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The Rufford In-Country Conference - Sri Lanka I PROCEEDINGS PROCEEDINGS | The Rufford in-country conference - Sri Lanka i PROCEEDINGS The Rufford in-country conference - Sri Lanka 14th to 16th November 2016 Kandy, Sri Lanka COMPILED BY E.M. LALITH EKANAYAKE ORGANIZED BY BIO CONSERVATION SOCEITY ii PROCEEDINGS | The Rufford in-country conference - Sri Lanka © BIO CONSERVATION SOCEITY PROCEEDING OF THE RUFFORD IN-COUNTRY CONFERENCE SRI LANKA – 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or trans mitted in any from or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher. ISBN 978-955-7253-00-8 PUBLISHED BY BIO CONSERVATION SOCEITY (BCSL) COVER DESIGN AND PAGE LAYOUT BY SANJEEWA JAYARATHNE, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, FACULTY OF SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF PERADENIYA PRINTED BY SANDUNI OFFSET PRINTERS (PVT.) LIMITED NO. 4/1, SARASAVIUYANA GOODSHED ROAD SARASAVIUYANA, PERADENIYA For bibliographic purposes, this document should be cited as follows: Ekanayake, E.M.L., compiler. 2016. Proceedings of the Rufford in country conference Sri Lanka. 54p. PROCEEDINGS | The Rufford in-country conference - Sri Lanka iii CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMERY vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii EX-SITU CONSERVATION, AN UNDERUTILIZED TOOL IN CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY IN 1 SRI LANKA Prof. Siril Wijesundara DETERMINING OCCUPANCY, ABUNDANCE AND POPULATION STRUCTURE OF AN 3 ENDANGERED APEX PREDATOR, THE SRI LANKAN LEOPARD (Panthera pardus kotiya) Anjali Watson & Andrew M Kittle BLEACHING PATTERNS AND CAPACITY BUILDING FOR MALDIVES CONSERVATIONISTS 5 DURING REEFCHECK EXPEDITIONS Jean-Luc Solandt, Hussein Zahir *, Matthias Hammer & Shaha Hashim SPECIES RICHNESS OF INSECTIVOROUS BATS IN SELECTED TEA PLANTATIONS IN SRI LANKA: A 8 PRELIMINARY STUDY Tharaka Kusuminda *, A.P.M.K. Karunarathna, Amani Mannakkara & Wipula B. Yapa PATHOGEN DRIVEN LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY: TREMATODE INDUCED MORTALITY AND 11 MALFORMATIONS IN FROGS R.S. Rajakaruna *, N.U.K. Pathirana, U.A. Jayawardena & P.H. Amerasinghe SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENT HABITATS IN UPPER HANTHANA MOUNTAIN AREA, CENTRAL 12 SRI LANKA FOR CONSERVATION OF SPIDERS W. G. D. Chathuranga*, K. B. Ranawana & V.A.O.S. Jayarathna STUDY ON BEE HONEY PRODUCTION FOR AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SECURITY PURPOSE 13 AND THE CONSERVATION OF ASIAN HONEY BEE (Apis cerana) THROUGH A BASIC SURVEY ON CURRENT STATUS OF COMMERCIAL APICULTURE IN SRI LANKA. Koushalya Mahagedara RESEARCH, MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING 14 Lakshman Peiris COMMUNITY BASED SEA TURTLE MONITORING AND CONSERVATION PROJECT IN 15 BANGLADESH M. Zahirul Islam, Abdul Wahad Akonda, Foysal Ehsan & Rafat Adnan PRELIMINARY STUDY ON STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF UDAKEERUWA DIPTEROCARP 18 FOREST, BADULLA DISTRICT S.P.Ekanayake & R.H.S.S. Fernando OVERVIEW OF REPTILES OF SRI LANKA: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CROCODILES 21 Anslem de Silva AWARENESS, SURVEY AND CONSERVATION OF ELASMOBRANCHS (SHARKS AND RAYS) IN 23 THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF INDIA C. Kumar *, D. Inbakandan, T. Marudhupandi, J. Vincent Jain, E. Vivekanandan, R. Kirubagaran, S. Ajmal Khan iv PROCEEDINGS | The Rufford in-country conference - Sri Lanka SMALL CATS AS URBAN CONSERVATION FLAGSHIPS: THE ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR OF 27 FISHING CATS IN SRI LANKA’S CITIES Anya Ratnayaka SEA TURTLES AND COASTAL BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN THE KALPITIYA PENINSULAR 28 OF SRI LANKA Lalith Ekanayake & A.M.D.S Rathnakumara THREATS AND CONSERVATION OF BRYOPHYTES 31 N. C. S. Ruklani * & S. C. K. Rubasinghe MANGROVES OF MADAMPA LAKE SANCTUARY IN SOUTHERN SRI LANKA 32 M.G. Manoj Prasanna*, K.B. Ranawana, E.G.T.P. Premarathne CONSERVATION OF LOCALLY ENDANGERED DUGONG (Dugong dugon) THROUGH 35 COMMUNITY BASED SEAGRASS RESTORATION PROJECT IN THE BAY OF MANNAR, SRI LANKA Chathurika Munasinghe* & K.B. Ranawana THE ENIGMATIC CROP RAIDERS OF UDAWALAWE 36 Ashoka D. G. Ranjeewa DIVERSITY OF STINGLESS BEES (HYMENOPTERA: MELIPONINI) 38 IN SRI LANKA T. H. S. E. Silva*, C. P. Diyes & W. A. I. P. Karunaratne CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PLANNING IN PASSIKUDAH: IDENTIFYING KEY AREAS, 41 RESEARCH PRIORITIES AND CONSERVATION INTERVENTIONS Gajaba Ellepola *, Samitha Harischandra & K. B. Ranawana MALFORMATIONS IN A SRI LANKAN PADDY FIELD AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITY 44 N. B. Karunarathna*, M. Meegaskumbura & R. S. Rajakaruna PREDICTED DISTRIBUTION AND CONSERVATION PRIORITIES OF FISHING CAT PRIONAILURUS 45 VIVERRINUS IN SRI LANKA Ashan Thudugala & K.B. Ranawana ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN SRI LANKA 46 Duminda Sanjeewa Balasooriya & Lalith Ekanayake REPORT ON SCHOOLS’ AWARENESS PROGRAM 47 Jayantha Jayawardena SAVING ELEPHANTS BY