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An Insight Into the Terrestrial Vertebrate Diversity of Guwahati, India

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An Insight Into the Terrestrial Vertebrate Diversity of Guwahati, India OPEN ACCESS The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of artcles in any medium, reproducton, and distributon by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Communication Urban biodiversity: an insight into the terrestrial vertebrate diversity of Guwahati, India Jayaditya Purkayastha 26 September 2018 | Vol. 10 | No. 10 | Pages: 12299–12316 10.11609/jot.3721.10.10.12299-12316 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies and Guidelines visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct visit htp://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints contact <[email protected]> Publisher & Host Partners Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2018 | 10(10): 12299–12316 Urban biodiversity: an insight into the terrestrial vertebrate diversity of Guwahati, India Communication ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) Jayaditya Purkayastha ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Help Earth, H/N:16, Raghunath Choudhury Path Lachitnagar, Lachit Nagar, Guwahat, Assam 781007, India [email protected] OPEN ACCESS Abstract: This study focuses on the assessment of the terrestrial vertebrate diversity of Guwahat. Twenty-six species of amphibians, 57 species of reptles, 214 species of birds, and 36 species of mammals were recorded during the study period. Thirty-three species were found to be threatened with extncton and another 62 species need evaluaton. A single species of turtle was found to be categorized as Extnct in the Wild under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Keywords: Assam, Biodiversity, city, Deepor Beel, Guwahat, urban, vertebrate. Abbreviatons: EW: Extnct in the Wild; CR: Critcally Endangered; EN: Endangered; VU: Vulnerable; NT: Near Threatened, LC: Least Concern; DD: Data Defcient; NE: Not Evaluated; NS: Non Scheduled, I: Schedule I of Indian Wildlife Protecton Act, 1972; II: Schedule II of Indian Wildlife Protecton Act, 1972; III: Schedule III of Indian Wildlife Protecton Act, 1972; IV: Schedule IV of Indian Wildlife Protecton Act, 1972; V: Schedule V of Indian Wildlife Protecton Act, 1972; *: Introduced Species. DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3721.10.10.12299-12316 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8A2095BE-ECCE-4982-AFF6-BDCD151576FA Editor: C. Srinivasulu, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India Date of publicaton: 26 September 2018 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # 3721 | Received 08 August 2017 | Final received 05 July 2018 | Finally accepted 10 September 2018 Citaton: Purkayastha, J. (2018). Urban biodiversity: an insight into the terrestrial vertebrate diversity of Guwahat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(10): 12299–12316; htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3721.10.10.12299-12316 Copyright: © Purkayastha 2018. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this artcle in any medium, reproducton and distributon by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publicaton. Funding: Ruford Small Grants. Competng interests: The author declares no competng interests. Author Details: Dr. Jayaditya Purkayastha founder general secretary of NGO Help Earth (www.helpearth.co.in). He is also a member of IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. His main area of research is taxonomy of herpetofauna of Indo-Burma region. His current work includes conservaton and research pertaining to Urban Biodiversity of northeastern India. Acknowledgments: I am thankful to Ruford Small Grants and Assam Science Technology & Environment Council for funding during the project period. This work would not have been possible without support for Kamrup Metropolitan District Administraton and Assam Forest Department. Thanks you Sanath Bohra for assistng in the feld survey. 12299 Terrestrial vertebrates of Guwahat Purkayastha INTRODUCTION Guwahat (26.1440N & 91.7360E), the capital of Assam, is the biggest urbanized centre of northeastern It has been estmated that the urban populaton India. The city falls within the Indo-Burma Biodiversity of developing countries is growing at the rate of fve Hotspot, situated between the southern bank of the million people per month. Roughly 70% of global Brahmaputra River and the foothills of the Shillong populaton is expected to be urban by 2050, and the plateau. It is spread over 216.79km2 area, and has a total urban area is expected to triple between 2000 and populaton of around a million with a density of 2695.43 2030 (U-Habitat 2013). Recent studies have focussed on humans per sq.km. The city is situated on undulatng the biodiversity of urban areas. A study in Hyderabad plain with varying alttude of 49.5–55.5 m. The city is documented 1,305 vascular plant species, 30 odonates, surrounded by 18 hills. Guwahat has eight reserve 42 spiders, 141 buterfies, 60 fsh, 16 amphibians, 41 forests (South Kalapahar RF, Fatasil RF, Jalukbari RF, reptles, 314 birds and 58 mammal species (Srinivasulu Gotanagar RF, Hengrabari RF, Sarnai Hill RF, Garbhanga & Srinivasulu 2012). A study at Natonal Environmental RF, Rani RF) and two wildlife sanctuaries (Deepor beel Engineering Research Insttute campus at Nagpur, WLS and Amchang WLS) along with an internatonally Maharashtra recorded 135 vascular plants including acclaimed wetland and Ramsar Site, the Deepor Beel, 16 monocots and 119 dicots, belonging to 115 genera within the city limits. Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary and 53 families (Gupta et al. 2008). A rapid assessment (WS) is a part (4.01km2) of the Ramsar site which is survey at the campus of Indian Insttute of Technology, 40km2 in area. The mighty Brahmaputra River fows Madras recorded 298 plant species, 50 buterfies, through the city for about 25km dividing it into northern eight amphibians, 13 reptles, 51 birds and 12 mammal and southern areas (Devi & Bhatacharyya 2015). species (Care Earth 2006). Sudha & Ravindranath (2000) Guwahat has a tropical monsoon climate and recorded 374 species of plants in Bangalore, where a receives about 1,600mm annual rainfall with an average study of street trees identfed 108 species belonging to annual temperature of 230C. Certain patches of forest 33 families (Nagendra & Gopal 2010). A similar study stll exist within the city (Fig. 1). The overall habitat in Delhi found 125 tree species (Bhalla & Bhatacharya type in the study area mainly comprises of forest 2015). A study in Chennai metropolitan city revealed patches, scrublands, grasslands, plantatons, wetlands, the presence of 45 species of plants representng 21 agricultural lands, human setlements and commercial families (Muthulingam & Thangavel 2012). areas. The forest patches are of moist deciduous type During the past 50 years the populaton of India (Purkayastha 2012, 2015). has grown 2.5-fold and the urban populaton fve-fold Due to urbanizaton and anthropogenic pressure, (Taubenböck et al. 2009). Analyses suggest that 8% the biodiversity of the city is under stress. Cutng of of terrestrial vertebrate species on the IUCN Red List hills, illegal felling of trees and degradaton of wetlands are imperiled largely because of urban development is having an immense adverse efect on the biodiversity (McDonald et al. 2008), and 13% of endemics are in of the city. The hills of the city are used for illegal ecoregions that are under threat from urban expansion setlements most of which are reserve forest lands raising (McDonald et al. 2018). Thus, it is important to take serious ecological concern. In the hills within Guwahat research and conservaton eforts regarding urban Municipal Area, there are 65,894 households of which biodiversity more seriously. In urban landscapes the 10,208 are within reserve forests (Devi & Bhatacharyya partcipaton of inhabitants is a must for conservaton, 2015). Importantly, a large part of Guwahat has been where efort must be invested in sensitsing the developed by flling of wetlands and the process of flling community about the benefts of conserving urban and degradaton of wetlands stll contnues. Owing to biodiversity. Some of the services provided by urban this, Guwahat is seeing a rise of the artfcial food in the biodiversity are improvement of air quality and regulaton low lying city centers. of microclimate by urban parks and vegetaton. Tree Due to factors cited above, an assessment of cover and vegetaton also helps in proper percolaton of biodiversity of Guwahat becomes important for the rain water to soil, adding to ground water and reducing formulaton of long-term conservaton policies. It is a foods while improving quality of life by adding aesthetc fact that Guwahat has lost a big chunk of its biodiversity, and recreatonal value. It has been estmated that a but quantfcaton of the same is not possible as we ten percent increase in canopy cover can reduce local do not have data on its biodiversity from the past to temperature by 3 –4 0C (Gill et al. 2007; Middel et al. compare with the present status of biodiversity. This 2015). paper provides an inventory of terrestrial vertebrate 12300 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2018 | 10(10): 12299–12316 Terrestrial vertebrates of Guwahat Purkayastha biodiversity occurring in the city limits of Guwahat. Records of rescued animal with locality details by Assam State Zoo were also taken into account while creatng the checklist. In most cases animals were photographed MATERIALS AND METHODS and identfed using literature (Smith 1931, 1935, 1943; Ahmed et al. 2009; Grimmet et al. 2011; Purkayastha This study was conducted between the year 2011 2012; Menon 2014). and 2016 spanning over a period of six years with survey emphasizing on terrestrial vertebrates.
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