Patterns of Insect Abundance and Distribution in Urban Domestic Gardens in Bangalore, India

Domestic gardens may play a vital role in supporting urban insect biodiversity, despite their small size. This paper assesses the abundance, diversity and distribution of insects in urban domestic gardens in the tropics, through a study in the rapidly expanding Indian city of Bangalore. Fifty domestic gardens were studied using a combination of light traps and pitfall traps. We recorded a large number of insects, 2,185 insects from 10 orders, of which ants, bugs, beetles and flies were the most common. We found 25 species of trees (from 160 individuals) and 117 species of herbs and shrubs in the 50 sampled domestic gardens. The number of insect orders encountered was significantly related to the number of tree and herb/shrub species. Garden management practices also influenced the abundance and richness of insect orders. Thus, greater numbers of insects were observed in gardens with a greater proportion of bare soil relative to grass area and with less intensive weeding practices. More insect orders were encountered in gardens with a composting pit. Insect numbers were significantly reduced in gardens subjected to pesticide application. Most residents avoided application of pesticides and herbicides, citing health concerns

Mapping Urban Tree Species Using Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery: Comparing Pixel-Based and Object-Based Approaches

We assessed the potential of multi-spectral Geo Eye imagery for biodiversity assessment in an urban context in Bangalore, India. Twenty one grids of 150 by 150 m were randomly located in the city center and all tree species within these grids mapped in the field. The six most common species, collectively representing 43% of the total trees sampled, were selected for mapping using pixel-based and object-based approaches. All pairs of species were separable based on spectral reflectance values in at least one band, with Peltophorum pterocarpum being most distinct from other species. Object-based approaches were consistently superior to pixel-based methods, which were particularly low in accuracy for tree species with small canopy sizes, such as Cocos nucifera and Roystonea regia. There was a strong and significant correlation between the number of trees determined on the ground and from object-based classification. Overall, object-based approaches appear capable of discriminating the six most common species in a challenging urban environment, with substantial heterogeneity of tree canopy sizes

Scalable fabrication of gap-plasmon-based dynamic and chromogenic nanostructures by capillary-interaction driven self-assembly of liquid-metal

Dynamically tunable nanoengineered structures for coloration show promising applications in sensing, displays, and communication. However, their potential challenge remains in having a scalable manufacturing process over large scales in tens of cm of area. For the first time, we report a novel approach for fabricating chromogenic nanostructures that respond to mechanical stimuli by utilizing the fluidic properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a substrate and the interfacial tension of liquid metal-based plasmonic nanoparticles. Relying on the PDMS tunable property and a physical deposition method, our approach is single-step, scalable, and does not rely on high carbon footprint lithographic processes. By tuning the oligomer content in PDMS, we show that varieties of structural colors covering a significant gamut in CIE coordinates are achieved. We develop a model which depicts the formation of Ga nanodroplets from the capillary interaction of oligomers in PDMS with Ga. We showcase the capabilities of our processing technique by presenting prototypes of reflective displays and sensors for monitoring body parts, smart bandages, and the capacity of the nanostructured film to map force in real time. These examples illustrate this technology's broad range of applications, such as large-area displays, devices for human-computer interactions, healthcare, and visual communication

Scalable fabrication of gap-plasmon-based dynamic and chromogenic nanostructures by capillary-interaction driven self-assembly of liquid-metal

The dataset is of the figures for the manuscript