Herd Size Dynamics and Observations on the Natural History of Dugongs (Dugong dugon) in the Andaman Islands, India

Author:

Gole SwapnaliORCID,Prajapati SumitORCID,Prabakaran NehruORCID,Johnson Jeyaraj AntonyORCID,Sivakumar KuppusamyORCID

Abstract

In the last four decades, dugong (Dugong dugon) aggregations have been rarely reported from the geographically isolated, vast seascape of the Andaman Islands, India. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, hunting, coastal development, and habitat loss are the major causes of this change in the social system of dugongs in the Andaman Islands. Our long-term monitoring study (2017 to 2022) reveals a changing trend in aggregating behaviour of dugongs. In an inclusive, collaborative effort, we engaged multiple stakeholders using two approaches: (1) creating a spatially spread citizen science network targeting sea-faring agencies—the fishers, forest department, SCUBA divers, and defence bodies (Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard); and (2) conducting standardized questionnaire surveys (UNEP/CMS) with fishers. Our approach yielded reports of 63 herd sightings of dugongs from the Andaman archipelago. The fishers reported 73.01% of the sightings, followed by the defence bodies (20.63%), forest department (3.18%), and SCUBA divers (3.18%). Smaller herds in our study comprised three to six individuals, with a social structure of “adults only” and “adult–calf.” The larger herds of seven to 13 individuals included an “adult–calf” combination with a greater number of adults accompanying two to three calves. More than 95% of these herd occurrences were reported from sheltered, coastal waters with resource concentrations (large seagrass meadows). Further, we present novel dugong occurrence reports from data-deficient regions like the Jarawa Tribal Reserve and the North Sentinel Island, along with dugong occurrences from Little Andaman, where the population was speculated to be locally extinct after the 2004 tsunami. These findings strongly advocate the involvement of multiple stakeholders as a cost-effective approach to monitoring the distribution and population of dugongs in larger seascapes like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Moreover, such an approach would be critical for sensitizing the local stakeholders regarding the conservation and management of large marine mammals such as dugongs.

Publisher

Aquatic Mammals Journal

Subject

Nature and Landscape Conservation,Animal Science and Zoology,Aquatic Science

Cited by 3 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3