DOCSLIB.ORG

Conserving a Globally Threatened Species in a Semi-Natural, Agrarian Landscape

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Conserving a Globally Threatened Species in a Semi-Natural, Agrarian Landscape Conserving a globally threatened species in a semi-natural, agrarian landscape H ARRIET I BBETT,CHANSETHA L AY,PONLORK P HLAI,DET S ONG,CHAMNAN H ONG S IMON P. MAHOOD and E . J . M ILNER-GULLAND Abstract Agriculture threatens biodiversity across the tropics, Introduction particularly in semi-natural grassland landscapes, where human populations are high, habitat is easily converted and or millennia humans have affected the landscapes in agriculture is prone to intensification. Over the last years Fwhich they live. In Europe, preserving semi-natural ha- intensive, commercial dry season rice cultivation has emerged bitats dominates conservation priorities, yet in the tropics as the dominant threat to the Bengal florican Houbaropsis ben- anthropogenic landscapes receive little public attention or galensis, a globally threatened bustard that breeds in the sea- conservation effort (Wright et al., ). This is especially sonally inundated grasslands of central Cambodia. Although true of grassy biomes such as grassland, savannah and floricans have been extensively monitored for years, no steppe, where landscape structure is often maintained – socioeconomic research has been undertaken to examine through complex human wildlife and ecological interac- how local livelihood activities interact with the florican. We tions (Curtin & Western, ). To date, grassy biomes conducted household questionnaires and focus groups in have largely been overlooked in conservation, viewed as de- villages in the Northern Tonle Sap Conservation Landscape graded lands or considered in terms of their potential for to gather information on household demographics, rice farm- forest restoration (Bond & Parr, ). Yet globally, nearly ing and bird hunting in protected and unprotected areas of half of Centres of Plant Diversity include grassland habitat, florican breeding habitat. We identified a significant increase and grasslands support over % of Endemic Bird Areas in dry season rice adoption by local communities since . (White et al., ). Over the next years demand to con- Dry season rice cultivation was strongly associated with agro- vert natural habitat and intensify agriculture will escalate, chemical use and rice fields directly overlapped with florican especially in developing countries (Tilman et al., ; breeding habitat, reducing habitat availability throughout the Green et al., ). Tropical grasslands, where land can be breeding season. We identified a low but significant level of converted with ease and pressure to intensify is greatest, bird hunting in grassland households (%)andrevealedade- are inherently threatened (White et al., ). Losses of mand for wild bird meat amongst local communities. Our grasslands to agriculture may exceed those of tropical rain- findings suggest an urgent need for conservation interventions forests (Hoekstra et al., ; Parr et al., ), threatening in unprotected farmland and emphasize the role of enforce- the survival of tropical grassland species and the habitats on ment and community engagement in improving protection which they depend (Wright et al., ). within protected areas. We highlight the potential of private Lowland tropical grasslands are typically found in river sector initiatives such as the Sustainable Rice Platform in rec- floodplains. In South-east Asia the Tonle Sap floodplain in onciling conservation and development for impoverished Cambodia contains the largest remaining example of season- rural communities. ally inundated grassland in the region (BirdLife International, ). This grassland is of high importance for the Bengal Keywords Agricultural intensification, Bengal florican, florican Houbaropsis bengalensis, a Critically Endangered bus- Cambodia, dry season rice, hunting, livelihoods, protected areas tard with an estimated global population of –, indivi- duals (BirdLife International, ). The species’ global distribution is restricted to two disjunct populations: India HARRIET IBBETT* (Corresponding author) Department of Life Sciences, Imperial and Nepal’s terai grasslands, and the Tonle Sap floodplain, College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, UK E-mail [email protected] which supports % of the global population (BirdLife CHANSETHA LAY,PONLORK PHLAI,CHAMNAN HONG and SIMON P. MAHOOD† Wildlife International, ). In Cambodia the suitability of grassland Conservation Society, Phnom Penh, Cambodia habitat for the florican is maintained by low intensity land-use DET SONG Faculty of Agricultural Economics & Rural Development of the Royal practices such as burning, livestock grazing, and cultivation University of Agriculture, Ecoland Research Centre, Phnom Penh, Cambodia and fallowing of traditional wet season rice (Gray, ). E. J. MILNER-GULLAND Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK These practices mimic functions once provided by now ex- *Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, The Tinbergen tinct megafauna (Packman et al., ). Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK † Since the Tonle Sap grasslands have been subject to Also at: Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles – Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia rapid land-use change. In grassland was esti- Received September . Revision requested October . mated to cover % of the floodplain but by %of Accepted December . First published online May . this natural grassland cover had been lost, primarily as a This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, Downloadeddistribution, from https://www.cambridge.org/core and reproduction in any medium,. Open provided University the originalLibrary, work on 11 is May properly 2019 cited. at 17:44:28, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/termsOryx, 2019, 53(1), 181–191 ©. https://doi.org/10.1017/S00306053160017082017 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605316001708 182 H. Ibbett et al. result of aggressive scrub expansion and agricultural aban- used novel methods to provide the first estimates of the donment by inner-floodplain communities (Packman et al., prevalence of bird hunting in the Tonle Sap grasslands. ). Since the loss of grassland has been com- We also explored people’s knowledge of the presence of pounded by the emergence of dry season rice, a form of in- wild birds and their protection status. This study provides tensive, irrigated rice cultivation that relies on the the first holistic understanding of recent change in this construction of large-scale dam and canal networks semi-natural, agrarian landscape, which includes both pro- (Packman et al., ). Dry season rice expansion was ini- tected and unprotected grasslands, with implications for tially driven by Economic Land Concessions (long-term planning of future conservation of the florican. land development leases) granted by the government to in- fluential urban elites (Packman et al., ). However, recent research suggests local communities have capitalized on ir- Study area rigation investments made by concessionaires and are also converting grasslands for dry season rice (Mahood & Within Cambodia floricans are confined to small, highly Hong, ), a trend that remains unquantified. Dry season fragmented populations, % of which reside in Kampong rice is now thought to be the greatest threat to florican sur- Thom, a province on the northern shore of the Tonle Sap vival, with –% population declines recorded for the lake (Packman et al., ). In Cambodia the florican is mi- Tonle Sap population since the emergence of dry season gratory; breeding in grasslands in the dry season (February– rice cultivation in (Packman et al., ), although April), and departing at the onset of monsoonal rains (July/ studies suggest hunting may also threaten the species August) to dipterocarp forest – km north of the flood- (Packman, ). plain (Packman et al., ). However, if conditions are To develop effective conservation interventions, policy- suitable, floricans may remain in grasslands throughout makers and conservation managers require detailed under- the wet season (Packman, ). Floricans demonstrate standing of drivers of biodiversity loss, including knowledge natal philopatric tendencies and have complex exploded of the direct effects of human activities on ecosystems, and lek breeding systems, which means they require sizeable ter- understanding of how conservation interventions are ritories and large swathes of contiguous grassland habitat modulated through human behaviour (Milner-Gulland, (Gray et al., ). ). In the case of the florican, ecological studies have We surveyed villages located around six study sites in documented population declines and habitat loss (Gray, Kampong Thom province. Each study site was identified as ; Packman, ), yet in-depth understanding of how a current or former area of grassland breeding habitat local people use the grassland landscape and directly and in- subject to annual florican population monitoring (Fig. ). directly interact with florican populations remains limited. At the time of research, levels of protection varied across Although the livelihood activities of people living in the study sites, with four sites designated as Bengal Florican landscape were documented in (Gray, ), the rap- Conservation Areas and two sites in unprotected areas of idly evolving socioeconomic context means that these find- grassland or former
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CEE Lesser Florican Community Leadership Programme, India
    Lesser Florican Community Leadership Programme, India Project Code 100080 BP Conservation Leadership Programme Future Conservationist Award 2008 Final Report Supriya Jhunjhunwala& Anirban Dutta Gupta CEE TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Acknowledgments 2. Project Fact Sheet 3. Introduction 4. Species Description: Habitat Preferences, Distribution & Breeding 5. Threats & Conservation Status 6. Study Site 7. Programme Objectives 7.1 Objective 1: To Conserve the Lesser Florican and its habitat, Methods and Outputs 7.2 Objective 2: Developing and disseminating conservation education material; 7.3 Objective 3: Empowering stakeholder communities through community leadership programmes; 7.4 Objective 4: To disseminate learning’s to a wide stakeholder group, Methods and Outputs 7.5 Objective 5: To support ongoing local level conservation programmes; Methods and Outputs 7.6 Objective 6: To raise levels of awareness about the species and site; Methods and Outputs 