Climate Change and Species Distribution in the Indian Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot

NeBIO An international journal of environment and biodiversity Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2017, 1 - 5 ISSN 2278-2281(Online Version) ☼ www.nebio.info I www.neceer.org.in

RESEARCH PAPER

Climate change and species distribution in the Indian Himalayan biodiversity hotspot

Nishikant Gupta1*, Shailendra Raut1, Prakash Nautiyal2, J.A. Johnson1, K. Sivakumar1 and Vinod B. Mathur1 1Wildlife Institute of India, P.O. Box 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun – 248 001, India 2Department of Zoology, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India

ABSTRACT

The Indian Himalaya continues to suffer from anthropogenic stressors, and coupled with the adverse influences of climate change, the region’s biodiversity is under threat. It is vital to understand the effects of climate-induced impacts on species here, as it can provide crucial information for their long-term conservation. The altitudinal distribution of fish and avian species was recorded during the winter months (September-October, 2015) in the upper Bhagirathi River basin in Uttarakhand, India at an elevation range of 1500 to 4000 m. Juveniles of the common snowtrout and 34 avian species belonging to six Orders were documented. Our novel findings contribute to the baseline information for the region, and present opportunities for further research.

KEYWORDS: Bhagirathi River, common snowtrout, Gangotri National Park, Schizothorax richardsonii, Uttarakhand.

Received 13 December 2016, Accepted 14 January 2017 I *Corresponding Author: [email protected]

Introduction upstream reaches of the Bhagirathi River was located within the The Indian Himalaya is facing multiple anthropogenic threats, and protected area known as the Gangotri National Park and were climate change is further taking a toll on this biodiversity rich designated as ‘protected sites’; whereas locations on the region (Gupta et al., 2015). This creates a constant struggle for downstream reaches which were not within any protected area policy-makers to design site-specific and targeted conservation were designated as ‘unprotected sites’ (Gupta et al., 2015). plans. The lack of field data regarding the location-specific distribution of species is a major hurdle (Price et al., 2003; Bhatt The freshwater fish and avian species, water temperature (°C), and Joshi, 2011). Habitat availability (Chettri et al., 2005), anthropogenic threats, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS; ppm), temperature and precipitation play a key role in species diversity, electrical conductivity (EC; mScm-1), dominant substrate, richness and distribution (Bhatt and Joshi, 2011; Price et al., 2011; mesohabitat, and the riparian vegetation were recorded at 27 Bhatt et al., 2012). Hence, understanding the altitudinal sampling sites, (i.e. S1 – S27) comprising of both protected and distribution of species is critical for future management strategies unprotected sites. in this biodiversity hotspot (Acharya et al., 2011). Material and methods The Bhagirathi River originates from Gaumukh in the Gangotri Fish sampling glacier in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, India, and has a total Fish sampling was conducted along the river banks using cast catchment area of over 8,800 km2 (Rajvanshi et al., 2012). The nets (mesh size 5.0 x 5.0 cm and 3.5 x 3.5 cm) in the main channel Bhagirathi River travels till Deoprayag where it meets the of the Bhagirathi River. Mosquito nets were used for collecting Alaknanda River (Rajvanshi et al., 2012). The study was conducted fingerlings in shallow pools along the banks. A 100 m stretch of in the upper catchment of the Bhagirathi River during the winter each site was sampled and repeated twice over the entire field months (September-October, 2015) along an elevation of 1500- survey (Fig. 1). After collection, fish were identified to species 4000 m to cover varying eco-climatic zones; and protected and using available taxonomic literature, their numbers counted, unprotected areas. measurements such as total body length (mm) and weight (g) recorded using measuring and weighing scales, and then the fish Since anthropogenic stressors and climate change are known to were released back into the water (Gupta et al., 2015). affect the altitudinal distribution of species, sufficient study area was covered to record the species’ upper and lower limits (Price Physico-chemical parameters et al., 2011); and sampling sites with clear evidence of The water temperature, pH, total dissolved solids, and electrical anthropogenic stressors, (i.e. use of destructive fishing methods, conductivity were recorded thrice at each site using hand-held, lopping of trees, deforestation) were avoided (Acharya et al., multi-parameter devices to obtain a mean value. The 2011). The overall gradient was not sampled due to the anthropogenic threats, dominant substrate, mesohabitat and accessibility of the difficult terrain. Sampling locations on the riparian vegetation were assessed visually.

