
Himesh Dilruwan JayasingheUniversity of Colombo · Department of Plant Sciences
Himesh Dilruwan Jayasinghe
Bachelor of Science
About
35
Publications
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Introduction
I'm a conservation biologist and plant taxonomist based in Sri Lanka, following my PhD at the University of Colombo. My current study is based on Sri Lankan Syzygium species (Myrtaceae), which is conducted with the collaboration of National Herbarium - Peradeniya.
Apart from that, I'm interested in all the angiosperm species as well as butterflies in Sri Lanka. My Bachelor of Science degree was in Civil Engineering, received from the University of Moratuwa.
Publications
Publications (35)
Tropical rainforests in Sri Lanka are biodiversity hotspots, which are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance and long-term climate change. We assessed the diversity, endemism and conservation status of these rainforests across a wide altitudinal range (100–2200 m above sea level) via a complete census of all trees having ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast...
Tropical rainforests in Sri Lanka are considered as biodiversity hotspots. However, their existence is threatened by multiple climatic and anthropogenic drivers. Our objective was to assess the diversity, endemism and conservation status of these rainforests across a wide altitudinal range. We conducted a complete census of all trees having ≥ 10 cm...
Strobilanthes sripadensis, a new species of Acanthaceae from Peak Wilderness Nature Reserve, Sri Lanka is described and illustrated. Both morphological and palynological evidence clearly indicate that S. sripadensis is a distinct species. The new species is closely related to S. pentandra, but differs by having short acuminate leaf apex, entire or...
Two new species of Syzygium Gaertn. from Sri Lanka, S. aureum Jayasinghe and S. hemachandrae Jayasinghe, are described. Syzygium aureumis distinguished from S.grande (Wight) Walp. in having a thick ring of nectarial glands near the rim of the hypanthium and in having subglobose fruits tinged with red at ripening. Syzygium hemachandrae differs from...
This book is a pocket guide for the NIFS Popham Arboretum, Dambulla, Sri Lanka. An introduction to the arboretum, the services provided, photogaphs of various groups of flora and fauna are included in the book.
Species radiations, despite immense phenotypic variation, can be difficult to resolve phylogenetically when genetic change poorly matches the rapidity of diversification. Genomic potential furnished by palaeopolyploidy, and relative roles for adaptation, random drift and hybridisation in the apportionment of genetic variation, remain poorly underst...
Understanding taxon level responses of key plant traits to environmental variation across tropical rainforests (TRFs) is important to determine their response to climate change. We used an altitudinal gradient (from 150 to 2100 m above sea level, asl) across TRFs in Sri Lanka to answer the following questions: (a) Does the response to altitude by s...
The painted bat, Kerivoula picta (Pallas, 1767) is considered one of the most aesthetically appealing bats in Sri Lanka with bright orange fur and black wings. However, very little information is available with regard to the ecology of this species in both local and global contexts. Of its roosting habits, Phillips (1980) reports that in Sri Lanka...
Species radiations have long fascinated biologists, but the contribution of adaptation to observed diversity and speciation is still an open question. Here, we explore this question using the clove genus, Syzygium, the world’s largest genus of tree species comprising
approximately 1200 species. We dissect Syzygium diversity through shotgun sequenci...
Larval food plants (LFPs) of Sri Lankan butterflies have been well documented recently with the aid of studies done by numerous researchers. In this paper, we present further records, 118 LFPs used by 83 butterflies and 145 plant-butterfly combinations. LFPs of Lethe dynsate and Potanthus pseudomaesa pseudomaesa are reported for the first time in S...
Genus Syzygium R.Br ex Gaertn. is one of the largest genera with the highest number of species in Sri Lanka. Two major local taxonomic treatments present contradictory views on present nomenclature; thirty-two species with twenty-five endemics by Kostermans and twenty-five species with thirteen endemics by Ashton in 1981, suggesting the necessity o...
