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Biodiversity indicators of climate change
in the context of coastal and marine environment of India
Professor B.C. ChoudhuryWildlife Institute of India,
Dehradune.mail: [email protected]
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Macro level indicators of climate change
• Rise in temperature• Sea level rise• Oceanic chemistry and circulation• Changes in coastal geomorphology• Changes in vegetation structure and
phenological cycle(all these are monitored through satellite based
remote sensing tools)
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Sea surface temperature (SST) of the north Indian Ocean derived from the Satellite NOAA-AVHRR. The Colour code is at 1o C interval. Red depicts high temperature (32o C) and blue low (23o C). Orange and yellow are towards higher range and green towards lower range.
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Coastal and marine biodiversity supporting habitats vulnerable to climate change
• Coral Reef and seagrass meadows• Mangroves• Coastal lagoons and lakes• Estuaries• Intertidal mudflats• Rocky shores• Sandy shores and sand dunes• Islands
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Coral Reef
Seagrass
Backwaters,Estuaries,Lakes &Lagoons
SeaweedBeaches & Sand dunes
Mangroves
Intertidal mudflats & Swamps
Rocky shoreline
Coastal and marine biodiversity supporting habitats vulnerable to climate change
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Coral reefs• Coral reefs live very close to the upper
thermal tolerance• Warm episodes (rise in temperature) have
resulted in wide scale coral bleaching and mortality. Viz. El-Nino-southern oscillation
• 1998 coral bleaching across the globe as well as recent re-occurence in 2011.
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Mangroves• Changes in the community structure and
composition• Changes in zonation and distribution patterns• Increase in mono-specificity• Loss of hammock and basin and increase in
over-wash mangroves • Loss of nursery grounds of a host of brackish
and marine living resources
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Lagoons and lakes• Increase in salinity and salinity tolerant
species• Changes in species composition w.r.t
SALINE:BRACKISH:FRESHWATER tolerant species
• Significant changes in benthos characteristics
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Estuaries• Increased upstream tidal backwash into
the rivers and creeks• Changes in composition and breeding
behaviour of anadromous and catadromous migrators
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Intertidal mudflats• Almost total loss of intertidal mudflats along
the Indian peninsula viz. Gulf of Khambat• Further aggravated where stiff topography
structures viz. seawall prevent the inland migration of mudflat
• impacted faunal groups are wader bird’s diversity & abundance and their migration patterns.
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Chilika Ramsar Site
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Rocky shores• Loss of anchorage to seaweeds and algae• Decline in habitats for gastropods, bivalves
and crustaceans
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Sandy shores and sand dunes• Loss of nesting areas for shore crabs,
marine turtles and waders• Loss of sand dune stabilizing vegetations
viz. Ipomea, Spinifix • Ground water quality• Economic loss, coastal tourism and
fisheries related livelihood
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Impact of climate change on specific coastal and marine habitats
Oceanic Islands• Impact and loss of coraline and volcanic
islands (viz. Lakshadweep (Pitti island) and Andaman & Nicobar)
• Loss of endemic species (Megapod, Amphibians and Reptiles)
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Endemism – An overview in AndamansPercentage of endemism across faunal groups
24
28
33
39
45
49
50
57
75
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Freshw ater molluscs
Reptiles
Eathw orms
Birds
Spiders and Scorpions
Termites
Amphibians
Mammals
Terrestrial molluscs
Taxa
Perecentage (%)
%
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Endemics - Forest lizard©
S.P.Vijayakum
ar
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Endemics - Nicobar Tree Frog©
S.P.Vijayakum
ar
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Endemics - Andaman cobra©
S.P.Vijayakum
ar
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Endemics- Narcondam Hornbill
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Endemics - Nicobar Megapode
http://www.birding.in/birds/Galliformes/nicobar_scrubfowl.htm
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Invertebrates - The giant crabs©
S.P.Vijayakum
ar
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Impact on Conservation Network (PAs and Conservation Areas)
• Impact on 60-70 coast based PAs in India• Impact on 106 Important Coastal and Marine
Biodiversity Areas (ICMBA)• Loss of coast based important bird areas (Pitti
Island, Rann of Kachchh, Kolleru, Pulicate, Chilka & Sunderban)
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Identified ICMBA sites (106)
62 ICMBAs West Coast
44 ICMBAs East Coast
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Prioritized ICMBA sites
Chandipur
ChilkaRushikulya
Naupada
BantumilliMachilipatnam
KaliveliPichavaram
Palk Bay
MadhavpurAlia Bet
Purna
Thane
Purnagad
Achra-Malvan
KaliNetraniKundapur
Kolavipalem
Vypin-Fort KochiKumarakomKumbalangi
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Impact on Indicator Flagship Species of Conservation Importance
• Horseshoe crab-loss of breeding and nesting ground• Salt water crocodile-Innundation and loss of nesting
ground• Turtles-Batagur baska and Pelochelys cantori• Aquatic mammals-Irrawady dolphins and gangetic
dolphins• Marine turtles – Sea turtles• Egglaying Snakes-Achrochordus, Laticauda• Mammals – tiger, fishing cat ad Otter• Obligate vegetation – Seagrass, Seaweeds and Halophytes