RESEARCH PAPER Gupta et al » Climate change and species distribution in the Indian Himalayan biodiversity hotspot » NeBIO 8(1): 1-5 ------

Figure 1. Study area showing the fish and avian sampling locations within protected and unprotected sites.

Avian survey from this site (n=15) were fingerlings of the common snowtrout The avian species were recorded across five altitudinal zones (Schizothorax richardsonii) belonging to the Family Cyprinidae and comprising of both protected and unprotected sites, (i.e. 1500- Order Cypriniformes, and is considered Vulnerable with a 2000 m, 2000-2500 m, 2500-3000 m, 3000-3500 m and 3500-4000 decreasing population trend (Vishwanath et al., 2010). The mean m) using the Line Transect Method (Chettri et al., 2005) (Fig. 1). total body length (mm±SD) of the recorded species was The birds were detected (heard or seen) by a three-member team 73.00±9.76, and the mean weight (g±SD) was 0.57±0.16. using binoculars (10 x 50 DPS), photographed, and identified using standard published literature (Gupta and Singh, 2014). Avian species A total of 184 individual birds representing 34 species from six Results Orders were recorded from the study sites (Fig. 1). Twelve species

Fish species of birds were recorded only from the protected sites (S1-S10); 14 Although fish species were not recorded from the sampling species were recorded only from unprotected sites (S11-S27); and 8 locations (S1-S26) within the protected and unprotected sites species were recorded from both protected and unprotected sites. during this study (Table 1); species of the exotic brown trout The Order Passeriformes comprised of the highest number of bird (Salmo trutta) have been previously documented from some of species (Table 3). There were a few birds which were recorded these sites (Nautiyal et al., 2007). It is also important to note that throughout the different altitudes comprising of protected and it is difficult to record fish species that are specialized to live in unprotected sites, (i.e. Blue whistling thrush (Myophonus gushing torrential waters (catfish, loaches) by cast and mosquito caeruleus), 2000-4000 m; Great tit (Parus major), 2500-4000 m; nets as such species have means to remain attached to stony Lemon rumped warbler (Phylloscopus chloronotus), 2000-4000 m; bottom. Also, it is difficult to operate such or other nets on steep Plumbous water redstart (Rhyacornis fuliginosa), 1500-3500 m; riverbed due to the fast-flowing, ice-cold waters of the Bhagirathi and Rufous naped tit (Periparus rufonuchalis), 2000-4000 m). The River. Near Threatened Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) was recorded from the unprotected site (Table 3).

Fish species were recorded at the unprotected site S27 at an altitude of 1712 m (Table 1). The site S27 had a water temperature Discussion of 13°C, and a pH of 7.9 with scrub riparian vegetation (Table 1 Although the data and analysis presented here are preliminary and 2). Boulders was the major substrate type at this site, which and intended to suggest important research priorities, our findings were richly covered with periphytons. The fish species recorded on the altitudinal distribution of fish and avian species in the 2 NeBIO I ISSN 2278-2281(Online Version) I www.nebio.info RESEARCH PAPER Gupta et al » Climate change and species distribution in the Indian Himalayan biodiversity hotspot » NeBIO 8(1): 1-5 ------

Table 1. Fish sampling locations (S1-S27; protected and unprotected sites) with associated altitude, water temperature (°C), anthropogenic stressors, and recorded fish species.

Protected / Site Altitude Time of day@ Weather Water Anthropogenic stressors recorded near sampling unprotected sites (m) temp. (°C) site Protected site S1 3954 Morning Sunny 1.5 Negligible (within Gangotri S2 3901 1.0 National Park) S3 3836 2.8 S4 3815 2.5 S5 3727 0.9 S6 3561 Afternoon Sunny 6.9 S7 3550 Evening Cloudy 2.2 S8 3475 Afternoon Sunny 11.9 S9 3323 9.3 S10 3090 9.8

