A groundbreaking two-year survey across India's Western Ghats has revealed that approximately one-third of the region's known dragonfly and damselfly species may have gone extinct, driven by rapid urbanisation and environmental degradation. The findings raise serious concerns about the health of one of the world's most biodiverse hotspots.
Alarming Species Decline
Researchers from the Maharashtra Institute of Technology-World Peace University conducted extensive fieldwork between February 2021 and March 2023, surveying odonates—the group that includes dragonflies and damselflies—across a variety of freshwater habitats such as rivers, streams, waterfalls, ponds, lakes, and dams. Many of these sites were in remote areas with challenging terrain, posing significant logistical hurdles.
The team recorded 143 distinct odonate species, including 40 endemic to the Western Ghats. However, this represents only about 65% of the species historically known from the region, suggesting a potential 35% loss. Ecologist Pankaj Koparde, an author of the report, stated, "Our survey could recover only 65 per cent of known Odonata fauna of the Ghats, indicating a plausible loss of species and habitats."
Ecological Significance
Dragonflies and damselflies are considered "indicator taxa" because of their short life cycles and rapid response to environmental changes. Their absence directly reflects the ecological health of freshwater bodies. Scientists warn that the decline of these sensitive species likely signals broader threats to other animal groups in the region.
The Western Ghats, a 1,600-kilometer mountain chain along India's west coast, is under multiple pressures. Infrastructure development, hydropower projects, severe pollution, large-scale land-use changes, unregulated tourism, recurring forest fires, and climate change are fragmenting and degrading ecosystems. Recent studies have also documented declines in freshwater animals, exacerbated by invasive non-native species.
Global Context
The findings come amid a global trend of rapid insect population decline, with an estimated 1–2% annual loss and 40% or more of insect species threatened with extinction. The loss of dragonflies and damselflies in the Western Ghats serves as a stark warning about the broader ecological crisis facing the planet.