7.7 Objective 7: To influence policy detrimental to the conservation of the Lesser Florican 8. Conservation Impact 9. Recommendation 10. Future Goals 11 Conclusion 12. Details of Expenditure 13. References CEE 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We would like to thank the following for their support: Madhya Pradesh Forest Department Mr. P. Gangopadhyay, Former PCCF, Mr. H. S. Pabla, Former Additional PCCF, Mr. P. M. Laad, Former PCCF , Mr. Vivek Jain, DFO Ratlam, Mr. Sanjeev Jhah, DFO Ratlam Mr. R.S Singod, Deputy Ranger Ratlam, Mr. D.K. Rajora, Range Officer Sailana ,Mr. Dashrat Singh Pawar, Van Rakshak Khimaji Mailda, fellow naturalist and field worker par excellence Mr. BMS Rathore, Senior Advisor, Winrock International India Mr. Bharat Singhji Former Forest Minister and Home Minister, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • A Description of Copulation in the Kori Bustard J Ardeotis Kori
    i David C. Lahti & Robert B. Payne 125 Bull. B.O.C. 2003 123(2) van Someren, V. G. L. 1918. A further contribution to the ornithology of Uganda (West Elgon and district). Novitates Zoologicae 25: 263-290. van Someren, V. G. L. 1922. Notes on the birds of East Africa. Novitates Zoologicae 29: 1-246. Sorenson, M. D. & Payne, R. B. 2001. A single ancient origin of brood parasitism in African finches: ,' implications for host-parasite coevolution. Evolution 55: 2550-2567. 1 Stevenson, T. & Fanshawe, J. 2002. Field guide to the birds of East Africa. T. & A. D. Poyser, London. Sushkin, P. P. 1927. On the anatomy and classification of the weaver-birds. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull. 57: 1-32. Vernon, C. J. 1964. The breeding of the Cuckoo-weaver (Anomalospiza imberbis (Cabanis)) in southern Rhodesia. Ostrich 35: 260-263. Williams, J. G. & Keith, G. S. 1962. A contribution to our knowledge of the Parasitic Weaver, Anomalospiza s imberbis. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 82: 141-142. Address: Museum of Zoology and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of " > Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, U.S.A. email: [email protected]. 1 © British Ornithologists' Club 2003 I A description of copulation in the Kori Bustard j Ardeotis kori struthiunculus \ by Sara Hallager Received 30 May 2002 i Bustards are an Old World family with 25 species in 6 genera (Johnsgard 1991). ? Medium to large ground-dwelling birds, they inhabit the open plains and semi-desert \ regions of Africa, Australia and Eurasia. The International Union for Conservation | of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals lists four f species of bustard as Endangered, one as Vulnerable and an additional six as Near- l Threatened, although some species have scarcely been studied and so their true I conservation status is unknown.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lesser Florican Text and Photographs by Ravi Sankaran
    The lesser florican Text and photographs by Ravi Sankaran lose to sunset, the sun finally broke past were indiscriminately hunted. This coup­ through the cloudy skies. It had led with drastic changes in their habitat in the been tiring looking for floricans wake of the human population explosion, C through most of a rainy afternoon. makes them endangered birds today. Consider­ Splashing through a narrow stream, still ing the gravity of the situation, the Bombay muddy after the recent rains, I walked up the Natural History Society as a part of its low ridge in front of me. Florican! A hundred Endangered Species Project,started a five-year metres away, on the opposite ridge, a male project in 1984, to study the ecology, florican stood looking around with an air of behaviour and status of these birds. The barely suppressed energy and excitement. Project is financed by the United States Fish Seemingly conscious of his looks,the florican and Wildlife Service released through the ran his beak through the feathers of his glossy Government of India. With the invaluable black neck and belly. While the plumes on his support of the Madhya Pradesh Forest head waved in the gentle breeze, he shuffled Department, we set up our first research his feet impatiently as he surveyed the mosaic station at Sailana, north of Ratlam, to study of emerging green around him. Then abruptly the breeding behaviour of the lesser florican. with a flash of white and a sharp carrying rattle, the florican fluttered off the ground The Naulakha grassland at Sailana is ideal before dropping back to the spot he took off florican country.
    [Show full text]
  • Sexual Size Dimorphism in Damselflies, Dragonflies and Birds: Function and Development
    University of Bath PHD Sexual size dimorphism in damselflies, dragonflies and birds: function and development Serrano Meneses, Martin Alejandro Award date: 2006 Awarding institution: University of Bath Link to publication Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 09. Oct. 2021 Sexual size dimorphism in damselflies, dragonflies and birds: function and development Martin Alejandro Serrano Meneses A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Bath Department of Biology and Biochemistry September 2006 COPYRIGHT Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with its author. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the prior consent of the author.
