https://doi.org/10.4081/jear.2026.14860
Assessing the diversity and abundance of dragonflies and damselflies in selected sites of Saranda Forest, Jharkhand, eastern India
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Published: 1 July 2026
Odonates are well studied globally, yet studies from Jharkhand remain limited. Urbanization-induced habitat modification—such as wetland loss, altered hydrology, water pollution, and removal of riparian vegetation—directly affects Odonata breeding habitats, larval development, and community composition, demonstrating their sensitivity to landscape-level disturbance. The present study documents the diversity and community structure of odonates across seven sites in Saranda Forest, Jharkhand, from March 2024 to March 2025. A total of 61 species belonging to two suborders, Anisoptera (35 species; 57%) and Zygoptera (26 species; 43%), were recorded. Dragonflies (Anisoptera) dominated the assemblage, with Brachythemis contaminata, Crocothemis servilia, and Brachydiplax sobrina emerging as the most abundant taxa, while the damselfly Agriocnemis pygmaea (Zygoptera) was also recorded among the dominant species. Species richness and abundance varied across sites, with Ligirda (28 species) and Karampada (27 species) supporting the highest richness, while Thalkobad (82 individuals) and Beside Koina River (75 individuals) recorded the greatest abundance. Libellulidae was the most dominant family, followed by Coenagrionidae, whereas other families such as Aeshnidae, Gomphidae, and Macromiidae were sparsely represented. Diversity indices revealed high Shannon (2.6-3.2) and Simpson (>0.85) values across sites, indicating well-balanced communities with low dominance. Ligirda exhibited the highest diversity and evenness, while Beside Koina River showed lower evenness due to dominance by a few species. Species accumulation curves suggested sufficient sampling and revealed distinct site-level assemblages influenced by habitat heterogeneity. Analysis of variance confirmed significant variation in abundance across families, with Libellulidae significantly more dominant than other groups, whereas site-level abundance differences were statistically non-significant. The findings underscore the ecological importance of Saranda Forest as a reservoir of odonate diversity, with family-level dominance patterns and habitat heterogeneity shaping community structure.
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CRediT authorship contribution
Md Abu Imran Mallick and Sima Paik: primary data collection, curation and analysis, and writing of the final version of the manuscript. Both authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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