Butterfly Park and Research Centre
Butterflies are the most beautiful and majestic creatures in the world. This little creature is also important for functioning ecosystems, as they provide pollination to plants, food for many animals, serve as subjects for many scientific studies, and provide economic benefit through the ecotourism industry. Butterflies are declining all over the world, especially in tropical countries like Bangladesh, because of habitat degradation, climate change, pollution, pesticides, and the introduction of invasive plants. The Butterfly Park and Research Center (BPRC) was established at Jahangirnagar University in 2015 and serves as a hub for education, research, and the preservation of the natural habitat for butterflies. In particular, we are interested in studying insects' (Butterfly, Moth, Dragonfly, Beetle, Bee etc) taxonomy, ecology, and conservation through habitat restoration and management as well as reintroduction schemes.
At present, using DNA barcoding, we try to identify organisms, including butterflies, at the molecular level and have submitted more than 200 species of butterfly barcode genes to the NCBI Genbank. In addition, we find out which species are under threat in the country and explore ways to conserve them.