HELPING PEOPLE: FIELD SCOUTS PROGRAM, WASGAMUWA, 50 SRI LANKA Ravi Corea, Chinthaka Weerasinghe, Chandima Fernando & Ayodhya Amarajeewa 53 BCSL STORY PROCEEDINGS | The Rufford in-country conference - Sri Lanka v EXECUTIVE SUMMERY The first Rufford Small Grants conference was held in Nepal in 2012. Owing to the success of this meeting, the trustees felt that there was a need for more direct communication between grant recipients. They understood that all too often researchers work in isolation and hence, such conferences provide a forum to discuss ideas, problems, issues and create invaluable networking opportunities. The Bio Conservation Society (BCSL) is privileged to conduct the first Rufford in-country conference in Sri Lanka. However, compared to neighboring countries such as India, there have been very few Rufford grantees in Sri Lanka thus far and even some of these grantees are currently not working in Sri Lanka or are temporarily out of the country. Hence, the BCSL has invited some academics, students as well as some field researchers engaged in biodiversity conservation and research in Sri Lanka to present their findings during the conference. Further, a few attendees from neighboring countries in South Asia will also be participating in the event. Altogether 25 abstracts & extended abstracts are included in the proceedings. The keynote speech will be delivered by Prof. Siril Wijesundara, research professor attached to the National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka. He served the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya since 1980 and retired as the Director General of the Department of National Botanic Gardens in Sri Lanka in 2015. He was elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, Sri Lanka in 2006. He has published over 50 journal publications, many abstracts, text books & other publications. He has also held membership in many professional bodies and received many presidential awards for research. The invited speaker on the second day, Dr. Anslem de Silva's herpetological career spans over half a century. To his credit, he has over 400 publications, with many in prestigious indexed foreign journals. This includes nearly 50 books, some published by leading publishers in the UK. Anslem has worked on all aspects of amphibians & reptiles of the country during the past. Currently he is conducting two islandwide surveys on crocodiles and skinks. Anslem has organized several national & global herpetological conferences, including the prestigious 4th World Congress of Herpetology in 2001 and the World Crocodile Conference in 2013. He is the current Regional Chairman, IUCN/SSC Crocodile Specialist Group for South Asia & Iran and the Co-Chairman, IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, Sri Lanka and a member of several other Commissions of the IUCN. The conference will be span three days commencing on the 14th November 2016, and the last day will be a field trip to theUdawatta Kele Sanctuary. The Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, often spelled as Udawattakele, is a historic forest reserve on a hill-ridge in the city of Kandy, 104 hectares (257 acres) in extent. During the days of the Kandyan kingdom, it was known as "Uda Wasala Watta" in Sinhalese, meaning "the garden above the royal palace". The sanctuary is famous for its extensive avifauna. The reserve also contains a great variety of plant species, shrubs and small trees and especially lianas, including several giant lianas. Many small and medium sized mammals that inhabit Sri Lanka and several kinds of snakes and other reptiles can be seen here. Udawatta Kele was designated as a forest reserve in 1856, and it became a sanctuary in 1938. vi PROCEEDINGS | The Rufford in-country conference - Sri Lanka ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My special appreciation is due to the Rufford Foundation and their trustees for giving us the opportunity to organize this conference here in Sri Lanka. Further, I would like to thank the Rufford grant director, Mr. Jose Cole for his guidance in organizing the conference. I am grateful to Prof. Siril Wijesundara and Dr. Anslem de Silva for their acceptance of the invitation to deliver special talks. I would like to thank all the Rufford grantees and non grantees for presenting their biodiversity conservation & research work at this conference. I am thankful to the chairs of the sessions for their valuable support for the conference. It would not have been possible to conduct this conference without the help and contribution of the BCSL staff, specifically Mr. Sampath Wijesena, Mrs. Y.K. Karunarathna and Mr. Saman Rathnakumara. I extend my gratitude to BCSL volunteers Messers, Tissa Pilimathalawwe, Sanjeewa Jayarathna, Koushalya Mahagedara, Sanjaya Karunarathna, Sanath Gunawardena, S.P.Ekanayake and Gajaba Ellepola. I extend my gratitude to Miss. Madushika Maduwanthi for her volunteer contribution. Further I wish to thank Mr. Roshan and the rest of the hotel staff at the Oak Ray Regency for
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