The biogeography and ecology of Sri Lankan mammals point to conservation priorities

Abstract

All mammals originated on the supercontinent of Pangaea in the Mesozoic era during the "Age of Reptiles." However, the crown ancestors of contemporary mammals did not flourish until major environmental and biotic changes had occurred. An asteroid collided with earth at the end of the Cretaceous Period (the K-Pg boundary event) wiping out nonflying dinosaurs and primitive mammals. It was followed by large-scale volcanism, a spike in atmospheric oxygen and the proliferation of flowering plants. New niches became available for the ancestors of today's mammals to fill. Evidence suggesting whether the ancestors of the Sri Lankan and Indian mammals originated on the tectonically marooned Indian plate before crashing into Asia or on the Laurasian supercontinent is inconclusive. Modern Sri Lankan mammals show their greatest affinity with those of southern India, and were more diverse in the Pleistocene when rhinoceros, hippopotamus, wild dogs, gaur and lions enriched the island's landscapes. Native Sri Lankan land-based mammals are diversified into about 108 unique taxa (among 91 species and 53 genera), differentiated as phenotypic adaptations to sharply contrasting environments among seven major phyto-climatic zones. Endemic subspecies are distributed fairly equally across different phyto-climatic zones (n=24 to 29), except in the highlands where they are fewer (n=14) having evolved rapidly to species and genera among the insectivores and rodents whose reproductive rates are high. Conversely, greater numbers of endemic species (n=13) and genera (n=3) occur in the highlands than in the other zones (2-6 endemic species, no endemic genera). The prevalence of endemism is inversely related to body size or vagility. This suggests a greater probability of genetic exchange among distant populations of large bodied mobile mammals within Sri Lanka, as well as with Indian fauna during periods of land bridges in the Pleistocene. Most (8 of 13) endangered and critically endangered endemic mammals occur in the wet montane regions that offer the least Protected Areas (PAs). More than 85% of PAs occur in the extensive dry zone about half of which is not suited for water dependent mammals whose distributions are restricted to alluvial forests (less than 1% of PAs). Historically, the national cost of conservation has been low and therefore politically palatable. Current conservation urgently requires a major change in management policy combined with realistic investment to prevent extinctions of many endemic mammals and other unique Sri Lankan biota.

Assessing Public Perceptions and Solutions to Human-Monkey Conflict from 50 Years in Sri Lanka

“…Monkey densities in the dry zone can vary from less than 1 monkey/km 2 in arid regions of low plant productivity to over 100 monkeys/km 2 where habitats are floristically more diverse, productive and moist. Densities are far greater at sites where monkeys have access to anthropogenic food [Dittus, 2017]. Species and habitat differences in ecology are important considerations when addressing the cause of and solutions to HMC.…”

“…In such instances the trouble with pest monkeys is not solved, it is merely shifted from an economically and politically strong area and imposed upon poor rural villagers [Pirta et al, 1997;Lohumi, 2004;Ramanayake, 2012] some of whom protest against the practice [Somaratna, 2012]. Furthermore, in Sri Lanka, the several sizable protected areas occur in arid regions whose carrying capacity for primates is low and cannot support the survival of translocated groups of monkeys [Dittus, 1977b[Dittus, , 2017. Translocation may have limited conservation applications [Strum and Southwick, 1986] but is not a viable solution for reducing HMC, particularly in areas of high human population density, or in general with most wildlife [Craven et al, 1998].…”

“…1). These villages were rural, most within a radius of 50 km of the Polonnaruwa Nature Sanctuary and Archaeological Reserve where primate studies have been ongoing since 1962 [e.g., Ripley, 1965;Dittus, 2017].…”

“…Hence, the potential for human-wildlife conflict in this region is particularly acute and on the rise [Cincotta et al, 2002]. In Sri Lanka, the biodiversity at risk includes several endemic plant and animal species and many primates [MOE, 2012;Dittus, 2013aDittus, , 2017.…”

Cicindelinae of Sri Lanka: New record of the arboreal tiger beetle Tricondyla gounellei Horn, 1900

“…T. gounellei has been recorded from India from two locations: from Anaimalai Hills in Ramnad, Madras (Fowler, 1912) and from the Tamil Nadu State (Kirk-Spriggs & Wiesner, 1992). Similar climatic conditions prevail between Southern India and Northern Sri Lanka (Dittus, 2017), resulting in climatically-induced habitat diversifi cation (Bossuyt et al, 2004). Therefore, it is likely that the arboreal tiger beetle T. gounellei had dispersed from Southern India to Sri Lanka and established itself in this country due to the similar dry habitats prevailing in the two regions.…”