INDIAN WEST COAST

Authors

  • C. Balachandran
  • M. D. Subash Chandran
  • S. Vinay
  • Naik Shrikant
  • T. V. Ranachandra Dr. T.V. Ramachandra Energy & Wetlands Research Group [CES TE 15] Centre for Ecological Sciences NEW BIOSCIENCE BUILDING, Third Floor, E Wing [Near D Gate] INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE Bangalore 560 012, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11598/btb.2017.24.1.480

Keywords:

Agroecosystem, crop pollination, cucurbits, foraging behavior, landscape, laterite

Abstract

Studies on insect pollinator ecology and dynamics are very rarely carried out in traditional Indian agriculture landscapes. Indiscriminate landscape changes in the rural areas and tendencies towards crop monocultures can have significant effects on pollinator habitats and effectiveness. This study was aimed at observing insect pollinators, their visitation frequencies and timings on monsoon cucurbit crops such as Cucumis sativus L., C. pubescens Willd., Momordica charantia L., Trichonsanthes anguina L. and Luffa acutangula L. (Roxb.), in a coastal Karnataka Village.  This study was also aimed at covering the significance of the surrounding landscape elements in sustaining pollinator elements.  Bees, such as Apis dorsata, A. cerana and Trigona sp., were major visitors on all cucurbits, except snake gourd which was pollinated mainly by lepidopterans. Insect species were found to partition floral resources of any given crops between them by minimal overlapping in their visitation timings. Natural elements of the landscape around, mainly a village forest and rocky savanna furnished habitats for bees and lepidopterans. Prolifically blooming monsoon herbs on lateritic plateaus, by providing nectar resources for pollinators, presumably play key role in making the case study village well known for monsoon vegetables.

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Author Biography

T. V. Ranachandra, Dr. T.V. Ramachandra Energy & Wetlands Research Group [CES TE 15] Centre for Ecological Sciences NEW BIOSCIENCE BUILDING, Third Floor, E Wing [Near D Gate] INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE Bangalore 560 012, India

Dr. T. V.Ramachandra has Ph.D. in energy and environment from Indian Institute of Science. At present Coordinator of Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Convener of Environmental Information System at Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science. He has made significant contribution in the area of energy and environment. His research area includes wetlands, conservation, restoration and management of ecosystems, environmental management, GIS, remote sensing, regional planning and decision support systems. He teaches principles of remote sensing, digital image processing and Natural resources management. He has published over 220 research papers in reputed peer reviewed international and national journals, 38 book chapters, 208 papers in the international and national symposiums as well as 15 books. He is a fellow of Institution of Engineers (India), IEE (UK), senior member, IEEE (USA) and many similar institutions. Details of his research and copies of publications are available at http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/.

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Published

2017-05-22

How to Cite

Balachandran, C., Chandran, M. D. S., Vinay, S., Shrikant, N., & Ranachandra, T. V. (2017). POLLINATOR DIVERSITY AND FORAGING DYNAMICS ON MONSOON CROP OF CUCURBITS IN A TRADITIONAL LANDSCAPE OF SOUTH INDIAN WEST COAST. BIOTROPIA, 24(1), 16–27. https://doi.org/10.11598/btb.2017.24.1.480

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Research Paper

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