Butterflies are one of the widely spread insect community that plays a vital role in the biosphere and very sensitive to weather, climate change and habitat disturbance. Land use pattern and climate change influence the butterfly diversity and abundance due to modifying its microhabitats. Therefore, butterflies indicate how healthy a given ecosyste...
Pachliopta aristolochiae has been assessed as Least Concern. In 1985, Collins and Morris listed this species as 'generally common and not threatened'. It appears that this species is still very common and widespread, with an estimated extent of occurrence of around 20 million km2. Although some localized threats may be present, in general, this spe...
Tropical rain forests (TRFs) are a major carbon sink and play
an important role in regulating the global climate. Floristic
composition, structure and carbon storage in biomass of
TRFs could vary substantially with climatic and edaphic
factors. Altitudinal transects represent an excellent setting
for investigating the responses of TRFs to environme...
Tropical rain forests (TRFs) are a major carbon sink and play an important role in regulating the global climate. Floristic composition, structure and carbon storage in biomass of TRFs could vary substantially with climatic and edaphic factors. Altitudinal transects represent an excellent setting for investigating the responses of TRFs to environme...
Tropical rain forests (TRFs) are a major carbon sink and play an important role in regulating the global climate. Floristic composition, structure and carbon storage in biomass of TRFs could vary substantially with climatic and edaphic factors. Altitudinal transects represent an excellent setting for investigating the responses of TRFs to environme...
Tropical rain forests (TRFs) function as a major terrestrial carbon sink by absorbing ca. 40% of global CO2 emissions. Strength of this carbon sink varies both spatially and temporally as a result of varying climatic and soil factors. Furthermore, biomass carbon storage of TRFs could diminish with global warming and climate change. In this study, w...
Tropical rainforests are characterized by high species diversity, which may be due to a range of factors such as climate, topography, soil properties and the level of disturbance, both natural and anthropogenic. This study focused on investigating the species composition, richness, diversity and their conservation status in lowland tropical rainfor...
Pachliopta hector has been assessed as Least Concern. Despite some regional threats, the species occupies a wide range resulting in an extent of occurrence far exceeding the threshold for a threatened listing. The species has been found in a variety of habitats, including urban habitats, parks, and disturbed habitats. The species is generally commo...
Pachliopta aristolochiae has been assessed as Least Concern. In 1985, Collins and Morris listed this species as 'generally common and not threatened'. It appears that this species is still very common and widespread, with an estimated extent of occurrence of around 20 million km2. Although some localised threats may be present, in general this spec...
The predation of lizards, frogs, and snakes by spiders in tropical rainforests has been amply highlighted in the literature
Heliogomphus lyratus is a Sri Lankan endemic dragonfly. It is one of the rarest Sri Lankan dragonflies with only three hitherto known localities. Apart from the faunistic records of the species, nothing much is known of its biology or ecology. We report five new distribution localities for Heliogomphus lyratus with seven different observations. All...
A pocket guide to the Butterflies of Sri Lanka covers all the butterfly species known to date from Sri Lanka aiming of providing field identification features of adult butterflies. Almost all the species are provided with color photographs (very few with colored drawings) depicting their sexual dimorphism, seasonal forms etc. while providing distri...
Larval food plants (LFPs) of Sri Lankan butterflies are poorly documented in the historical literature and there is a great need to identify LFPs in conservation perspectives. Therefore, the current study was designed and carried out during the past decade. A list of LFPs for 207 butterfly species (Super family Papilionoidea) of Sri Lanka is presen...
Common butterflies of Sri Lanka aims amateur naturalists who fond to begin observing butterflies. This book provide descriptions & images of 100 species of butterflies which can be seen in home gardens and urban parks. Ecology in general, distribution & habitats in Sri Lanka and comments on getting started in this field is provided in the introduct...
Larval food plants (LFPs) of Sri Lankan butterflies are poorly documented in the historical literature and there is a great need to identify LFPs in conservation perspectives. Therefore, the current study was designed and carried out during the past decade. A list of LFPs for 207 butterfly species (Super family Papilionoidea) of Sri Lanka is presen...