Technical Reports

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    Assessment of current status of threatened and protected marine flora and fauna in trade in India
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2010) John, S.; Kumar, B.M. Praveen; Choudhury, B.C.; Sivakumar, K.
    The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, (WPA) prohibit the trade of protected marine species in India but illegal trade on these species was observed to be continuing in almost all maritime States and Union Territories. Illegal trade of these protected marine species was observed to be contributing marginal benefits to the rural fisher folks but it imperils the complex marine biodiversity in the country. Most of the elasmobranchs (Sharks, Rays and Skates) in India are threatened due to indiscriminate fishing. In India, seven species of marine elasmobranchs are protected by the WPA. Even though protected elasmobranchs were not encountered in the marine fish landing centres during the study period, their illegal trade cannot be completely ruled out. Majority of the elasmobranchs recorded in the fish landing centers were small in size. Ever increasing market demand for their meat, fins and cartilage are the major cause for this over exploitation. Among marine mammals the dugongs, dolphins and porpoises were caught either incidentally or deliberately in India. In many parts of coasts they have been traded in the domestic market although it was very occasional. Interviews with fisher folks revealed that dolphin meats were largely used for shark baiting than consumption. Occasional killing of dugong was also observed along the Palk Bay, Gulf of Mannar, and Andaman Islands. Meat and eggs of marine turtles are consumed in many parts of the coastal India. Sea turtle landings are not rare on the southern coasts of India especially in the coastal areas between Tuticorin and Trivandrum. Illegal trade of sea turtle’s meat were also observed along the Indian coasts but it is rare or nil in Orissa. Vizhinjam harbor in Kerala is one of the major marine fish landing centers in India where the turtles were regularly traded in the open market. Protected marine mollusks and corals are also illegally collected and sold as curios in several parts of the country especially near the popular tourist beaches and pilgrimage centers. Most of these marine mollusks and corals are collected from the coral rich reefs around Gulf of Mannar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Beside, large quantities of seashells are also imported from Tanzania, Philippines and Sri Lanka to meet the local market demand. The imported seashells are then processed in Kanyakumari, Rameswaram and Tuticorin before sending to markets. Therefore, it would be difficult to differentiate the source of these materials whether they have been collected locally or imported from other countries. These processed materials are then either exported to other countries or traded locally. The size classes of these marine mollusks which have been observed in the markets were significantly smaller than the average size observed in the literatures, which itself infer that the populations in the wild have been over exploited and larger sized seashells have already became rare. Domestic markets for the illegal trade of seashells and corals are concentrated largely around pilgrimage and tourist areas. Among the west coast, major illegal marine curio trade exists in the state of Goa. Among the east coast, major domestic curio market was found in Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu). Lack of awareness, poverty, market demand and feeble enforcement are the major reasons for continuation of illegal trade on protected marine species in India. Therefore, integrated marine biodiversity conservation plan along with plan to upliftment of fishermen community is required to prevent illegal trade forever. Further, strengthening of infrastructure and capacity of enforcement agencies is also required to curb these illegal activities in the country. Most importantly, there should be an integration and cooperation between line departments such as Police, Customs, Forest, Fisheries and Coast Guard to successfully curb marine wildlife illegal trade in India.
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    Revising Century old Abor Expedition: Arunachal Pradesh, India - Final report
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2018) Das, Abhijit and others
    Thus, the Abor expedition is one of the most comprehensive biological, geographical and anthropological documentation ever conducted in India. This fine contribution was possible through a partnership between the scientific and defense departments of British India that yielded invaluable information from a remote part in Eastern Himalaya that is now recognized as a biodiversity hotspot. One of the important biogeographic interpretation made out of the observations is that the faunal and floral elements of Abor lands are rather similar to fauna of Assam, south of the Brahmaputra or even to that of Burma Myanmar, rather than to the fauna of Eastern Himalaya (Sikkim, Bhutan and Aka Hills). We revisited the route of the expedition to the extent possible and undertook a comprehensive and intensive survey of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, odonates and cicadas of the Abor landscape, paying special emphasis on threatened taxa. We also undertook an intensive collection of select lower taxa for voucher specimens, especially those of species potentially new to science. The entire expedition was exhaustively photo documented.
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    Feasibility study of proposed small dams in Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary, Haryana
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) WII
    This study carried out for a rapid assessment of the proposed dam sites scoping to: (a) assess wildlife values with respect to faunal, floral and aquatic values and potential impacts of dam, and (b) assess the feasibility of alternative sites. Keeping the aforesaid objectives in view, carried out a feasibility study in the context of impact on flora, fauna (mammals) and ichthyofauna in the proposed dam sites.
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    Assessment of impacts of State highway 33 on flora and fauna of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, India
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) Habib, Bilal
    As part of the project funded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, New Delhi, three sites were chosen for study- the Central Indian tiger landscape including major roads cutting across the animal corridors in the landscape, the National Highway 37 (now 715) cutting through the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape in Assam, and the State Highway 33 passing through the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka. At Nagarhole Tiger reserve, we intended to study the difference in the impacts of the SH 33 along its two stretches – one that is completely closed to traffic (decommissioned segment) and the other stretch that is closed for night time traffic (night traffic closed segment). We compared the floral (tree species composition and richness), and faunal (ungulate group size and composition, habitat use and activity patterns) characteristics along the two road stretches. We found that tree and sapling species richness was found to be higher in the decommissioned road segment as compared to the night traffic closed road segment, both of which comprised predominantly of native vegetation. On the other hand, shrubs and herbs had higher species richness in the night traffic closed road segment. We found higher species richness and cover of grasses, shrubs and herbs in the night traffic closed road segment, which can be attributed to the edge effect. Even though both the segments of the highway under study are homogenous in respect of rainfall regime, forest type and are managed as part of national park under the same management objectives (Gubbi et al. 2012), results of shrub and sapling study indicate that there exists some distinguishing factors along the two segments so as to favor different species. A further detailed study is required to point out the factors responsible. Contrary to the general understanding, invasive species cover for two of the common invasive species (Lantana camara and Eupatorium odoratum) was higher in the area devoid of traffic as compared to the night traffic closed road segment. This can be attributed to increased light intensity on the forest floor due to lower canopy cover in the decommissioned road segment and higher animal activity, who acts as seed dispersers. Lower canopy cover in decommissioned road segment can be the result of breakage of canopy and crushing of new regeneration by higher presence and more frequent activity of large mammals, like elephants. Mean group size of chital was found to be higher in the night traffic closed road segment, whereas mean crowding was higher in the decommissioned road segment. Higher presence of chital in the night traffic closed road segment can be because of availability of more fodder species and less risk of predation. In the decommissioned road segment, chital and wild pig’s habitat use is not affected by the distance from the state highway, whereas, sambar and elephant’s habitat choice is determined by distance from the highway. There has been a 16% increase in the traffic volume from 553 vehicles /day in the last 9 years as reported by Gubbi et al. (2012), to 659 ± 139.70 as reported in our study. However, though there has been an increase in the traffic volume, it is at a slower rate as compared to the increase from 2003 to 2010 level. The average speed of vehicles ranged from 27.5 MPH to 35.4 MPH. We found that in the night traffic closed road segment, animals have modified their activity periods to avoid the vehicular traffic. Most of the mammals are either active in the early morning hours before the road is opened for vehicular movement or late evenings after the road is closed. This suggests that there is a difference in activity pattern of these mammals along both the road segments, in order to understand which a further detailed study about behavior modification of mammals in relation to traffic and other road related disturbances needs to be carried out.