Butterfly Assemblages in Two Different Habitats in Lowland Wet Zone, Sri Lanka

Tropical butterflies should be studied as targets of conservation as they contribute towards maintenance of ecosystem functions including pollination. This study investigated butterfly assemblages of different habitats of the Western Province in Colombo district in Avissawella region. Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Garden (SWBG) lies adjacent to the Indikada Mukalana Forest Reserve (IMFR). In SWBG, a disturbed forest habitat (DFH) and a buffer zone habitat (BZH) which was located between the SWBG and the IMFR were selected as two different habitats. In both, 100m length fixed transects were established and all butterfly species within 10m x 10m x 100 m box were recorded from July to November 2016. Aerial nets and fruit baited traps were also used to sample butterflies. Shannon-Wiener diversity indices, evenness, species richness and relative abundance of butterflies were calculated for both habitats. A total of 62 butterfly species (6 endemic species and 15 endemic sub species) belonging to 6 families were recorded from the study. All six endemics are found in the DFH and only three were found in BZH. Species richness of two different habitats was equal (49 species) where higher abundance of butterflies (386 individuals) was in the DFH. BZH had 270 individuals. Shannon-Wiener diversity index and the evenness were highest in the BZH (3.3109, 0.8507) than the DFH (2.7943, 0.7179). Nymphalidae was the most abundant family throughout the study period whereas Family Riodinidae had the least number of individuals in both habitats. The data showed the presence of 25.1% of the butterflies of Sri Lanka and 32.1% of the lowland wet zone butterflies. Some belonged to Near Threatened and Vulnerable categories of conservation with the Ceylon Rose (Pachliopta jophon) being endangered and the Philippine Swift (Caltoris philippina) being Critically Endangered. Assemblages of butterflies recorded exhibit a range of feeding strategies (plant feeders, fruit feeders etc.) and depend on a wide range of host plants found in these habitats. The DFH is part of the highly visited SWBG. This study demonstrates the contribution made by a botanical garden originally established to conserve and display plants, to conservation of a major group of Sri Lankan invertebrates.Keywords: Butterfly assemblages, Lowland wet zone, Endangered, Critically endangered, SriLank

AI augmented Edge and Fog computing: trends and challenges

In recent years, the landscape of computing paradigms has witnessed a gradual yet remarkable shift from monolithic computing to distributed and decentralized paradigms such as Internet of Things (IoT), Edge, Fog, Cloud, and Serverless. The frontiers of these computing technologies have been boosted by shift from manually encoded algorithms to Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven autonomous systems for optimum and reliable management of distributed computing resources. Prior work focuses on improving existing systems using AI across a wide range of domains, such as efficient resource provisioning, application deployment, task placement, and service management. This survey reviews the evolution of data-driven AI-augmented technologies and their impact on computing systems. We demystify new techniques and draw key insights in Edge, Fog and Cloud resource management-related uses of AI methods and also look at how AI can innovate traditional applications for enhanced Quality of Service (QoS) in the presence of a continuum of resources. We present the latest trends and impact areas such as optimizing AI models that are deployed on or for computing systems. We layout a roadmap for future research directions in areas such as resource management for QoS optimization and service reliability. Finally, we discuss blue-sky ideas and envision this work as an anchor point for future research on AI-driven computing systems

Diversity of butterflies in different habitat types of Seethawaka wet zone botanic gardens and Indikadamukalana forest reserve of Sri Lanka

Botanic gardens, forest reserves and other protected areas are established to conserve biodiversity. The present study was conducted to assess the butterfly diversity in a recently established botanic garden of Sri Lanka, the Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanic Gardens (SWZBG) and Indikadamukalana Forest Reserve (IMFR) adjacent to the garden. Three different habitat types within the botanic gardens, the undisturbed forest habitat within the forest reserve and the buffer zone between the Botanic Gardens and Forest Reserve were investigated for butterflies. Butterfly species richness, diversity, endemic species, family composition in different habitats and effects of habitat parameters on butterfly distribution were assessed. Butterflies were collected from five habitats – grassland, shrub, disturbed forest, undisturbed forest, buffer zone, of the SWZBG and IMFR using transect line method with hand netting and fruit baited traps. Collected butterflies were identified using published field guides. Climate and soil parameters of each habitat were measured using standard methods and equipment. Differences of habitat parameters between habitats were estimated using One-Way Analysis of Variance and Tukey’s Multiple Comparison method and butterfly diversity and evenness in different habitat types were assessed using Shannon-Weiner diversity index. The study revealed seventy-nine butterfly species from SWZBG and IMFR highlighting the importance of the sites for safeguarding and conservation of butterflies. Species richness and diversity of butterflies was highest in the buffer zone and lowest in the grassland habitat. The most common butterfly family in the study sites was family Nymphalidae. Endemic species were high in the forest habitat types. Significant differences were evident in habitat parameters between habitat types indicating their effect on butterfly species richness and diversity. The study revealed SWZBG and IMFR as important areas for butterfly occurrence when compared with similar botanic gardens and forest reserves elsewhere in the world