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Horse shoe CrabTachypleus gigas Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda
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River Terrapin (Batagur baska)
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Asian giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantori)
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Gangetic Dolphin in WB
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Irrawaddy Dolphins
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Sunderbans – largest known population in India, also largest /reports of man-tiger conflict/Worlds only known population of tigers in littoral habitatThreats: Poaching & Retaliatory killings due to tiger-human conflicts
Royal Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris
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Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)
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Smooth coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)
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Seaweed & Sea Grass
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Impact on Ethnic Human Population
• Coast based fishing communities• Indigenous tribal populations viz. Jarawas,
Shompens, Onge, Sentineles, Great Andamanese, Nicobari
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Indigenous communities -
• The Great Andamanese• The Onge• The Jarawa• The Sentineli• Nicobarese• Shompens
©S.P.V
ijayakumar
Pank
aj S
aksh
eria
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Other identified impacts
• Impact on TSD (Temperature dependent Sex Determination) – Turtles and Crocodiles
• Enhanced cyclone, hurricanes, thunder storms and more frequent El-Nino like conditions
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Case study – Marine Turtles
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To understand the dynamics of beach geomorphology for successful Arribada.
To understand the factors that contribute to the success or failure of hatching with respect to the nesting beach geomorphology.
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Beach profiling• Available beach width and height between high
tide line to vegetation line (benchmark) was monitored on monthly basis.
Hatching success and emergence success• After hatching, selected nests were excavated
and empty egg shells were counted for calculating hatching and emergence success (Miller 1999)
METHODS
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BEACH DURING ONSET OF BREEDING (NOV) BEACH EROSION DURING APRIL
LOSS OF EGGS DUE TO EROSION EMERGENCE DURING MAY
1
2
3
4
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AUGUST (Lowest)
DECEMEBR
MARCH (Highest)
MAY (Erosion)
MASS NESTING
MASSNESTING BEACH
Rushikulya Mass Nesting Beach
1 km
21 km
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AUGUST
DECEMEBR
MARCH
MAY
SPORADIC NESTING
HIGH SPORADIC NESTING
BEACH
Devi Nesting Beach
1 km
19 km
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MASSNESTING BEACH
Gahirmatha Mass Nesting Beach
Wheeler
island
35 km
AUGUST (lowest)
DECEMEBR
MARCH (Highest)
MAY (Erosion begins)
MASS NESTING
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Typical Tide Curves from full moon to new moon period at three comparative study sites
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Beach height & Mean tidal amplitude in Gahirmatha rookery
Nasi-1. Old nesting beach
new Nesting beach in
wheeler island
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Nasi-I
Nasi-IIBabubali
Wheeler Island
Coconut Island
In 2004, (Mass nesting area 3000 m X 60 m)
Source: Prusty et al 2006
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Extended sandbar at Wheeler Island
Wheeler Island
In 2009, (Mass nesting area 900 m X 87 m)
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Extended sandbar at Wheeler Island
Wheeler Island
In 2010, (Mass nesting area 1000 m X 53 m)
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Hatching and emergence success: 2009-10
Gahirmatha Hatching success (%) 74
Emergence success (%) 64.2
RushikulyaHatching success (%) 75.2
Emergence success (%) 63.5
Devi (sporadic)Hatching success (%) 96.7
Emergence success (%) 93.6
GAHIRMATHA RUSHIKULYA707172737475767778
%
GAHIRMATHA RUSHIKULYA61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
%
Error bars show 95.0% CI of meanError bars show 95.0% CI of meanHS ES
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30 years of study shows the following changes possibly related to climate change
i. Shift in breeding season from December to Marchii. Gradual shift in mass nesting site fidelityiii. Loss of nesting beachesiv. Gradual changes in migratory pattern
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What is needed ?• Identifying climate change related thrust areas of research
for all sectors on involving coastal and marine systems• Involvement of coast based academic organizations and
universities• Creation of Centre of Excellence and Advanced Studies on
Climate Change• International and National NGOs to initiate climate change
initiatives• Improvement in existing prediction framework• Increased focus on research in the ability of possible climate
change impacted vulnerable species for adaptation• Inclusion of climate change in academic curriculum
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Probable loss of areas of Sunderban Tiger Reserve in India due to different levels of sea level rise
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Sunderban specific…• Projecting Sunderban as an climate change
impacted global ecological entity• Identification of priority vulnerable biodiversity
indicators and mechanisms for their safeguards against local and total extinction
• Capacity building and information sharing common database
• Trans boundary common minimum programme on climate change monitoring in Bangladesh and India