    [Show full text]
  • “Study of Distribution of Lesser Florican and Their Habitats in Bidar District with Emphasis on Conservation Strategies”
    Karnataka Forest Department Territorial Forest Division, Bidar Website: aranya.gov.in, Email: [email protected] CORRIGENDUM Contractual engagement of Project Associate –I (01 position) under the project “Study of Distribution of Lesser Florican and their Habitats in Bidar District with emphasis on conservation strategies”. Engagement positions Project Associate I (One position) 1 Work description The Project Associate will work with the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Territorial Division, Bidar and the field staff for designing methodology for the above study and also on collection of field data, analysis and write the report for the project and coordinate with concerned officials of Karnataka Forest Department. 2 Essential Minimum of 60% Marks in M.Sc. in Wildlife Science, qualification (EQ) Forestry, Natural Resource Management, Life Science and other biological sciences with minimum two years of research experience in field-based project involving Bustard/Other Bird species. 3 Desirable Preference will be given to candidate willing to carry out Qualification (DQ) rigorous field work under harsh conditions. Candidates with Prior experience on Bustard research would be given preference. 4 Emoluments Rs. 31,000/- + 8% HRA 5 Age Not exceeding 35 years as on date of Interview 6 Duration 8 months and shall be extended General Conditions: Mode of Selection and other conditions: 1. The selection of the candidates will be in accordance with the performance in the interview and in order of merit as decided by the Interview Committee. All original documents should be produced at the time of interview. The decision of the interview Committee in all matters relating to eligibility, work experience, acceptance or rejection of application will be final and binding on the candidates and no enquiry or correspondence will be entertained from any individual.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesser Florican Sypheotides Indica in Warora (Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India): Conservation Requirements Sujit S
    50 Indian BIRDS VOL. 10 NO. 2 (PUBL. 20 JUNE 2015) Streaked Wren Babbler Turdinus brevicaudatus Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica Nepal Tit Babbler Alcippe nipalensis Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Spot-breasted Laughing-thrush Garrulax merulinus Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis White-crested Laughing-thrush G. leucolophus White-rumped Shama Kittacincla malabarica Blue-winged Laughing-thrush Trochalopteron squamatum Pale-chinned Blue Flycatcher Cyornis poliogenys Chestnut-crowned Laughing-thrush T. erythrocephalum Rufous-bellied Niltava Niltava sundara Grey Sibia Heterophasia gracilis Lesser Shortwing Brachypteryx leucophris Silver-eared Mesia Leiothrix argentauris White-tailed Robin Myiomela leucura Rufous-backed Sibia Leioptila annectens Golden Bush Robin Tarsiger chrysaeus Red-faced Liocichla Liocichla phoenicea Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla Streak-throated Barwing Sibia waldeni Snowy-browed Flycatcher F. hyperythra Blue-winged Minla Siva cyanouroptera Rufous-gorgetted Flycatcher F. strophiata Rusty-fronted Barwing Actinodura egertoni Sapphire Flycatcher F. sapphira Beautiful Nuthatch Sitta formosa Purple Cochoa Cochoa purpurea Lesser Florican Sypheotides indica in Warora (Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India): Conservation requirements Sujit S. Narwade, Vithoba Hegde, Vipin V. Fulzele, Bandu T. Lalsare & Asad R. Rahmani Narwade, S. S., Hegde, V., Fulzele, V. V., Lalsare, B. T., & Rahmani, A. R., 2015. Lesser Florican Sypheotides indica in Warora (Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India): Conservation requirements. Indian BIRDS 10 (2): 50–52. Sujit S. Narwade, Project Scientist, Bharat Natural History Society (BNHS-India), Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai 400001, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: [email protected].[Corresponding author] Vithoba Hegde, Senior Field Assistant, Collection Department, Bharat Natural History Society (BNHS-India), Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai 400001, Maharashtra, India. Vipin V. Fulzele, Warora, Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India.
