Research Projects

Sacred Groves (SGs) are ancient forest patches dedicated to deities and play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation worldwide. In India, SGs are under immense pressure due to land use change and changing cultural and religious beliefs. This fragmentation leads to local species extinction, which can be predicted by analyzing extinction debt. The current conservation status of SGs is urgently needed, and subsequent strategies must be developed. Dung beetles, an indicator species, provide an excellent focal taxon for monitoring anthropogenic impact on biodiversity. However, their taxonomic and functional diversity and community ecology are less studied in India. This project aims to study the quality of SGs as island habitats by comparing taxonomic and functional diversity and community structure of dung beetles in SGs of different age, size, and disturbance grades across spatial scales of India. It also aims to study the effects of degradation on SGs by comparing species diversity with expected species-area relationships and fragmented species-area relationships. The project will quantify the subsequent species extinction threshold and extinction debt in SGs in degraded habitats. The project aligns with the Convention on Biological Diversity action agenda and the United Nations' decade on ecosystem restoration. It will highlight the quality of SGs as island habitats and pave the way for future research on SGs as models of island biogeography. Quantification of extinction threshold and extinction debt is essential for conservation of SGs.