Scientists sound alarm in India’s ecological hotspot
A first-of-its-kind study of dragonfly and damselfly species in India’s Western Ghats, one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots, has revealed findings that are both fascinating and worrying.
The study, funded by India’s Ministry of Science and Technology and conducted over two years (2021-2023) and across five Indian states, found that 143 different species of dragonflies and damselflies inhabit the Western Ghats, of which at least 40 are endemic to the region, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world.
But the researchers also discovered something worrying: at least 79 additional species previously reported from the region were not found, representing a nearly 35 percent drop in the number of dragonfly and damselfly species in the Western Ghats.
Pankaj Koparde, an evolutionary ecologist who led the study, says this could be because some of these species are extremely rare or active only in certain seasons and were missed by researchers. But he also says that this decline could be due to a potential loss of species, meaning that some of them have become extinct.
The Myristica sapphire is a species of damselfly endemic to the Western Ghats [Chatur Ullu Lab]
“Dragonflies and damselflies are good indicators of the health of a region, so when their numbers decline, it could signal potential degradation of an ecosystem,” says Koparde.
The Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a 1,600 km-long mountain range that stretches along the west coast of India. It is one of India’s most important wetlands and is home to at least 325 globally threatened species and more than 30% of India’s plant and animal species.
It is also particularly rich in endemic or local species. These species have a unique evolutionary path and play important roles in their habitats. For example, they could help regulate a region’s climate or maintain biodiversity through pollination.
Unfortunately, the Western Ghats are also under threat. In its 2025 report, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called the region “of very high concern.”
“Urbanization as well as agricultural expansion, livestock grazing, infrastructure development (such as windmills and dams), invasive species and mining continue to pose serious threats. [to the region]”, notes the report.
An alarming study published in 2025 found that a population of rare galaxy frogs had disappeared from the Western Ghats after photographers trampled their delicate forest floor habitat.
A 2024 study found that agricultural practices in the Western Ghats threatened frog species in the region, while a 2023 survey of birds in the region noted a 75% decline in 12 bird species endemic to the Western Ghats.
The researchers had to scour the mangroves to spot and catch the insects. [Chatur Ullu Lab]
Koparde says this is why it is crucial to track the species that live in the Western Ghats. But until now, the region’s dragonfly and damselfly populations haven’t been properly documented, he says.
To conduct the study, Koparde and his team had to hike through remote locations and difficult terrain, like moss-covered river banks and mangroves. They would go to these areas early in the morning and spend several hours spotting, documenting and collecting the insects.
They discovered seven new species of dragonflies and damselflies, Koparde says. They named one of these protosticta armageddonia, a nod to the term “ecological armageddon,” used to describe the catastrophic decline in insect populations around the world.
Koparde and his team are currently creating a genetic library of all the species they have documented in the region. He says this can help identify in which part of the world a particular species may have evolved.
Cyclogomphus ypsilon, a species of dragonfly, is classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List [Chatur Ullu Lab]
Koparde says the evolutionary biology of dragonflies and damselflies in the Western Ghats is particularly interesting because of how the region formed.
The Western Ghats were formed when Gondwana – a supercontinent comprising modern-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica – split during the Jurassic period.
When India separated from the African continent, fractures along its western edge triggered the formation of the mountain range today called the Western Ghats.
“The Western Ghats are about 150 million years old, older than the Himalayas. The species that exist there may have evolutionary roots in the supercontinent of Gondwana,” says Koparde.
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