Unprotected site S11 2582 Morning Sunny 5.8 Presence of livestock (downstream of S12 2550 6.1 Bridge with traffic Gangotri National S13 2494 6.8 Army camp, helipad, road Park) S14 2529 Afternoon Sunny 6.5 Army camp S15 2529 7.5 Water diversion, bridge with traffic, horticulture, village S16 2545 7.6 Lopping of riparian trees S17 2460 7.5 Shearing of sheep, presence of mules, village S18 2459 8.8 Nearby road with traffic S19 2451 7.8 S20 2457 Cloudy 7.5 S21 2462 Evening 7.6 Negligible S22 2440 Morning Cloudy 5.5 Village, presence of cattle, nearby road with traffic S23 2423 Sunny 5.5 Village, sand mining S24 2280 6.1 Hydropower project site, road with traffic S25 2155 Cloudy 6.8 Presence of cattle, nearby road with traffic S26 1863 Afternoon Sunny 7.6 Semi-urban area, nearby road with traffic S27 1712 Cloudy 13.0 Presence of cattle, nearby road with traffic, hydropower project site @Morning: 8am – 12pm; afternoon: 12pm – 6pm; evening: 6pm onwards

Table 2. Fish sampling locations (S1-S27) within protected and unprotected sites with associated physico-chemical characteristics. Protected / Site pH TDS EC Dominant Mesohabitat Riparian vegetation unprotected sites (ppm) (mScm-1) substrate Protected site S1 7.1 25.6 64 Boulder Riffle, running wáter Trees, scrub (within Gangotri S2 7.3 20.0 50 National Park) S3 7.2 27.2 68 S4 7.3 16.8 42 S5 7.2 42.4 106 S6 7.4 24.0 61 S7 7.5 25.6 65 S8 7.3 20.8 53 S9 7.3 14.4 36 S10 7.2 16.0 40

Unprotected site S11 7.6 10.4 26 Pool, cascade Trees, scrub (downstream of S12 6.5 10.4 27 Riffle Gangotri National S13 7.2 19.2 49 Riffle, running water Trees Park) S14 7.6 14.4 36 Riffle, cascade S15 7.5 27.2 68 Riffle, pool S16 7.6 29.6 74 Riffle, cascade, pool S17 7.8 45.6 112 Riffle, cascade S18 7.8 46.4 114 Running water S19 7.7 29.6 74 Riffle, running water Trees, scrub S20 7.8 20.0 50 Scattered trees S21 8.0 20.8 51 Riffle, cascade, running water Trees, scrub S22 8.0 40.0 101 Riffle, running water Scattered trees, scrub S23 8.0 41.6 104 Cascade, running water Scrub S24 8.1 30.4 78 Riffle, pool, running water S25 8.0 41.6 106 Riffle, running water S26 8.0 43.2 104 Riffle, cascade, running water Trees, scrub S27 7.9 23.2 57 Pool, standing water Scrub 3 NeBIO I ISSN 2278-2281(Online Version) I www.nebio.info RESEARCH PAPER Gupta et al » Climate change and species distribution in the Indian Himalayan biodiversity hotspot » NeBIO 8(1): 1-5 ------

Table 3. Avian species recorded from the study area (protected and unprotected sites) according to the altitude range (m). Altitude Family Order Common name Scientific name IUCN Red Current range (m) List Status* population trend* 1500 – 2000 Aegithalidae Passeriformes Black-throated Tit Aegithalos concinnus Least Concern Stable Cinclidae Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii Least Concern Stable Sturnidae Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Least Concern Increasing Phalacrocoracidae Suliformes Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Least Concern Increasing

Passeridae Passeriformes House Sparrow Passer domesticus Least Concern Decreasing Columbidae Columbiformes Oriental Turtle-dove Streptopelia orientalis Least Concern Stable

Muscicapidae Passeriformes Plumbeous Water-redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosa Least Concern Stable Columbidae Columbiformes Rock Dove Columba livia Least Concern Decreasing

2000 – 2500 Turdidae Passeriformes Blue Whistling-thrush Myophonus caeruleus Least Concern Unknown Cinclidae Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii Least Concern Stable

Sylviidae Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides Least Concern Increasing Accipitridae Accipitriformes Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis Near Threatened Stable

Ibidorhynchidae Charadriiformes Ibisbill Ibidorhyncha struthersii Least Concern Unknown Sylviidae Passeriformes Lemon-rumped Warbler Phylloscopus chloronotus Least Concern Stable

Muscicapidae Plumbeous Water-redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosa Least Concern Stable Columbidae Columbiformes Rock Dove Columba livia Least Concern Decreasing Paridae Passeriformes Rufous-naped Tit Periparus rufonuchalis Least Concern Unknown Sittidae Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria Least Concern Stable Fringillidae Yellow-breasted Greenfinch Carduelis spinoides Least Concern Stable

