Subject: Conservation & Mitigation

Species

Conservation Status

Key Information

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES Appendix I;
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Symbol of Heritage: Plays a key role in forest and grassland ecosystems.
• Threats: Habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and poaching for tusks.

• Conservation Needs: Sustained efforts are crucial to ensure their survival and maintain biodiversity.

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES: Appendix I;
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Critical Habitat: Found in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems.
• Challenges: Water extraction, pollution, and river traffic.
• Population Decline: Less than 2,000 individuals remain in India.

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES Appendix I;
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Iconic Predator: Represents a significant part of India’s wildlife.
• Current Status: Numbers are increasing, but threats like poaching and habitat loss persist.
• Habitat: Found across varied ecosystems, from forests to mangroves.

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES: Appendix I
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Status: Significant decline due to habitat loss and poaching.
• Habitat Zones: Found in the eastern Himalayas and parts of Northeast India.
• Conservation Importance: Serves as an indicator species for the health of the Himalayan forests.

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES: Appendix I
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Last Refuge: Exclusively found in Gir National Park, Gujarat.
• Population Challenges: Threats include poaching and accidental deaths from open wells and fences.
• Conservation Strategies: Involves habitat restoration and stricter anti-poaching laws.

• IUCN: Endangered
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Mountain Inhabitant: Lives in the mountainous regions of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• Population Pressure: Climate change and human interference are major threats.
• Survival Strategies: Requires focused conservation to stabilise its declining population.

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES Appendix I;
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Distinct Appearance: Notable for its silver mane, found in the Western Ghats.
• Critical Decline: Population affected by habitat fragmentation and human interaction.
• Behavioural Changes: Adjustments in their natural behaviours due to human activities are concerning.

• IUCN: Critically Endangered
• CITES Appendix I;
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• IBs are the largest among India’s four bustard species and are considered flagship birds of grasslands.
• Habitat reduced to just 10 per cent.
• Overhead power transmission, poor vision, windmills, noise pollution, landscape changes, and alterations in cultivation patterns pose significant threats to GIBs.

• IUCN: Endangered
• CITES Appendix I;
• Schedule I (WPA, 1972)

• Approximately 7,396 Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei) in India as per a census conducted by Assam Forest Department.

• IUCN: Critically Endangered
• CITES: Appendix I;

• Kashmir’s Hangul, a shy and endangered species of deer, has exhibited a robust breeding season, suggesting a hopeful future for its population in the Dachigam National Park.
• The Hanguls population could surpass 300 this spring, marking the first time in over 30 years.

PYQ:

[20I2] Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

(a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda and Asiatic Wild Ass

(b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetal, Blue Bull and Great Indian Bustard

(c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey and Saras (Crane)

(d) Lion-tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur and Cheetal

Do you know?

• Mandu, in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, is perhaps the only place in India where baobab trees are found in abundance, with an estimated 1,000 trees in the periphery of the town.
• Madhya Pradesh state government has plans to apply for a GI (Geographical Indication) tag for the Khorasani Imli or the fruit of the baobab.
• A Baobab tree near the Golconda Fort in Andhra Pradesh is believed to be more than 400 years old.
• Aside from Mandu, baobab trees have been recorded in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh, Wai in Maharashtra, and some places in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Why Baobab tree is called the “Mother of Forests”?

• They can store large amounts of fresh water in their extraordinary trunks.
• It also allows the baobab tree to produce nutritious fruits even during the driest years.
• This makes them true life savers during times when water is scarce.
• In local cultures, they are revered for multiple uses:
  • Edible fruits and seeds.
  • Seed oil used for cooking.
  • Bark fibre used for clothing.

PYQ:

[2021] “Leaf litter decomposes faster than in any other biome and as a result the soil surface is often almost bare. Apart from trees, the vegetation is largely composed of plant forms that reach up into the canopy vicariously, by climbing the trees or growing as epiphytes, rooted on the upper branches of trees.” This is the most likely description of​-

(a) Coniferous forest

(b) Dry deciduous forest

(c) Mangrove forest

(d) Tropical rain forest

Heatwaves Toll on Lakshadweep’s Coral:

Researchers from the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) conducted surveys across various Lakshadweep Islands.

• • The Degree Heating Week (DHW) indicator in Lakshadweep has soared above 4 °C-weeks, as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    • This elevation in DHW levels poses a substantial risk of coral bleaching, posing a severe threat to the region’s marine ecosystems.
• Should DHW surpass 12 °C-weeks, it could trigger an unprecedented biodiversity crisis, leading to multispecies mortality.

• Prolonged marine heatwaves since October 2023 have inflicted substantial stress on the coral reefs, exacerbating bleaching phenomena.
  • A marine heatwave is characterized by seawater temperatures exceeding a seasonally-varying threshold (often the 90th percentile) for at least 5 consecutive days.

Back2Basics: Corals

• Coral are made up of genetically identical organisms called polyps.
• These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues in a mutualistic relationship.
• The coral provides the zooxanthellae with the compounds necessary for photosynthesis.
• In return, the zooxanthellae supply the coral with organic products of photosynthesis, like carbohydrates, which are utilized by the coral polyps for synthesis of their calcium carbonate skeletons.
• Corals are marine invertebrates or animals which do not possess a spine.
• They are the largest living structures on the planet.
• Each coral is called a polyp and thousands of such polyps live together to form a colony, which grow when polyps multiply to make copies of themselves.
• Coral reefs are also called the “rainforests of the seas”.

Types of Coral

Corals are of two types — hard corals and soft corals:

1. Hard corals extract calcium carbonate from seawater to build hard, white coral exoskeletons. Hard corals are in a way the engineers of reef ecosystems and measuring the extent of hard coral is a widely-accepted metric for measuring the condition of coral reefs.
2. Soft corals attach themselves to such skeletons and older skeletons built by their ancestors. Soft corals also add their own skeletons to the hard structure over the years. These growing multiplying structures gradually form coral reefs.

Conditions needed for Corals to Flourish

• Extensive submarine platforms for the formation of colonies by the coral polyps (not more than 90m below sea level).
• High mean annual temperature ranging 20-21 degree Celsius.
• Clean sediment-free water because muddy water or turbid water clogs the mouths of coral polyps resulting into their death.
• Oceanic salinity ranging between 27-30 ppt.
• Ocean currents and waves, as they bring food supply for the polyps.

PYQ:

2014: Which of the following have coral reefs?

1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
2. Gulf of Kachchh
3. Gulf of Mannar
4. Sunderbans

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 4 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4