Documenting butterflies with the help of citizen science in Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, India

Abstract

The availability of information on the distribution and occurrence of different species in a landscape is crucial to developing an informed conservation and management plan, however such information in the Himalaya is often limited. Citizen science, which builds on the knowledge and interest of communities to contribute to science, can be a solution to this problem. In this study, we used butterflies as a model taxon in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya which shows how citizen science can aid in documenting biodiversity. The study employed both citizen science, and researcher-survey approaches to collect data, and the collective effort resulted in 407 species, which is the highest by any study carried out in the region. Results show that citizen science can be helpful as a supplementary tool for data collection in biodiversity documentation projects, and can aid in adding to the diversity and distribution records of species, including those that are unique, rare, seasonal, and nationally protected. Citizen science outreach was used to muster potential participants from the local community to participate in the study. Thus, it is advisable for citizen science projects to find means to recruit a larger pool of contributors, and citizen science outreach can be key to their success.