2500 – 3000 Turdidae Passeriformes Blue Whistling-thrush Myophonus caeruleus Least Concern Unknown Paridae Great Tit Parus major Least Concern Increasing Sylviidae Grey-hooded Warbler Phylloscopus xanthoschistos Least Concern Stable Corvidae Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Least Concern Stable Sylviidae Lemon-rumped Warbler Phylloscopus chloronotus Least Concern Stable

Oriolidae Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii Least Concern Unknown Muscicapidae Plumbeous Water-redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosa Least Concern Stable Paridae Rufous-naped Tit Periparus rufonuchalis Least Concern Unknown Leiothrichidae Streaked Laughingthrush Trochalopteron lineatum Least Concern Unknown Muscicapidae White-capped Water- Chaimarrornis Least Concern Stable redstart leucocephalus

3000 – 3500 Turdidae Passeriformes Blue Whistling-thrush Myophonus caeruleus Least Concern Unknown Paridae Great Tit Parus major Least Concern Increasing Sylviidae Grey-hooded Warbler Phylloscopus Least Concern Stable xanthoschistos Corvidae Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Least Concern Stable Muscicapidae Orange-flanked Bush-robin Tarsiger cyanurus Least Concern Stable Muscicapidae Plumbeous Water-redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosa Least Concern Stable Fringillidae Red Crossbill Loxia curvirostra Least Concern Stable Leiothrichidae Streaked Laughingthrush Trochalopteron lineatum Least Concern Unknown Sylviidae Tickell's Leaf-warbler Phylloscopus affinis Least Concern Stable Certhiidae Bar-tailed Treecreeper Certhia himalayana Least Concern Decreasing

3500 – 4000 Turdidae Passeriformes Blackbird Turdus merula Least Concern Stable Turdidae Blue Whistling-thrush Myophonus caeruleus Least Concern Unknown Paridae Great Tit Parus major Least Concern Increasing Phasianidae Galliformes Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos Least Concern Decreasing Corvidae Passeriformes Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Least Concern Stable Sylviidae Lemon-rumped Warbler Phylloscopus chloronotus Least Concern Stable

Muscicapidae Orange-flanked Bush-robin Tarsiger cyanurus Least Concern Stable Corvidae Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax Least Concern Decreasing Fringillidae Red Crossbill Loxia curvirostra Least Concern Stable Prunellidae Rufous-breasted Accentor Prunella strophiata Least Concern Stable Paridae Rufous-naped Tit Periparus rufonuchalis Least Concern Unknown Columbidae Columbiformes Speckled Woodpigeon Columba hodgsonii Least Concern Stable

Fringillidae Passeriformes Vinaceous Rosefinch Carpodacus vinaceus Least Concern Stable Motacillidae White Wagtail Motacilla alba Least Concern Stable Corvidae Yellow-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus Least Concern Stable

*The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.

