NR, Anoop and Femi, Benny E. and MA, Yathumon and Punnath, Aswaj (2023) Butterflies with a taste for elephant dung: Puddling of adult butterflies on elephant dung in India’s Western Ghats. Food Webs, 37: e00323.

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Abstract

Elephants ingest a large quantity of plant material across the landscape and concentrate it at specific locations through dung and urine excretion, greatly enhancing local nutrient availability for various organisms. During our two-year study in India’s Western Ghats, we documented 26 butterfly species from five families puddling on elephant dung. This observation suggests that elephant dung may offer mineral supplementation, which could contribute to the fitness and reproductive physiology of butterflies in elephant habitats.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Copyright of this article belongs to the Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Asian elephants, Butterflies, Elephant dung, Mud-puddling, Western Ghats
Subjects: A ATREE Publications > G Journal Papers
Divisions: Academy for Conservation Science and Sustainable Studies > PhD Students Publications
Depositing User: Ms Library Staff
Date Deposited: 29 Dec 2025 10:42
Last Modified: 29 Dec 2025 10:42
URI: http://archives.atree.org/id/eprint/1438

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