    [Show full text]
  • Bengal Florican Conservation Action Plan 2016-2020 BENGAL FLORICAN CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN 2016-2020
    Bengal Florican Conservation Action Plan 2016-2020 BENGAL FLORICAN CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN 2016-2020 Government of Nepal Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation a BENGAL FLORICAN CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN 2016-2020 Government of Nepal Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation TECHNICAL TEAM Mr. Laxman Prasad Poudyal Dr. Naresh Subedi Dr. Kanchan Thapa Mr. Rishi Ranabhat Mr. Jyotendra Jyu Thakuri REVIEWER TEAM Mr. Krishna Prasad Acharya Dr. Maheshwar Dhakal Dr. Hem Sagar Baral Dr. Narendra Man Babu Pradhan Mr. Bijaya Raj Paudyal Dr. Paul Donald Mr. Ian Barber Copyright © Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, 2016. Waiver The materials of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for education or non-commercial uses, without permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purpose without prior permission of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal. Citation DNPWC (2016) Bengal Florican Conservation Action Plan, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Kathmandu, Nepal. Cover Photo: Bengal Florican, Male © Bed Bahadur Khadka Foreword Nepal is rich in both faunal and floral biodiversity despites graded grassland and farmland leaves them vulnerable to its small size and terrain geography. The richness of bird further threats reducing their chances of survival. There- species is much higher than other species as the record fore, it is highly essential to develop an action plan of Ben- shows more than 878 bird species inhabits in Nepal from gal Florican and implement the conservation activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Proposal for Inclusion of the Bengal Florican in Appendix I of The
    CONVENTION ON UNEP/CMS/COP13/Doc. 27.1.5 MIGRATORY 25 September 2019 Original: English SPECIES 13th MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES Gandhinagar, India, 17 - 22 February 2020 Agenda Item 27.1 PROPOSAL FOR THE INCLUSION OF THE BENGAL FLORICAN (Houbaropsis bengalensis bengalensis) IN APPENDIX I OF THE CONVENTION Summary: The Government of the Republic of India has submitted the attached proposal for the inclusion of the Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis bengalensis) in Appendix I of CMS. The geographical designations employed in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the CMS Secretariat (or the United Nations Environment Programme) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The responsibility for the contents of the document rests exclusively with its author PROPOSAL FOR INCLUSION IN CMS APPENDICES A. PROPOSAL To include the Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis bengalensis in the Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species B. PROPONENT India (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) C. SUPPORTING STATEMENT The Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis bengalensis, an iconic, critically endangered species of topmost conservation priority, exhibits transboundary movements, and its migration exposes it to threats such as land use changes, collision with power transmission line at boundary area of India-Nepal and probable power-line collisions. Inclusion of the species in Appendix I of CMS will aid in transboundary conservation efforts facilitated by International conservation bodies and existing international laws and agreement. 1. Taxonomy 1.1 Class - Aves 1.2 Order - Otidiformes 1.3 Family - Otididae 1.4 Genus, species or subspecies, including author and year -Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis(J.F.
    [Show full text]
  • South Asian Arid Habitats G03 G03
    South Asian arid habitats G03 G03 Threatened species HE 12 threatened species of this region are found in a variety of Tarid and semi-arid habitats in the Indian subcontinent, many of CR EN VU Total which have been greatly modified by centuries of human usage. They 2248 have here been divided into five groups (see coloured outlines on map) according to their habitat requirements and distributions: 2——2 (G03A) three Gyps vulture species which roam over all types of forest and open country; (G03B) four species which inhabit semi-arid plains —— 22 (rolling short grasslands, open deserts and low shrublands), including Total 42612 two migrants from Central Asia; (G03C) Lesser Florican, which breeds in moderately high grasslands in arid to semi-arid areas; Key: = breeds only in this grassland region. (G03D) three species restricted to dry forests and scrub; (G03E) = also breeds in other region(s). Green Avadavat, which inhabits rough grasslands, agricultural land = non-breeding visitor from another region. and orchards. The conservation needs of each of these five groups is discussed in separate sections below. ■ Key habitats Grassland, arid and semi-arid woodland and scrub, semi-desert, cultivation and other open habitats. ■ Altitude 0–c.1,000 m. ■ Countries and territories Pakistan; India (Himachal Pradesh; Punjab; Haryana; Delhi; Rajasthan; Gujarat; Uttar Pradesh; Madhya Pradesh; Maharashtra; Goa; Karnataka; Andhra Pradesh; Kerala; Tamil Nadu; Bihar; Orissa; West Bengal; Sikkim; Arunachal Pradesh; Assam; Meghalaya; Nagaland; Manipur); Nepal; Bhutan; Bangladesh. Vultures play an important role as cleansers, but following the recent crash in their numbers in South Asia they are being replaced by packs of feral dogs as the main scavengers of carcasses.
    [Show full text]
  • What Can Save the Lesser Florican Sypheotides Indicus?
