Anisopteran Diversity in Two Riverine Habitats of Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Dragon flies are an important indicator species for freshwater ecosystems. While their diversity in Pakistan has been well studied in the northern areas of the country, odonate diversity in the southern, warmer areas is still not well documented. The current study determined the Anisopteran diversity and abundance along two riverine tracts of Southern Punjab for a duration of five months. The collected specimens ( n = 725) belonged to three families; Aeshnidae, Gomphidae, and Libellulidae. Anisopteran fauna was dominated by Libellulidae family represented by thirteen species out of total sixteen species identified from the study area. Crocothermis erythraea was the most abundant species (Relative Abundance – R.A = 14%) followed by Bradinopyga geminata (R.A = 10%). The Shannon wiener diversity index value (H = 2.74) indicated a moderate level of Anisopteran biodiversity in the area. Since the dragonflies prefer warmer humid climates, species diversity was highest during the summer season with no odonates found during the colder month of December.