Scars of hope and forewarn of a bleak future: post-mortem findings of dugongs (Dugong dugon) belonging to a relict population in the Gulf of Kachchh, India

Pathan, Sameeha; Pande, Anant; Sivakumar, Kuppusamy; Johnson, J. A.

doi:10.18520/cs/v123/i7/919-924

Cited by 2 publications

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“…In the GoK region, seagrass presence and low organic turbidity) support clear shallow waters as preferred regions by dugongs 48 . With a relict dugong population in the GoK 26 , fine-scale mapping of seasonal dugong occurrence and seagrass distribution is required to address data deficiency in the entire region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial prioritization of dugong habitats in India can contribute towards achieving the 30 × 30 global biodiversity target

Seal,

Bayyana,

Pande

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Indian coastal waters are critical for dugong populations in the western Indian Ocean. Systematic spatial planning of dugong habitats can help to achieve biodiversity conservation and area-based protection targets in the region. In this study, we employed environmental niche modelling to predict suitable dugong habitats and identify influencing factors along its entire distribution range in Indian waters. We examined data on fishing pressures collected through systematic interview surveys, citizen-science data, and field surveys to demarcate dugong habitats with varying risks. Seagrass presence was the primary factor in determining dugong habitat suitability across the study sites. Other variables such as depth, bathymetric slope, and Euclidean distance from the shore were significant factors, particularly in predicting seasonal suitability. Predicted suitable habitats showed a remarkable shift from pre-monsoon in Palk Bay to post-monsoon in the Gulf of Mannar, indicating the potential of seasonal dugong movement. The entire coastline along the Palk Bay-Gulf of Mannar region was observed to be at high to moderate risk, including the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, a high-risk area. The Andaman Islands exhibited high suitability during pre- and post-monsoon season, whereas the Nicobar Islands were highly suitable for monsoon season. Risk assessment of modelled suitable areas revealed that < 15% of high-risk areas across Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu, fall within the existing protected areas. A few offshore reef islands are identified under high-risk zones in the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat. We highlight the utility of citizen science and secondary data in performing large-scale spatial ecological analysis. Overall, identifying synoptic scale ‘Critical Dugong Habitats’ has positive implications for the country's progress towards achieving the global 30 × 30 target through systematic conservation planning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, mechanized and motorized vessels comprise > 99% of all the registered vessels in two of the targeted study states 24 , risking the dugong population to a great extent. Currently, the extent of these impacts on dugongs in India is poorly known but is apparently deduced through high incidences of strandings 25 , 26 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial prioritization of dugong habitats in India can contribute towards achieving the 30 × 30 global biodiversity target

Seal,

Bayyana,

Pande

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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“…In the GoK region, seagrass presence and low organic turbidity (lower values of chlorophyll-a) provide support to clear shallow waters as preferred regions by dugongs [41]. With a relict dugong population in the GoK [19], ne-scale mapping of seasonal dugong occurrence and seagrass distribution is required to address data de ciency in the entire region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through seagrass suitability analysis, we identi ed suitable seagrass habitats along most of the Andaman Islands (except parts of the northern coast), the whole PB-GoM region and south-western coast of GoK. These areas, presumably the last remaining dugong habitats along most of the Indian subcontinent [35][36] [15][37][38] [19], thus assume critical importance. An understanding of the potential expanse of the seagrass habitats would also ignite efforts for assessment of nutrient pro ling, carbon sequestration and seagrass-associated micro/macrofauna across spatial scales [33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial prioritization of dugong habitats in India can contribute towards achieving the 30 x 30 global biodiversity target

Seal,

Bayyana,

Pande

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Indian coastal waters are critical for dugong populations, the largest in south Asia, in the western Indian Ocean. Spatial planning of these waters can help to achieve biodiversity conservation and area-based protection targets in the region. In this study, we employed environmental niche modelling to predict suitable dugong habitats and identify influencing factors along its entire distribution range in Indian waters. We examined data on fishing pressures collected through systematic interview surveys, citizen-science data, and field surveys to demarcate dugong habitats with varying risk. Seagrass presence was the major contributing factor in determining dugong habitat suitability across the study sites, though variables like depth, bathymetric slope, Euclidean distance from the shore were significant factors, particularly in the context of seasonal suitability. Predicted suitable habitats showed a remarkable shift from pre-monsoon in Palk Bay to post-monsoon in the Gulf of Mannar indicating seasonal movement. The entire coastline along the Palk Bay- Gulf of Mannar (PB-GoM) region were observed to be high to moderate risk, including the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park as one of the high-risk areas. The Andaman Islands exhibited high suitability during pre and post monsoon, whereas the Nicobar Islands were highly suitable in the monsoon. Risk assessment of modelled suitable areas revealed that < 15% of high-risk areas across Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) and Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu falls within the existing protected areas. At Gulf of Kutch (GoK), Gujarat few offshore reef islands are identified under high-risk zone. The study highlighted the utility of citizen science and secondary data, in performing large-scale spatial ecological analysis. The study identifies synoptic-scale ‘Critical Dugong Habitats’ with implications in achieving global 30x30 target through systematic conservation planning.

show abstract

Scars of hope and forewarn of a bleak future: post-mortem findings of dugongs (Dugong dugon) belonging to a relict population in the Gulf of Kachchh, India

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Spatial prioritization of dugong habitats in India can contribute towards achieving the 30 × 30 global biodiversity target

Spatial prioritization of dugong habitats in India can contribute towards achieving the 30 × 30 global biodiversity target

Spatial prioritization of dugong habitats in India can contribute towards achieving the 30 x 30 global biodiversity target

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