    BirdingASIA 35 (2021): 11–20 11 CONSERVATION ALERT What can save the Lesser Florican Sypheotides indicus? NIGEL J. COLLAR Six years ago in BirdingASIA I co-authored an species are each other’s closest relatives, but still article on the plight of the Great Indian Bustard distant enough to occupy different genera (Pitra et Ardeotis nigriceps (Collar et al. 2015). It is with a al. 2002)—but he has a wonderful ornamentation desperate sense of foreboding that I now re-use the of usually around 5–6 long upcurling black feather- title from that article to discuss the fate of the shafts with broader oar-like tips (someone vividly Lesser Florican Sypheotides indicus, a hugely called them ribbons) projecting backwards far distinctive bird in morphological and evolutionary behind the head from under the ear-coverts, in a terms whose impending loss threatens to inflict feature only otherwise remotely reflected in the permanent damage on the fine reputation of Indian Otididae by the sheaf of white moustachial barbs wildlife conservation. on the chin of the male Great Bustard Otis tarda. The Lesser Florican, endemic to South Asia and Like most other members of the family the species virtually confined to India, shares many features forms exploded leks, the males establishing open- typical of bustards, but combines them in striking country territories 1−2 ha in size and displaying individual ways. The male (Plate 1), with his black in frequent little fluttering jumps (Collar et al. 2001) neck and belly, gold-spangled back and white in (Plate 2); the one other family member to make the wing, resembles the male of the much larger such jumps is the shorter but heavier Little Bustard Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis—the two Tetrax tetrax (Jiguet & Bretagnolle 2001), which Plate 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesser Florican Silent Decline from Historical Ranges
    `50 EARTH Subscriber’sT copy VOLUMEerra 11 ISSUE 7 October 2018 reenMATTERS Lesser Florican Silent Decline from Historical Ranges SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS Ivory Stockpiles and the Vanishing Pachyderms Pioneers Blaze Their Own Trail IN CONVERSATION Mr R C M Reddy Managing Director and CEO, IL&FS Education & Technology Services Limited TERRA YOUTH Dhole: The Whistling Hunter AN EXPLOSIVE ACCOUNT OF INDIA’S MOST DISQUIETING ENVIRONMENTAL REALITIES Just Released ISBN: 9789386530059 • Price: `295/- Written by esteemed environmental experts and prominent journalists, this riveting collection of articles dives straight into the heart of the most serious ecological problems plaguing India and tells heart-warming stories of struggle, survival, and hope For more information, please visit: http://bookstore.teri.res.in EDITORIAL India needs focussed study on the non-breeding grounds of lesser floricans thoroughly and regularly. esser florican is one of the four bustard species of India, all of which are threatened to become extinct as per the International Union for the Conservation of Nature L(IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Once found in abundance, the Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus) is in actual danger of becoming extinct from India. The rapid decline is tied to the obliteration of India’s least valued, and highly endangered ecosystem—the grassland. Generally dismissed as ‘wastelands’, grasslands have been massively diverted for infrastructure, real estate, roads, power projects, etc. This month, our cover story titled, ‘Lesser Florican: Silent Decline from Historical Ranges’ presents an ethnobiological analysis on how slowly and silently this beautiful bustard has vanished from its former historical ranges where once it was in abundance.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity Study Report of Sailana Kharmour Wildlife Sanctuary As
    Biodiversity Study report of Sailana Kharmour Wildlife Sanctuary As Part Of Submission of ADS to the EAC committee of MoEFCC For Construction of 8 lane expressway from Kandarwasa village at design Ch. 150+000 to Kajaliya village at Ch. 181+000 (Total length= 31 km) in Ratlam district in the state of Madhya Pradesh Biodiversity report Sailana WLS Contents 1.1 Brief about the project ...................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Brief about the Saliana Kharmour Wildlife Sanctuary ...................................................... 3 1.3 Scope of the Study ............................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Methodology for the study ............................................................................................... 4 1.5 Field Survey ....................................................................................................................... 4 1.6 The Lesser Florican Bird in Kharmour Bird Sanctuary and Area Assured ....................... 10 1.7 Impact on Flora, Fauna and Ecosystem .......................................................................... 11 1.8 Major threats to Lesser Florican in and around sanctuary ............................................. 12 1.9 Environmental Management Plan for Conservation of Grassland Habitat and Lesser Florican and other avifauna ....................................................................................................... 13 1.10 Conservation
    [Show full text]