Rapid assessment of diversity and conservation of butterflies in Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary: An Indo-Burmese hotspot - Tripura, N.E. India

The Rapid Biodiversity Assessment (RBA) method was used in Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in Tripura, northeast India to prioritize areas for conservation in remote and threatened habitats. Butterflies were used as indicator taxa to estimate species richness and diversity in three habitat types of the sanctuary: regenerated secondary forest, a botanical garden and bamboo bush. Fifty-three species from 36 genera and 5 families were recorded. The Jacknife 1 estimator provided the most accurate estimate of expected butterfly species richness, which statistically supports the reliability of the RBA. Eight of the recorded species are protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, Red Data Book of Indian butterflies, IUCN Red List and CITES. Occurrence of potentially threatened and endangered species and new records of eight species to Tripura state, during a three-day study, highlights the conservation importance of Rowa WLS (0.85 sq. km) as well as the efficiency of the RBA for conservation biodiversity.