4 NeBIO I ISSN 2278-2281(Online Version) I www.nebio.info RESEARCH PAPER Gupta et al » Climate change and species distribution in the Indian Himalayan biodiversity hotspot » NeBIO 8(1): 1-5 ------upper Bhagirathi River basin is a novel result for the region, and References contributes significantly to the baseline information. Acharya BK, Nathan JS, Lalitha V, Basundhara C. 2011. Elevational Gradients in Bird Diversity in the Eastern The common snowtrout has been previously reported from the Himalaya: An Evaluation of Distribution Patterns and Their Bhagirathi River and its tributaries (between Uttarkashi and Underlying Mechanisms. PLoS one 6(12):e29097. Harshil) in 2008, at an altitude of up to 2,000 m (Singh et al., Bhatt D, Kamal KJ. 2011. Bird Assemblages in Natural and 2008). Our findings reveal the first record of this species (juveniles Urbanized Habitats along Elevational Gradient in Nainital only) at an altitude of 1,712 m, with a water temperature of 13°C. District (western Himalaya) of Uttarakhand State, India. This could be potentially due to differences in sampling effort, Current Zoology 57(3):318-329. coupled with logistic difficulties during this study (identified Bhatt JP, Kumar M, Pandit MK. 2012. Elevational Gradients in Fish above). Hence, the findings warrant urgent field studies to Diversity in the Himalaya: Water Discharge Is the Key Driver determine the spawning range of the species, which will be vital of Distribution Patterns. PloS one 7(9):e46237. among the changing climatic variables, (i.e. temperature and Chettri N, Deb DC, Sharma E, Jackson, R. 2005. The Relationship precipitation) in the region. Nonetheless, future field studies will Between Bird Communities and Habitat. Mountain Research need to decouple anthropogenic stressors from climate-induced and Development 25(3):235-43. impacts, as the Bhagirathi continues to be threatened by a Gupta N, et al. 2015. Need for Targeted Education Programme for multitude of human impacts. Preparedness and Formulating Adaptive Strategies in the Indian Himalayan Region. Current Science 109(7):1233-1234. Fieldwork is currently underway by the authors to ascertain the Gupta N, Sivakumar K, Mathur VB, Chadwick, MA. 2015. altitudinal distribution of the species throughout the various Terrestrial Protected Areas and Managed Reaches Conserve seasons, (i.e. winter, monsoon and summer). Along with the Threatened Freshwater Fish in Uttarakhand, India. PARKS current findings, this data could be central in understanding the 21(1):89-101. spawning behavior and the migratory routes of the snowtrout, and Gupta N, Singh N. 2014. The Abundance of Avifauna in an other threatened species such as the golden (Tor putitora) and Agricultural Landscape: A Benefit of Community Conservation red-finned mahseer (Tor tor). More importantly, it could provide Initiatives in Haryana, India. Indian Journal of Science and the necessary information on fish-specific design for the Technology 7(4):537-541. upcoming hydropower projects on the Bhagirathi River (Rajvanshi Nautiyal P, Shivam A, Verma J, Semwal VP. 2007. Bhagirathi et al., 2012). River - An Endangered Ecosystem.” In Venkatramani et al. (eds) Proc National Symposium on Limnology, Udaipur 19-21, A majority of the avian species exhibited very narrow altitudinal Feb 2007, Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, ranges (Table 3). Of the 34 species, only 5 were recorded from all Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai, Paliwal Printers, the sites (protected and unprotected). These species were Udaipur Rajshthan. 164-166. probably omnivores, (i.e. the Blue whistling thrush, which was Price T, et al. 2011. Determinants of Northerly Range Limits along recorded throughout the gradient) (Acharya et al., 2011). the Himalayan Bird Diversity Gradient. The American Importantly, a Near Threatened species, (i.e. the Himalayan Naturalist 178(1):97-108. Griffon), and 5 species with decreasing population trends, (i.e. Price T, Zee J, Jamdar K, Jamdar N. 2003. Bird Species Diversity House Sparrow, Rock Dove, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Kalij Pheasant along the Himalayas: A Comparison of Himachal Pradesh with and Red-billed Chough) were recorded from the study sites (Table Kashmir. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 3). Most of the other species were recorded only from a few sites, 100:394-409. possibly due to limited range sizes governed by their dispersal Rajvanshi A, Arora R, Mathur VB, Sivakumar K, Sathyakumar S, ability, habitat association, competition, or environmental Rawat GS, Johnson JA, Ramesh K, Dimri NK, Maletha A. tolerance. Although the number of species observed at the 2012. Assessment of Cumulative Impacts of Hydroelectric different zones is not fully indicative of all the species that can Projects on Aquatic and Terrestrial Biodiversity in Alaknanda occur at the sampling sites due to the accessibility of the difficult and Bhagirathi Basins, Uttarakhand. Wildlife Institute of terrain, and potential observer bias; these novel findings do India, Technical Report. Pp 203 plus Appendices. substantially add to the existing information on the avifaunal Singh HR, Kumar N, Agarwal NK. 2008. Ecological Parameters of species of the Bhagirathi river basin, and warrant further site and the Bhagirathi. Final Report Submitted to NTPC. species-specific research along their entire altitudinal gradient Vishwanath W, Ng HH, Britz R, Singh LK, Chaudhry S, Conway (Acharya et al., 2011). KW. 2010. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Fishes of the Eastern Himalaya Region. In: Allen, D.J., Molur, S., Acknowledgements Daniel, B.A. (Compilers). 2010. The Status and Distribution of The authors are grateful to the Director and DFO of Gangotri Freshwater Biodiversity in the Eastern Himalaya. Cambridge, National Park for granting permission; and Vinod Belwal for his UK and Gland, Switzerland. support during the fieldwork. The authors would like to thank Panna Lal for map preparation; and acknowledge the DST-NMSHE project. © 2017. NECEER, Imphal. All rights reserved

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